Maybe We Have Too Many Names for Designers

I recently came across a conversation on LinkedIn about how many different titles we now have for people who work in design.

Graphic designer.
Web designer.
Digital designer.
Visual designer.
UX designer.
UI designer.
Brand designer.
Content designer.
Social media designer.
Multimedia designer.

And I get it.

Design has grown into a huge field, and there are definitely specialties that require very specific knowledge. Someone who focuses primarily on UX research is doing different work than someone who spends most of their time designing print materials. A web developer has a different skill set than a packaging designer.

But it also got me thinking about my own career and how difficult it would be to put everything I do under one title.

Because the truth is, I wear a lot of hats.

And I actually like that.

I’ve Never Really Fit Into One Box

My work has never been just one thing.

I’ve designed websites, worked on branding, created graphics, written and edited content, worked with SEO, looked at analytics, built marketing materials, taken photos, worked with accessibility, helped businesses organize information, and figured out how all of those pieces need to work together.

A website project might start with something as simple as, “We need a new website.”

But once you start digging into it, there is usually a lot more going on.

Maybe the old website is difficult to navigate.

Maybe the content hasn’t been updated in years.

Maybe the business has changed.

Maybe customers can’t find important information.

Maybe the website needs better SEO.

Maybe the forms aren’t working the way they should.

Maybe accessibility needs to be considered from the beginning instead of being added as an afterthought.

So while I might technically be designing a website, I’m usually thinking about a lot more than the way the page looks.

And honestly, that is one of my favorite parts of the work.

Design Is More Than Making Things Look Good

The longer I’ve been doing this, the more I’ve realized that design is really about solving problems.

Most clients aren’t coming to me simply because they want something to look pretty.

They want something to work.

For example, I’ve worked on websites where the information technically existed, but finding it was the problem.

The answer wasn’t necessarily “make it prettier.”

It was figuring out how the information should be organized so someone could actually find what they needed.

I’ve also worked on projects where the website, marketing, analytics, SEO, and content all needed to work together.

That means I’m not only thinking about what someone sees when they land on a page.

I’m thinking about what brought them there, what they need to understand, what they should do next, and what happens after they leave.

Sometimes the solution is visual.

Sometimes it’s structural.

Sometimes it’s technical.

Sometimes it’s content.

Sometimes it’s simply asking better questions before changing anything.

To me, that’s still design.

Where Being a Generalist Helps

Being able to work across different areas can be especially useful when a project doesn’t fit neatly into one category.

A few examples:

• Web + SEO: Understanding how search engines find and understand a website can influence how I organize pages, headings, content, links, and other elements.
• Design + accessibility: A design can look great and still create problems for someone trying to use it. Thinking about accessibility while designing changes some of the decisions I make.
• Content + design: Sometimes the problem isn’t the layout. It’s that the information itself isn’t clear. Rearranging or rewriting content can completely change how a page works.
• Marketing + web: A beautiful website doesn’t accomplish much if visitors don’t understand what the business does or what they are supposed to do next.
• Analytics + design: Looking at what people actually do on a website can give you information that assumptions can’t.

None of these things have to replace one another.

They can make each other better.

One Project Can Require a Lot of Different Skills

This is something I’ve seen over and over again in client work.

A project might begin as a website redesign and turn into a conversation about branding.

Then you realize the content needs reorganized.

Then you notice some important accessibility issues.

Then you start looking at SEO.

Then you need analytics installed so the business can actually understand what happens after the site launches.

None of those things are completely separate.

They’re all connected.

And I think that’s where being comfortable wearing multiple hats can be useful.

I’m not saying one person needs to do every part of every project.

There are plenty of situations where bringing in a specialist is absolutely the right decision.

But having enough understanding of the other pieces means I can recognize when they matter.

Being a Generalist Doesn’t Mean Knowing Everything

This is probably the biggest misconception I have about the word “generalist.”

Being a generalist doesn’t mean I know everything.

I definitely don’t.

It means I’m comfortable learning.

If a project requires something I haven’t done before, I don’t automatically stop at “that’s not my area.”

I start figuring it out.

Sometimes that means researching.

Sometimes it means testing.

Sometimes it means asking questions.

Sometimes it means using tools I haven’t worked with before.

And sometimes it means realizing that something is outside my expertise and knowing when someone else needs to be involved.

To me, that is much more valuable than pretending I know everything.

Maybe the Title Matters Less Than the Thinking

I think titles are useful.

They help clients understand what you do. They help employers find people with specific skills. They help us explain our work to other people.

But a title still doesn’t tell the whole story.

“Graphic designer” might describe someone’s entire career.

For someone else, graphic design might have been where they started before moving into web design, marketing, content, branding, accessibility, or strategy.

Neither is wrong.

And that’s really what stuck with me from the LinkedIn conversation I came across.

Maybe we spend a little too much time worrying about exactly what we should call ourselves.

The more important question might be:

What problems can you solve?

Because that’s what clients actually need.

They don’t necessarily care whether the answer came from a graphic designer, web designer, digital designer, or whatever the newest title happens to be.

They care that you understood the problem and knew how to help solve it.

And for me, that’s what keeps the work interesting.

I don’t want every project to look exactly the same.

I like having to think.

I like having to learn.

I like figuring out why something isn’t working and finding a way to make it better.

Maybe that’s the part of design that matters more than the title.

The tools will change.

The platforms will change.

The technology will change.

The job titles will change.

But understanding people, communicating clearly, solving problems, and creating something that actually works?

That will always matter.

What Do You Call Yourself?

Maybe the better question isn’t what box you fit into.

Maybe it’s what you bring to the table.

If you’re a designer who does more than one thing, I’d love to hear how you describe what you do.