Master of none
A rebuttal
If you spend enough time on Medium you’ll certainly run into several posts about designers learning to code—why they should and why they shouldn’t. The common argument against is along the lines of doing too many things makes you a “jack-of-all-trades, master of none”.
I happen to be one of those designers who codes. I also have experience in print design, branding, industrial design, web design, product design, product marketing. I code—mostly front-end, but some back-end (in Vim). I write (articles, copy). I don’t do it much any more, but for a while photography was my jam (I even got paid for it). I also bake bread (it’s delicious). I make pizza (see previous note). I’m awful at sports, but I do those too (just kidding, no I don’t).
Broad range of skills? Yep.
Master of all? Nope.
Master of none? Nope.
Who’s a master of anything?
I happen to consider myself very good at several of those disciplines I just listed. Do I consider myself a master of any of them? Maybe? Well… no. I do consider myself extremely well versed in understanding the bigger picture — how all those things tie together… But being a master?
That’s a tough question to answer. And I think that’s just as tough a question to answer if you only focus on a single discipline. How many designers who don’t code consider themselves to be masters at their craft? How many developers who don’t do design consider themselves to be master developers? My guess is not many. And that’s fine! But I take offence when people think that doing a broad range of things makes you unable to be good at any of them.
In a world where there is always something new to learn, always someone better than you—when can you truly consider yourself a master?
Everyone is diverse
I’ve got a diverse set of skills. And you know what? So does everyone else. It’s about being a well rounded individual. And while you might lean towards diving deep into a particular subject, others like myself like to get a broad range of skills. Neither is wrong. Neither makes you better or worse.
I’ve advocated in the past that designers should code. And I see now that that is too narrow a viewpoint to have. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate that talent—especially in a cash-strapped startup world. But really what I believe is that everyone should have the opportunity (whether they decide to take it or not) to explore what interests them.
Further to that, in a workplace environment, I would argue that it is your responsibility as an employee to understand your colleagues’ crafts. To be empathetic. Do you need to excel in them? No. But just as you have to communicate your own point of view, you should do others the service of trying to understand theirs. Trying to do so by learning their craft hands-on might help you understand it better (that’s what works for me), but being a good listener helps with that too. Take the approach that works for you.
