I've got to tell you...almost NO ONE supports this idea of talking about my weaknesses or liabilities as a designer. But then again, I rarely follow the pack. My reasoning is simple. I like "truth in advertising" and I deeply revere the unabashed naked Truth, with all its blemishes and imperfections. I have a healthy distrust of those who are unwilling to speak about or address their own frailities. So, here we go...all the reasons NOT to hire me.

Software & Technical Limitations
In a world that continues to speed up in terms of technologies, especially related to web design, I think it very important to disclose the limits of my capabilities. There have been a number of times where I've discovered mid-project that I simply don't have the required skills to do the job 'right'. It's like a carpenter, you need the right tools if you want it done with excellence, the same applies to digital disciplines.

Adobe Flash
Flash is an important part of web design, it really is. It can be overused, and it doesn't play well with search engines and probably never will. It's also a program and technology which can range from simple implementations all the way to incredibly complex full sites, games, forms and user initiated actions. I don't know how to do anything beyond the most simple executions of Flash, essentially restricting me to the most basic slideshows. I could go into a long explanation of why, but that would be even more boring than I know I'm already being, so we'll leave it at a few examples of what I can do. The examples below all use Flash within the framework of an HTML page. Because of the search engines lack of ability to read text within sites built WHOLLY with Flash, it's just not considered wise to do whole Flash sites when SEO issues are critical. If you require a more extensive use of Flash, I'm simply not the right designer for you.

Adobe InDesign vs. QuarkXpress
In the early days of digital design, QuarkXpress ruled the publishing world with almost no competition whatsoever. Any designer who wanted to have things printed professionally had to use Quark. Well, roll the clock forward 10-12 years and enter Adobe Systems with their page layout program, InDesign. There were many of us, myself included, who didn't believe that migrating toward a suite of tools ALL from Adobe mattered very much. Well, again...as time has progressed, it seems the general wisdom is that Indesign is now a much superior piece of software to QuarkXpress. Nonetheless, I've never switched over. In many cases, the average consumer uses neither program, but I can imagine instances where a client might wish to have their layout files, and if they were an InDesign user, I'd be a poor choice. For the rest of the crowd who doesn't understand or care what software their designers use, the entire issue is moot.

Cascading Style Sheets
Much like the evolution of Print Design, web design has also undergone an almost continual evolution toward greater and greater control over design and functionality. One of those evolutionary steps forward has been the advent of Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS. In the simplest terms, all cutting edge, newer websites are constructed fully in CSS, essentially replacing HTML insofar as how the page tells the browser to render the page. If I were going to hire a web designer, I'd insist they constructed the pages using CSS as a layout language. It's pretty hypocritical that I don't know CSS fully enough yet to use it for layout. I still use tables & HTML. Now, I've never felt limited by tables and HTML, but it's not the wave of the future. Hell, it's just not even current standard any longer. The advantages of CSS are leaner code which loads faster and also greater consistency across platforms and various browsers.

Not Part Of A Team
Teams allow individual members to specialize and in working together they can increase their efficiency and efficacy. I don't think any more needs to be said, teams are simply better. If you lose a player to illness, the job progresses. When I get sick, everything grinds to a halt.

No Terms & Required Deposits
Design agencies are usually able to offer their clients financial terms of 30, 60 or even maybe 90 days. I imagine they just do the work, then send their clients a bill, and eventually the client pays the bill. Because of the volume of work they are doing, the cash just keeps flowing. I can't work that way. So, just be aware that I take a 50% deposit up front before commencing any labor. Once the job it complete, payment is due immediately.

No Formal Training or Education
I've listed this as a strength too, and I reallly feel it's more in that category than this, but I could see someone making the argument that because I don't know all the rules, that I'm not adhering to or breaking them from an informed viewpoint. I won't argue that.

Unattached
I guess that someone could make the argument that because I'm not married, I don't have to put down roots anywhere and am more of a flight risk. In fact, the time delay between my decision to leave the state of Hawaii and move back to Oregon was less than three weeks. There were a few clients who were then faced with the choice of using a local craftsman or work 'long-distance'. I did live there for five and a half years, about the same amount of time I was in the Clearlake area of northern California. You never know...I might move someday? That's a risk you'll have to weigh out for yourself.