T-shaped

I haven't posted much recently because I've been involved in long complex design projects, none of which have launched yet so I can't share.

But I have been writing a lot, and this is my latest story.

Why Designers Need to Be ‘Specialized Generalists’
https://modus.medium.com/why-designers-need-to-be-specialized-generalists-520b020ec039

I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on the topic of being T-shaped.

In my freelance design career, being a "specialized generalist" has been immensely important in increasing my value to clients and landing bigger, better projects.

But in the world of employment and when working in bigger design teams, a narrow specialist can be just as valuable. However many design agencies (IDEO to start) only hire T-shaped people.

In this article I outline many of the reasons why I believe being good at more than one thing is the future. Including points like:

* Communication, collaboration, hand-offs.
* Empathy across disciplines not just with users.
* More flexible, adaptable career choices (more future proof)

Has your design career been impacted by having experience too narrow or too broad?