Can Anybody Be a Designer?

“Can anybody be a designer,” asks Alice Rawsthorn of the New York Times in this recent article.

Influenced by the likes of Buckminster Fuller and Bruce Mau, the argument in favor of expanding the definition of design beyond its professional application is now broadly accepted. But to what end?

There is a fear among professionals that de-professionalizing design may undercut the importance of specialized fields. But others hail open design – where a “designer” is anyone who applies ingenuity, originality, strategic thinking and other qualities that are indispensable to good design – as more meaningful.

What do you think? Can/should anyone be a “designer” or an “architect” or an “architectural designer” regardless of education, license, membership, or accreditation?