When I started as a designer, I didn’t think at all about where it would take me or what I wanted. I just liked to create something out of nothing that not only liked someone other than me, but could be useful.
I still enjoy doing it.
At a certain period I dreamed of getting a job at Apple and making cool interfaces like they do. For some reason, it seemed like once I got there, I’d be making cool stuff right away. And for some reason, Google and Microsoft didn’t really appeal to me.
There are a lot of paths open to every designer: from being a hired super-specialist, to owning your own business. Everyone has their own path. I see three major directions:
1. Super-specialist
2. Unicorn
3. Design manager
Super-specialist
When you specialize in something, it becomes easier to stand out from the crowd. You can sharpen your skills in making icons, as Stefan Dziallas does https://iconwerk.com, or you can engage in three-dimensional art, as Maxim Zhestkov does https://twitter.com/maximzhestkov. Inspired by his work, I made the video Fig. 32 Internal Noise https://vimeo.com/348258890. Such people are often role models and their work inspiring.
A super-specialist has such a depth of knowledge in his subject that there is enough of it to share with others. And this is schools, courses, webinars, etc.
The cons in this direction do not come to mind. Probably it is the difficulty of changing the type of specialization. Such profound knowledge in one area is bound to have a complete lack in others. If you want to do something else, it will require a lot of effort.
Unicorn
The unicorn designer is the many-armed Shiva in the world of design. He can design in Figma, render in Blender 3D, draw in Illustrator, make a video in After Effects, and then program it, publish it on the server, and maintain it himself.
A broad outlook helps him stay on top of things all the time. All of this knowledge is bound to affect each other.
Unicorn has knowledge in many areas, but they are not so deep. It is more difficult for such a specialist to stand out, as he is good at a little bit of everything, which cannot make him stand out among the others.
However, if desired, a unicorn can develop one of his areas and become a super-specialist. He has knowledge in a little bit of everything, so it won’t be hard to move into a particular area. But the time he spent developing himself in all areas will be lost.
Also, unicorns turn out to be great team design managers.
Design Manager
There is a belief that designers at any level make excellent product (or project) managers.
This is because they have firsthand knowledge of the “kitchen”. Knowledge in fonts, color theory, guides, production process (they also have to communicate with developers) — all this helps organize the work process much more effectively.
Perhaps the most striking example of such an executive is Steve Jobs. He was not always a manager, he started with video games. He worked with graphics, he was good at fonts, design.
But it seems to me that this way has an important disadvantage for designers: the opportunity to do something with your own hands will be less and less until it disappears. And this, after all, is what was so attractive about the profession.
Epilogue
Each of these paths can lead to both employment and self-employment. It all depends entirely on the willingness and skill of the specialist, in whichever field it may be. Everyone has an equal chance.
I am Sasha Tikhonov, co-founder and art director at Flyphant.
We are Flyphant. Mobile applications and web development, graphic design, motion graphics — this is all that we are not only able of but also love doing.
flyphant.com · twitter · facebook · instagram
