Over the last while it’s become apparent through recent marketing campaigns that long-time telecommunications giants Rogers and Bell are at a stalemate. Their products are the same. The customers they’re going after are the same. Their generally lousy customer service is the same.

The reality is that there’s nothing inherently more compelling about Bell over Rogers. The reverse is also true (aside from Rogers being the only carrier in Canada to support the iPhone — for now). All this is also true of Telus, the third big competitor in Canada.

The world of design often feels like that too. It’s a crowded market — designers (“real” or otherwise) are a dime a dozen. The unfortunate side effect of this is that in many respects, design has become a commodity where too many projects simply go to the lowest bidder or to the person who will sacrifice the most. It shows in the end results.

Perhaps I’m being an idealist but I firmly believe the above quote from the late Aldo Gucci (d. 1990) holds true. I know my life as designer would immediately be improved by being able to worry less about being nickel and dime’d to death and instead on effectively solving problems and producing great, memorable work.