As a UI designer, let me speak for most of the designers out there. Designers =! Tech people. Probably they will know some html, css and hopefully js with a little understanding of php. (Man, that's a keeper!) BUT, in order to actually "pick up" a talented designer you need to "paint" your idea in a different way that you are already telling it. What I mean by that. We, designers don't have our logical part of our brain developed as well as you have, so what I'm saying by this is you need to figure out a more "emotional"/creative way to sell your idea to the designers. For instance you can tell them "how this ugly ass looking app made millions or had so many people using it".