Design Purism and the Changing Role of Designers

The changing landscape of design has led to designers feeling pressured to expand their skill set beyond just design. As many designers feel the need to take on additional responsibilities like product management or front end development, there is a concern about the flattening of the stack. Some designers, however, remain design purists who derive energy from the core aspects of design such as prototyping and bringing ideas to life. Despite the trend towards a broader skill set for designers, experienced designers in in-house roles often feel dissatisfied and settle for a certain level of output. This dissatisfaction raises questions about the necessity of design as a full-time role within companies where designers may not be fully utilizing their capabilities, providing only a subset of what they could offer to the company.