In the BBC article Creating and Designing Your Own Print Ads, the author suggests that

With the wide availability of computers and design programs, it is now possible to be your own design agency. With attention to detail you, too, can produce your own professional-looking advertisements.

With the wide availability of building materials I could build my own house, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t fall down. The suggestion that someone should try and produce their own print ads instead of focusing on their business and what they do best is absurd. Not only do you have the expense of buying additional software, you then have to learn how to use it and finally hope to goodness that you have a thimble of talent somewhere in your body. After much expense, several headaches and many many hours of hard work you might just get lucky and come out with something good. If your business doesn’t go bust in the mean time, you might just get away with it.

Alternatively, you could pay a modest amount to a professional designer or agency with years of study, experience and skill under their belts to spend just a couple of hours doing it for you. Whilst they’re doing that, you can concentrate on running your business and looking after your own customers.

Unless design happens to be your business, the choice is obvious. Design agencies don’t exist for fun – they serve a valuable purpose in an image-driven world. Trying to do your own design is not only daft, it’s a false economy. With the purchases, the hours and the better work your are neglecting, it simply has to end up costing more than just having the work done professionally. You wouldn’t want me to come and build you a house.

I feel like I’m on an article bitch-trip today. Ho hum.