Lately, I keep having the same conversation with designers at all career stages. Between increasingly powerful tools and AI that can execute tasks we used to pride ourselves on, we're worried about becoming irrelevant. So we're doubling down on what we know best, specializing into smaller and smaller boxes.
It doesn’t add up.
The Specialization Trap
We're carving deeper and deeper niches for ourselves, pursuing perfectionism in one aspect of design while our other skills atrophy.
The UX researcher who can't articulate visual hierarchy. The visual designer who freezes when faced with an abstract problem statement. The portfolio packed with stunning research decks and motion graphics, attached to applications for product design roles that require end-to-end thinking.
We've mistaken depth for completeness.
What the Market Actually Needs
Here's the uncomfortable truth: perfection in one area is overrated. As design tools become more powerful and AI handles increasing amounts of execution work, what distinguishes great designers isn't their mastery of a single skill. It's their judgment, taste, speed, and ability to connect dots across disciplines.
A question I keep coming back to: What are we actually bringing to the table as designers?
If our answer is purely technical ("I'm great at user research" or "I create pixel-perfect interfaces"), we might be building on shaky ground. Technical skills are table stakes. They're also the easiest to replicate or automate.
Be a Jack of All Trades, Master of Some
Professional growth in design requires becoming more holistic, not more specialized.
This means understanding business models and how design creates value. Grasping organizational strategy and where design fits in decision-making. Learning about software development to collaborate effectively and build with engineers. Building competence across research, interaction design, visual design, and systems thinking.
We don't need to be world-class at everything. But we need to be conversant enough in adjacent disciplines that we're not blocked by "that's not my scope" thinking.
The designers who thrive aren't necessarily the most skilled in any one area. They're the ones who can move fluidly between problem definition, solution exploration, visual execution, and implementation reality.
Staying Foolish Means Staying Curious
It's easy to let comfort with our current skill set turn into professional stagnation.
The designers with real longevity are the perpetually curious ones. They are the people who get excited about learning the business side, who volunteer to sit in on engineering planning, who ask "why" when they could just execute.
Breadth gives us resilience. It gives us perspective. It makes us the designers people want in the room when decisions get made.
The real career advice? Stay hungry for new challenges. Stay foolish enough to learn things outside your job description.
Want to discuss or challenge these ideas? I'd love to hear your perspective. Reach out on my socials — Linkedin • X • Instagram