TLDR

Designers aren’t all-in-one magical unicorns. The creative industry is made up of many specialized roles like graphic, brand, motion, video, UX, UI, web, 3D, and more. Expecting one person to master everything is unrealistic and leads to mediocre results. Most companies need clarity: define what kind of design work you really require and hire accordingly. (You can find different role descriptions below) Consider that designers are rarely lazy - this is one of the most versatile jobs out there. Instead trying to hire unicorns, try to hire humans.

The world is changing fast, but not in a cute or inspirational way. AI is everywhere, originality is dying painfully, everything has to be measurable, efficient, optimized, automated, and squeezed into KPIs. And somehow, in the middle of all this chaos, designers have turned from creative professionals into KPI seeking template machines.

Companies want faster output, perfect visuals, brand consistency, custom animations, killer landing pages, and a bit of coding on the side. All that from one person.

And that’s exactly why I’m writing this:
Designers are not wizards.
And the expectations have become quite ridiculous.

THE UNICORN FANTASY

If you’re looking to hire a designer, chances are you’re looking for someone who can do graphics, branding, marketing, animation, video editing, UX, UI, maybe some web development, and while they’re at it, reinvent your entire company identity too.

If this is the case, let me stop you right there and shatter the illusion:
Graphic designers probably can’t do all of that. Chances are, you don’t really know what you are looking for.
And even if they could, you wouldn’t be able to afford them. Which is quite funny since many graphic designers tend to be rather underpaid, because their work isn’t seen as essential, even though barely a company can live without a good and solid design.

Most of the time, companies don’t even know what they are looking for. They just feel like “a designer” should be able to handle everything creative simply because it’s… creative.

That’s not how this works.

Reality Check: There are “subgenres” of creatives out there and they are not the same.

The creative world is full of very different professions. Different methods, different tools, different visions and workflows. “Design” is not a single field. It’s a whole universe.

Let’s take a closer look at some of these universes:

• Creates high-end artwork and visuals

• Deeply focused on artistic expression

• Often defined by personal style, less bound to brands or corporate

ILLUSTRATOR

Tools: Illustrator, Sketch or similar

• Works with real footage

• Handles color, masking, transitions, visual clean-up

• Uses storyboards to plan

Video Editor

Tools: Premiere Pro, Sony Vegas or similar

Motion Designer

• Creates 2D and/or 3D animations

• Understands timing, storytelling, and visual rhythm

Tools: After effects and similar

Graphic Designer

• Trained in design fundamentals

• Focused on static layouts for print and digital (very simple animations for GIF creations)

• Understands corporate identities

• Knows basic CMS tools

• Tools: Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator or similar

Tools: PS, InD, Ai or similar

Tools: Illustrator, Sketch or similar

Logo Designer

Web Designer

UX Designer

UI Designer

• Clear Focus on logos – less on other brand materials

• Deep understanding of symbolism, clarity, simplicity

• Designs websites visually

• Understands HTML/CSS principles (not necessarily coding them)

• Works with CMS systems like WordPress or Webflow

• Ensures responsiveness and clarity

• Understands user psychology and behavior

• Conducts research, builds user flows, tests prototypes

• Focus on usability, clarity, accessibility

• Focuses on visual digital design

• Layouts, typography, icons, spacing, color systems

• Turns UX ideas into polished interfaces

Tools: Figma, Webflow, Xd or similar

Tools: Figma, Axure, UX research tools

Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD or similar

YOU CAN’T MASTER 6 PROFESSIONS BY AGE 20

Now let’s talk about the classic argument:
“But my nephew can do all of that.”
The truth might hurt but: Your nephew probably isn’t the best designer. Maybe according to you, they is, but on a universal level, there will be a lack of professional and formal knowledge, it’s almost guaranteed.

And mastery? Expertise? A Refined craft?

Not a chance.

Even mastering one of these professions takes years. You cannot “master” logo design, web design, motion design, and UX by the age of 20. It’s physically impossible. There are not enough hours in those 20 years.

When someone tries to do everything, they usually end up good at nothing and overwhelmed by everything and trying to improvise using reddit to figure out how to do that one stupid effect… And exactly that is why…

MOST OF TODAY’S MEDIA IS TRASH

This one is even harder to admit but true:
Most companies do not actually want mastery. They want “good enough.”

Neither good nor thoughtful. Just something that “looks fine.” Something that brings in numbers. IBEROGAST, IBEROGAST, IBERO-FUCKING-GAST!

In 90% of the cases it’s about a subjective feeling of leadership, who decides what they like and what they don’t like. People rarely consider the actual reasoning behind design choices, if the design doesn’t land with them individually, even if it objectively would make sense. That does not require mastery, but a service approach. And let’s be real now: How often do people reconsider a design choice after a designer explains the reasoning?
Right. Almost never. Admit it – you don’t do it either. 😉

Designers end up delivering compromises instead of quality, because compromise is what the company rewards.

Good design takes time, trust, and expertise. Compromise takes five minutes and an opinion.

Guess which one usually wins?

WELCOME TO THE SERVICE DESIGNER ERA

Designers must be more than design professionals from the get-go, by default.

They are:

• customer service

• emotional buffers

• compromise negotiators

• troubleshooters

• translators

• mind readers

And because companies expect them to “do everything,” designers become generalists whether they want to or not.

Because it’s demanded. Because Designers like to learn new things too.
Or because sometimes they find an awesome company that supports them learning new things. RARELY Designers can grow for the sake of growing, usually it’s nothing else but a try to keep surviving this industry.

WHAT COMPANIES SHOULD DO

If you want to hire a designer, start with honesty and realistic expectations. Look at the position and ask yourself:

What do we actually need?
Print? Brand? Video? Motion? Websites?
All of the above? (If yes — good luck.)

Be clear in job descriptions:

• “This job is 70% branding, 20% animation, 10% video editing.”

• “This role is 50% UX, 50% UI.”

• “This role is 80% graphic design, 20% social media templates.”

You will get infinitely better candidates if you stop hunting for unicorns and start hiring humans who know what they’re doing.

DESIGNERS ARE RARELY LAZY. THEY ARE NOT THE MACHINES YOU WANT THEM TO BE.

I don’t think that there are many other jobs that can compete with the creative industry, when it comes down to the sheer number of programs, learned techniques, used media, established workflows and client work. The demands are ever changing; the campaigns must be groundbreaking constantly and designers will have to follow each new trend. Create something that has never been seen before...

Designers HAVE to constantly evolve. There is no other choice. And yet, people think it’s about laziness, when people make it clear that they are not machines who can create everything to perfection.

On top of that they get criticized daily - and often in a way that is highly unusable. Then it is also their job to make sense of the nonsense being said, translating everyone else’s statements trying to grasp what they said without being able to say it, really. It is everything else but easy to be good enough to each and everyone they meet. Yet we pretend it was. And I think it’s time to stop.

LOOK FOR HUMANS NOT UNICORNS

A designer is not a wizard. They are not a marketing expert, programmer, illustrator, animator, editor, strategist, and brand therapist all in one body.

They are a specialists, professionals.
Treat them as such.

Define your needs. Hire realistically.
Respect the amount of work and skill that goes into each branch of design.

Stop hunting unicorns.
Start hiring people.

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