This article makes some interesting points, however I believe the author fails to differentiate the devices of which a web designer aims to market to potential clients versus what they are entirely capable of.
As a professional entrepreneur running my own company my career began with freelancing and instructing in web/print design. I won't claim to speak on my years of experience at that time of specific "business" knowledge as the author mentions (ROI, revenue goals, etc), nonetheless I never felt it appropriate to market my business skills on my design resumes and portfolios. While I agree wholeheartedly with the importance of understanding business models and revenue goals, I also feel it's not in the web designer's best interest to include these skills on a design portfolio.
All in all - it should be apparent that just because a web designer includes "buzzwords" such as "clean" and "modern" it certainly doesn't mean they don't grasp concepts such as ROI or revenue goals.
As a professional entrepreneur running my own company my career began with freelancing and instructing in web/print design. I won't claim to speak on my years of experience at that time of specific "business" knowledge as the author mentions (ROI, revenue goals, etc), nonetheless I never felt it appropriate to market my business skills on my design resumes and portfolios. While I agree wholeheartedly with the importance of understanding business models and revenue goals, I also feel it's not in the web designer's best interest to include these skills on a design portfolio.
All in all - it should be apparent that just because a web designer includes "buzzwords" such as "clean" and "modern" it certainly doesn't mean they don't grasp concepts such as ROI or revenue goals.