Kids these days get to take graphic design classes in High School...rather than Logic or Ethics...so they probably won't be taking "20 years" to learn to design, if they pay attention. Not knocking designers (of which I am one) but It didn't even take me 5 years to learn to design well. You have to like what you do...and the rest comes with doing it.
That's fine. Writing a book on a "subjective" subject like "design" is cool.
But a kid with an artistic eye & some instructions on using a graphic program
can become MORE than proficient in graphic design these days. My point was that access to the right tools & an eye for design doesn't take anywhere near 20 years to develop.
Art is subjective, design is a process.
If you are talking sign shop good, Dan may be talking about something beyond your wide comments. Really, most sign shops are not known for "good" design... most are in the realm of "good enough" to "can't see it from my house"
If the process is design software proficiency, than that is an extremely limited skill set and design that is more image shuffling than concept and principles, that's like mastering in pencil...
Kids these days are no smarter than we were, they just have access to cooler tools. It does not make them better, just have earlier access than we did.
I see a sign shop mentality here, take a kid with illustrator skills, and some "artistic ability" and design wraps... well, good wrap design is hard to find. I dig Dan's wrap designs, I also dig the messy wraps - if done well. Most wraps are not impressive and the others are knockoff of cool wraps. Wrap design has the greatest potential for creative exploration to the average sign shop and they still treat them like a sign. Good vector skills does not help that, it just makes you a bit faster at designing crap.
I have followed lots of designers careers, including Dan Antonelli's and Joe Diaz and thier family shop. occasionally I will look for inspiration and run across an old Signcraft with an Antonelli article. His skills were very good, many, many designers copied his style, some actually still do copy that now "old school" style. But you look at the work he does now... his skills are way beyond what he did before. His pencil or mouse skills may be the same, but where he pushes that pencil or mouse is coming from a place of experience. He has included collaboration, mastered the process, and learned to say no to bad work. This takes huevos and experience... Maybe he could have learned it in 5 years, but like most designers I look up to, it takes 15-20. I have many more examples of experienced designers than good youngin's
Now, I am sure a kid with Corel or Illustrator can do a decent copy of a Dan or Joe design or the few other accomplished designers, but that is not design, that is usually creative copying. Like I said before, what I mostly see is photo/clipart/vector shuffling, especially in wrap design.
The one thing that is different about good design 20 years ago, and today, is we have better access to good design. Having that better access has not helped that many people in the sign business.
On the subject, I am certified, but from what I remember, the company that sponsored me, did it for dealing with warranty issues and wanted that extra assurance to have all their installers certified. It still took me a long time to be a proficient installer. I believe certification is useful in getting install work from other shops, and going after warranty issues. There are probably only a few clients who want to see certification. Pick the one that tries to accomplish all of those things as much as possible.
