Why should I specialise as a designer?
There is certainly many things I wish I had done when starting out as a designer. One thing is specialising. Sticking to one creative field can be tricky as you want a taste of everything, however, the sooner you specialiser, the sooner you can thrive within your niche. Find out what the main benefits specialising as a designer may bring.
What is a niche? - Specialist Vs Generalist
By definition, a niche market is where a specific product is focused. The niched market identifies the product features aimed at fulfilling market needs and other factors such as price, quality and demographics. As a creative, there are several markets you can enter. For example, as a graphic designer you can decide to be a multi-disciplinary creative and ‘do it all’, or you can specialise for example in logo design. Being know as a ‘jack of all trades’ is basically being a generalist. Claiming that you can do everything also means there is a high chance you can’t do everything really well. Where as being as specialist, it is clear on what service you provide making it easier for clients to hire you. Always remember, clients will always go for the safest option, so you have to give them a reason that you are the right person for that particular job.
Become an expert
Typically, it requires 10,000 hours to become an expert in anything - that is a lot of time. It is very unlikely to become an expert if you invest your time in many areas. Specialists are considered experts in their field, as being one requires discipline and longevity. Clients will certainly be more comfortable when hiring an expert as both parties are aware of the designers strong suit.
This is probably one of the only times the saying “Dont put your eggs in one basket” is invalid. As mentioned, being a specialist requires extreme dedication and discipline to successfully stay in one field over a period of time as not many people are able to do so. That it’s self (longevity) puts you on a pedal stool as it shows what you are doing is working. Also there is a difference in studying and learning. By specialising, you are able to study your craft on a deeper level then other designers who tend to ‘generalise’ as you may spend a lot more time on your craft and refine your skills daily.
Earn more… a lot more
Hard work pays off and always shows regardless what creative field you are in. High paying potential clients will be able to identify good work from a mile away and therefore may result in hiring experts for a particular service. Being the best requires a lot of work, but is also pays very well. Everyone would like to work with the best, but not everyone can afford to do so. Being an expert means that you are confident in your skill due to the 10,000 hours of dedicated hard work. You are able to determine the price of how much you sell your skill for. Also, you are not only selling your skill, you are also selling the 10,000 hours of investment you made during your career. This is a rare quality that hardly any designers (especially generalists) can claim.
Become a leader in your market
After investing blood, sweat and tears into your craft, you will be able to gain further knowledge and insights at an incredibly faster rate. For example, an electric car company is more likely to start and introduce and efficient solar panel powered car to their customers than an ordinary petrol car company. Energy experts make it their job to stay on current products and new inventions to help the environment, where as other car companies just manufacture cars based on the interest of their target audience.
In a nutshell, specialising means being considered an expert and rated highly in your field, as a result of longevity. This will also result into earning more as you can charge a higher price for your skill compared to other creatives within your field. It’s understandable to want to do everything, however, by doing so only delays you becoming a master in your field.