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Do I have to use the standard design?
The short answer is no, you don't, but there are some things to consider before you start drawing up your own designs.
First, using the standard design doesn't mean you can't add your own unique style to the site. The banner graphic is yours to design, and you're not limited to a certain height nor even a certain number of banners. In addition, the image in the top left corner can pull from any number of options of your own choosing. Pick just one to use everywhere, have a specific image for each page, or build a collection of images for the pages to randomly select: anywhere from two to as many as you want.
Second, there are certain standards for a site's design that are required by Purdue University, by the College of Liberal Arts, and even by governing bodies overseeing the entire Internet. If you decide to use a site design of your own creation, even if you hire a professional designer, the code will have to meet these standards in order to be used. Furthermore, the code will have to be maintained as future standards come about. If you use the standard design, these standards and maintenance are of no concern to you at all; they will be developed, tested, and applied for you behind the scenes. (Before you worry about your site being changed without your knowledge, be aware that these changes are usually technical and very rarely result in a visible modification to the site.)
Third, many of the features, tools, options, and automated functionality are built into the standard CLA template in Collage. The automated menus, the options to show and hide columns of content, and so on, are all part of the standard template code. If you decide to use your own design, you will have to build that functionality into your template(s) or do without it. That means your developer will have to become familiar with the Collage component code, or use conventional means of automating these tasks. (Keep in mind that JavaScript-based navigation is not compliant with modern Web standards and cannot be accepted.)
See the next question for details about what requirements exist for custom designs.