This may just be me being a grumpy old man, but it seems to me that part of the problem might be that most people with the job title "designer" aren't really designers they are artists. What I mean is: my understanding is that design is supposed to be a rigorous discipline based on principles such as color theory, proportions, psychology/culture, and usability. Instead it seems like the focus is on looking pretty and functionality is an afterthought.

To be fair, I think you see the same thing with "software engineers". Many don't have any interest in disciplined engineering or the principles of computer science, they just want to write code.