billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him)
I really don't pay too much attention to the game designers either. I hear and see the names but I have never bought a product based on whose name is on the cover.
I have and I have avoided titles based on the designer names as well. It's simply a case of having liked (or disliked) the work of someone on another project and looking to see if that quality follows them to other projects. Quite often (though not always), it does. Guys like Robin Laws have made a pretty good name for themselves and I'm reasonably convinced that putting his name on a product probably sells more copies.