Seth Godin’s new book, Linchpin (Amazon link), reinvents work by challenging everyone to be an “Artist” now! (Check out the Linchpin manifesto graphic above for a gist!) This is something most designers should already do well, and then again for some of you maybe do better?

Now, if the man on the street is encouraged to work with passion and artistry, how is a designer, whose work is about passion and artistry, going to do one better?

…people who are so inquisitive about the world that they’re willing to try to do what you do. We call them “T-shaped people.” They have a principal skill that describes the vertical leg of the T — they’re mechanical engineers or industrial designers. But they are so empathetic that they can branch out into other skills, such as anthropology, and do them as well. They are able to explore insights from many different perspectives and recognize patterns of behavior that point to a universal human need. ~ Fast Company

I touch on this topic again in 2007, by calling these T-Shape Designers “Renaissance Designers” in my blog series: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Designers.

However after almost 5 years contemplating the existence of such T-Shaped designers and observing the many designers I know, I have to admit that such a personality trait is a myth. Honestly, to date I have never seen or met any designer that I would truly qualify as T-shaped, including myself.

I actually spoke to Chris Bangle about this and tried to tap into his vast experience as someone who hires talent. He agrees that while it was big in 2005, on one talks about this anymore probably because it was never true.

I postulated that such a personality trait is impossible simply because humans are just not wired to multi-task well, or to wear different hats for that matter. Even if a designer has the capability, he or she will lack the time or opportunity.

Therefore the reality is, instead of being a big “T”, you will find designers that are either a little “t” or a “T” with a short vertical stick.

Little “t-shape” designers are essentially most of who we are. Despite many of us feeling that we are “Jacks of all trades and masters of none” after our 4 years of design school. We eventually settle into a specialty of design and designing.

Stunted “T-Shaped” designers are often the senior creatives, the design managers, team leaders and entrepreneurs. Many deal with all the different touch points in the design development cycle, but do not have the opportunity to dive into detail. Some, like the entrepreneurs, may be in the position to do it all, but often will have to either accept work of lesser quality or learn to delegate and outsource.

———-

So at the end of the day, being a T-Shaped is just a nice story for designers to aspire to. While the value of a T-Shaped team is undeniable, it is probably more realistic to build a multi-disciplinary team of experts to work on complex (or wicked?) problems. Now that is something that has withstood the test of time.

What do you think? I’m looking forward to hearing your comments.

If you don’t have the time to watch the 19 minute video, check out Michael’s 5 secrets which I have reproduced below.

1) Listen first, then design

2) Don’t avoid the obvious

3) The problem contains the solution

4) Indulge your obsessions

5) Love is the answer

What I also found particularly interesting was how Michael started his talk by claiming that he is not creative at all. (Shock, horror!) He then goes on to describe himself more like a “doctor” waiting for “patients” to come to him with design problems to solve. This echos my believe that design or creativity cannot exist in a vacuum.

Via: Behance’s 99% Conference

Thought I might share a quick snap of the workspace that I use for my personal design work. As you can see there are some interesting things that are happening to it.

My desktop computer went in the way of the dinosaurs a number of years ago. I really hated the wires or the floor and table space it took up. Instead, I wanted was a mobile modular computing system that would allow me to work anywhere I wanted. Four laptops later, my latest incarnation is a 13 inch Macbook.

As a result, my Wacom Intuos 3 drawing tablet is now one of the biggest thing on my desktop. Wholly out of proportion with the size of my laptop. Maybe I was a little ambitious going with the 9×12 (A4) tablet, but it was a legacy product to match my old 17″ desktop monitor or my retired 15.4″ laptop. With the desktop computer now gone, the size of the Tablet stands out like a sore thumb and is starting to annoy me.

Interestingly, even though technology makes things smaller, the size of the workspace we need to work (draw) on remains more or less the same. Guess the Wacom tablet stays!

What about you? Do you have any interesting workspace stories to share?

In a similar discussion, we spoke about consciously putting in the time it takes to be “The Best Designer in the World”. This time we like to encourage you to take a break and watch design guru Stefan Sagmeister take a break! (No pun intended!)

Every seven years, designer Stefan Sagmeister closes his New York studio for a yearlong sabbatical to rejuvenate and refresh their creative outlook. He explains the often overlooked value of time off and shows the innovative projects inspired by his time in Bali.

If you can’t see the embedded YouTube player below, please visit the TED page instead.

Taking a breather helps you rejuvenate, gather your thoughts and reignite that creative fire in your belly. It is interesting to note that from Stefan Sagmeister’s talk, taking a sabbatical is not about waking up late and lazing the time away. You need to plan to do some serious creative “work” that can help you grow as a designer.

Enjoy the video, while I go and plan my year off too!