May I ask a question? At what point did we begin to measure a designer by how many spinning roll-over buttons they can jam onto a web page? Your average search on the internet will bombard you with enough of these animated trinkets to make your HEAD spin.

Does anyone else wish they had purchased stock in photos of men shaking hands? I must have really missed the boat on that one; had I done so, I'm positive I would be an enormously wealthy man. Ahh, the pinnacle of business, the firm and sturdy handshake.

"Nice to meet you Tom!"

"No, nice to meet you Bob. Lets shake hands and do business together!"

Technology is great. It facilitates life's most simple and complex tasks. It keeps us organized, in-touch. updated, and informed. Unfortunately, it does not make everyone a designer. Hooray for you, you snagged a copy of Classroom in a Book. Congratulations, you're a talented artist. What's more amazing than the abundance of bad design out there, are the companies who purchase it.

Imagine this scenario: It's a bright and sunny day in Corporate America. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the phones are ringing off the hook. An executive sits at his computer searching for the services of a Freelance Web Designer. He/She stumbles across a site featuring more things spinning than a free carnival in a mall parking lot.

"EUREKA! I've found it, this is the person I want handling my design needs. I need his wisdom and 360 degree sense of style. Those finely manicured hands are the new face of my business!"

Choose wisely.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

article contribution by:
Peter Guarino
lead stock image research advisor & opinionated
imagineer at Dave Pappas Creative Services