This is my first blog entry, so instead of writing about marketing medical innovations yet, I'd rather talk about why I think it is important that a firm like ours take the initiative to specialize.
A day or so ago I sat through a lecture entitled "Specialization Is For Suckers" at the 2007 AIGA Denver Design conference. The workshop was for “students” and presented in a “student lecture series” before the actual conference began. I joined in because I got to the conference a few hours early, and to be honest, the topic caught my interest. Two principals of an agency did a review of their work, and then they continued to lecture on ideals, standards and career guidance. Their work was great – beautiful work. Great design. However, I noted some very interesting observations regarding the advice they subjected these students to later on. I’ll get back to that, but let me talk a bit about their advice. They told students not to bother to specialize in anything. Don’t necessarily become really good at web, print, identities, etc. They said you’d have more fun with variety. Essentially, you’d be a sucker to become pigeonholed in one specific discipline or category of work. “That’s no fun!”
Yes, their work was great. But when we got to the Q/A session, some very interesting findings unfolded. First, the budgets were unveiled regarding the largest scale project they reviewed. They explained that the budget was literally 3500 dollars – for printing. In essence, they didn’t make a dime off of that project; in fact, they lost every hour they put into it (and they put alot of hours into it). Next, they were asked about their future, being that they’re so “unspecialized.” The answer was that they were not sure. There was no plan – that planning is boring.
This lecture reminds me of the biblical concept – the sins of your fathers will pass on for many generations. Somehow, these people got the stage at this event. I’m not sure why, but they basically taught students in our industry how to fail – and how to fail miserably. The fact that their firm is still in business is amazing to me. They must have some friends that really just give them work. Let’s talk about some of these issues.
First, when you give your work away, you lose money. They made it clear that their clients rarely give them the proper budgets in their lecture. This issue relates to their lack of positioning, insight and ability to communicate and lead their clients. They lack a strong position, with no focus, basically making them a commodity – only two designers. They have no strategic insight because they lack expertise in a category or a discipline. They have weak ability to guide their client, weak ability to charge for their value (which makes me realize they don’t have any) and they are spreading this gospel to students who have paid a lot of money to come hear them speak. Second, their lack of vision, goals and planning for the future is ridiculous. They are being presented in the light of a “role model” to hungry students seeking insight by the AIGA, an organization that says they are proliferating “design thinking” – furthering the “professionalism” of our industry. They are really just goalless, without strategy and marginalized by their clientele. They obviously lack leadership, and they are proliferating their debris to hungry students seeking their direction. There is a reason that designers typically leave the profession in their forties.
Specializing is all we have as designers. All we can do is accumulate knowledge in a category or discipline, building valuable expertise around that area and sharing that with the clients that rely so heavily on us. Do we really need an industry chocked full of “Jack’s of all trades” – It is my argument that this is why our profession is often marginalized. As a professional service, when we lack expertise, we are seen as a spoke in a wheel, only a tactic. We are only relied upon to help be a part of the solution, not to help define it. When we have no expertise, no specialty, we truly are a “master of none” – our only value is “the design.” Any designer can create "great design" that serves no strategic greater good. It can look good, win awards and still have zero return on investment. When you lack the expertise, you just get tossed aside – physically, mentally and/or professionally. Ben Franklin said it best, and these guys will soon come to find out that “when you fail to plan, plan to fail.”
