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ARE
YOU T-SHAPED?
FEATURED
PERSPECTIVE //
9/17/05
If you work in the marketing or design industry you've probably
observed that there is a movement afoot. If you specialize
in the interactive space, you might be at ground zero. There's
a new generation of work out there that's being driven
by customer insights and executed with strategic
creativity. It wasn't always this way. In the early
days of the Internet, there was almost no such thing as
"good design" when it came to sites or online marketing.
Over time, graphic designers exerted their influence over
the new media and although design got better visually–usability
often suffered in return. Then came Flash and the whole
ball of wax changed forever. Thankfully, those days are
long gone.
The
current reality is that the interactive medium has reached
a major
milestone in development. That is—the successful
art of combining rational and emotional benefits
to result in compelling experiences which people find useful,
usable and desirable. So who owns the future of interactive
design and related fields? T-shaped
people.
Tim
Brown, founder of IDEO
describes the notion this way: “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”.
So what
does this mean to traditional teams of specialists such
as Art Directors & Copywriters, or even the relatively new
discipline of Information Architects? What about Creative
Directors such as myself? It means that the days of
being a specialist are over. Not to be confused with a "jack
of all trades" T-shaped people have a core competency, but
can easily branch out. And they possess curiosity, empathy
and aren't afraid to ask "why".
So what
are the signs of a T-shaped person? Look for experimentation
in their background. Have they worked in different areas
of expertise? Have they experienced different mediums? Are
they willing to place themselves in the shoes of others
and throw pre-conceived notions out the window? Do they
step out of comfort zones on a regular basis? Do they occasionally
make you nervous? If so, you might have one on your team.
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