As a graphic designer these days, we’re asked to “wear many hats” in our companies and disciplines. At the same time, young designers are said to be egotistic by their superiors. I guess the only way to support so many hats is to have a big head.

As an aside, I really hate terms like “wear many hats”, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to do it. I realize how broad of a knowledge base a young professional in the creative field needs to have. Honestly, it’s pretty much a given that we should be able to design for multiple mediums in a variety of programs. The only downside is the truth in the old adage of being a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Personally, I feel my strength right now lies in art direction; finding a visual and contextual solution for a piece of art or advertising that makes sense for the end consumer. This requires me to sharpen my base knowledge of design principles and be able to make suggestions and create things anew that add life to a project or piece. That doesn’t mean I don’t know how to do production on a file that will be printed, or coded for the web. What it does mean is that any “hat” I’m asked to wear will fit just fine, but not quite as well as that design and direction hat that looks so fine and fits so comfortably.