There’s this notion of “generalists” that has increased from unspoken, to murmurs, to a roar heard loud and clear. It’s in response to an ever-growing necessity for Renaissance men and women to work alongside specialists in an agency environment. But what does this mean, and are the tides turning on experts?

While specialists master their craft, generalists have experience in multiple niches, hence the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none.” The debate between the two can go on and on, as it’s normally frowned upon in our industry to be a generalist. There’s nothing wrong with mastering your calling, but an agency built solely around specialists can run into problems. Problems like a lack of collaboration and the abominable bad word…silos.

The Internet is in a constant state of evolution, so the need for designers who know code and developers who know design is growing. Heck, the need for both camps to also understand animation is growing. This, my friends, is where those jacks of all trades come in.

Generalists can help break down silos and strengthen collaboration. They’re able to fill in those holes where a compromise in production is possible. Take me, for example: I’m a designer that focuses on the web and motion, and has enough front end experience to make (or sometimes break) a site from scratch.

That front-end experience, as well as what I’ve learned in After Effects, is applied to what my coworkers and I build for the web. I can also collaborate with specialists on either side of the spectrum to ensure that approved mockups aren’t thrown over the fence like a grenade. We can keep the production workflow moving like a well-oiled machine.

Examples, please!

Enough with the sweeping positives, surely you want some real examples. I drew much inspiration on this topic from this year’s Front End Design Conference, whose lineup was about as diverse as I’ve ever seen: from the creator of a popular children’s iOS app, to the webmaster of CSS Tricks, and even a graphic designer who uses as much chrome in his work as possible. The gist from their talks all support this concept of generalists—here were my favorites.

The Internet is a wild and crazy place. The constant need to design for every device and viewport means that we have to break old habits and tendencies. For your agency, that may mean hiring well-rounded individuals to complement those expert designers and developers.

As A List Apart pointed out earlier this year, “The key is to find the right balance of specialists and generalists on your team—to use both to their advantage and to nurture healthy, productive environments.” At the end of the day, it’s not about everyone mastering their field—it’s about delivering the best product possible to the client. And we’re finding more and more that Jack’s the one for the job.

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