Unsolicited Redesigns

Unsolicited redesigns also imply that it's possible to improve on a design without knowing any of the inside variables mentioned in the article (branding requirements, for example), and that any good designer can design-by-wire without being intimately aware of a company's culture, mindset, and so on.

I believe that's part of the same trend that's devaluing creative work such as design and writing.

There are two types of redesigns.

There is the "I am improving their business by improving their design" kind of attitude which is manifested by the Dustin Curtis kind of approach. This is basically claiming that certain aesthetics are better than others and thus means better business.

Then there is the "I am improving the way the information on the page is structured to improve "legibility"" attitude, which is more about taking what already exist and structure it better.

The former is driven by ego the latter by interest. And personally I find the latter more interesting, although it's less frequent.

I think unsolicited redesigns are generally a positive thing. They usually get a discussion going, and that discussion is based on comparing two concrete solutions to the same problem. That in itself is very valuable because it teaches you a lot more than simply comparing two different sites.

And even if a 2-hour redesign will never fix all the problems of an existing site, it can still point out specific flaws and suggest a solution.