Comments on: Should You Be Hands or Brains?

By: Should You Be Hands or Brains? » UIE Brain Sparks

Should You Be Hands or Brains? » UIE Brain Sparks — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:54:59 +0000

[...] [This is part 2 of a two-part post. For this article to make sense, you probably want to read part 1. This article was originally published on JohnnyHolland.org.] [...]

By: Hands v. Brains: An Attempt to Clear Up Some Confusion | Sites Under Construction Designers

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:56:26 +0000

[...] Recently Johnny Holland published two of my essays on a distinction I call Hands vs. Brains. (You can read part 1 & part 2.) [...]

By: » The Hands vs. the Brains Johnny Holland – It's all about interaction » Blog Archive

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 10:31:57 +0000

[...] More thoughts on this topic: Should You Be Hands or Brains? [...]

By: Dustin DiTommaso

Dustin DiTommaso — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:45:53 +0000

Interesting Article(s), Jared.

It has been my observation that most Hands want to be (or think they are) Brains and many Brains were never Hands (either they could not “make” or could not bother to make).

The challenge is finding Hands that want to be Hands and keeping Hands happy doing Hand work. Even happy Hands run a high risk of burnout and boredom when tasks are too simple or repetitive.

By: Jared Spool on Hands versus Brains : StevenClark.com.au

Jared Spool on Hands versus Brains : StevenClark.com.au — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:12:00 +0000

[...] Are you the nuts-and-bolts craftsman or the conceptual strategist? And can you be successful at both? Usability expert Jared Spool wrote two provocative articles about it titled The Hands vs The Brains and Should you be Hands or Brains? [...]

By: Gabby Hon

Gabby Hon — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 21:52:20 +0000

I totally agree with the division of intellect/labor that you set forth, Jared. What I find odd is that, in my own experience coming on 2 years as a freelancer here in Chicago, is that most agencies I do work for need me to be the Brains in order so that I can also be the Hands. There are, of course, exceptions but by and large I find that once I’ve done the strategic work, I am then the only one entrusted to bring it to life.

I confess that I would, at this stage in my life, become terribly bored if all I did was the strategic work–though I’m sure that can be credited to an all too strong control-freak tendency.

By: Matt Gould

Matt Gould — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 08:32:33 +0000

Mirroring Ben Dwyer’s thoughts I wonder if it is always necessary or desirable to split up the production of design from the strategy of design? There are times when it is a good idea to split these up but there are also projects where the problem solving involved in the fine detail of design needs a good strategic thinker and times when the strategic problems need to be tackled on a detail level as well as an overall level. There are designers out there who do both well. And even when they are split a good ‘hands’ designers needs to be a good strategic thinker. In reality many design jobs require you to do both and thinking that people can only be one or the other can deny you the full capabilities of a designer.

By: ben dwyer

ben dwyer — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:56:38 +0000

Thanks, some interesting thoughts. I don’t feel like I fit well into either camp. I enjoy the strategy and creativity of setting up a project, but I don’t feel like this process is just done once and then the project is sorted; its something that evolves over time as the project grows and changes. Is it dangerous to divide these roles too much, when there is such a strong linkage between them?

By: Kevin Cannon

Kevin Cannon — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:13:44 +0000

It’s an interesting discussion, and I think many people have this issue particularly as they progress in their career.

I thinnk there’s a third dimension needs to be added in to the discussion, and that’s craft.

Craft is ‘hands’ work, but it’s highly skilled, highly specialist and critical to projects. I think the craft of design is crucial, and getting the details spot on, whether it’s being an expert in best practice CSS, or spot on with your material choices. You always need someone skilled in thr craft of your selected medium to make a project a success.

Also, this is quite related to the ‘big idea’ vs ‘details’ spectrum in the Myers-Briggs personality tests, which can really help you figure out what kind of work you naturally tend towards.