you're not a web designer if you don't know html and css at least

Yes, you.

I was linked to a quote on twitter by someone way higher profile than me, and it appears to have sparked a bit of a debate, so I'll weigh in.

Honestly, I'm shocked that in 2010 I'm still coming across 'web designers' who can't code their own designs. No excuse.

I 100% wholeheartedly agree with this. How can you possibly design for the web if you don't understand the limitations of the platform? Sure, you can draw a picture of a website, but will it work? If you're lucky. Not EVERYTHING you can draw is easy or even sensible to interpret to a website layout, so you're really limiting yourself or risking a substantial backlash if your design process isn't influenced by a knowledge of CSS, browser inconsistencies and all of the cool little things web browsers can and can't do.

I have to work with quite a few people who are "web designers" but don't know HTML and it's the most frustrating thing. It's so clear when you're working with a design of someone who doesn't know the platform.

A couple of responses were to do with top chefs not working in their own restaurants or product designers not making the products they design. That has missed the point entirely (which is odd, because the source of one of those comments is incredibly well-respected) - chefs CAN cook, and could do it beautifully if they wanted/needed to. Product designers MUST know about the production process of the product they're designing - you couldn't just sit down and design a car or an aeroplane without knowing about production, materials and the thousands, probably millions of things you need to know about the product and production process.

So, from now on, if I work with you in your design capacity and you don't know HTML or CSS, you're not a web designer, you're a website picture drawer.