If you introduce yourself as a graphic designer, you really mean one of two things: you specialize in visual communication design, or you fail to understand your field. Although it is quite reasonable to focus on one area in particular, such as graphic arts, that is not the extent of your design. Design is so much more. Recognizing the comprehensive definition of design is an essential step toward achieving the best results.

Just what design is has never been easy to define. AIGA, the professional association for design, doesn’t even attempt a definition in its mission statement. Their mission booklet, however, does offer a list of various “communication designers—visual designers, identity designers, environmental designers, information designers, editorial designers, package designers, motion-graphics designers, interaction designers, customer-experience designers, strategic designers and others.” This unwieldy collection of specializations begins to reveal the breadth of the design discipline. Yet its many examples still leave a definition elusive. The mention of “others” opens the door for an infinite number of additional title. This list isn’t so authoritative after all.

The limitation to “communication” designers also holds back exploration. AIGA restricts themselves to just this category, but the “designer” label is applied to many more activities. There’s sound, story, and game design, as well as fashion, interior, and landscape design — just to name a few more. While we’ve been comfortable to have jobs with these titles for many years, it’s curious that we call people “designers” without knowing what that really means. To find a definition, we need to think bigger than any one of these specializations.

What designers across the entire spectrum have in common is an understanding of both problems and people. Regardless of specialization, designers recognize the challenges of a particular circumstance, relate to how their audience experiences the situation, and then design solutions in response. For example, graphic designers must recognize the problems that visual communication can solve, and understand how people react to their solutions. Product designers need to see how people use objects, and build things that work in their lives. Film designers have to understand the emotions of their audience, and craft an experience that activates the right feelings at the right time (in this way, I consider film directors to be designers at heart — the good ones, anyway).

The definition of comprehensive design, then, is using knowledge of people for problem solving. Specializations — any adjective that appears before “design” — create executions within larger design problems. One comprehensive design problem, for example, could be presenting the products of a news organization to the public. To solve the problem, many specializations will be engaged for specific executions. Graphic design can produce visuals for web or print, but strategic design decides which medium is appropriate. And still, because graphic designers and strategic designers should all be designers, they can provide input on every part of the comprehensive design problem.

This common understanding of problems and people grants designers the ability to be informed critics for any specialization. Graphic designers, for example, shouldn’t need extensive experience with film to offer insightful suggestions on how to improve a movie — from story to cinematography to music. While training and experience create specializations that do have great value, the fundamental basis of comprehensive design also allows excellent cross-disciplinary criticism and creativity. Tom Ford, a fashion designer and former Creative Director of Gucci, founded a film company and directed A Single Man to positive reception. Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, Ford is an alumnus of Communication Design at Parsons the New School for Design. J.J. Abrams has built a career of writing and directing for television and film, but also designed the first poster for Star Trek and composed the theme music for Fringe along the way.

Abrams embodies a common character trait of designers: the control freak. Control freaks may have a reputation for insanity, but creative control is a force for good. Why would you risk someone else getting it wrong, when you could ensure it’s right? This is the mark of a passionate designer, and is also evidence of design’s cross-disciplinary foundation. A graphic designer may start with just a logo, but then develop ways in which the logo is used. This leads to print materials, and those involve specifications of papers and inks and bindings. All of that is followed by developing the website, which in turn influences the design of corporate offices. Along the way, the communications strategy inevitably comes up, along with product positioning and management structure. The best designers think of everything.

Comprehensive designers and studios — ones that think of everything — not only get more work, but also increase quality for their clients. Comprehensive design requires that every aspect of a job be considered together, and therefore work in harmony. Implementing all of a project’s components forces you to improve your decisions, instead of just saying, “That’s someone else’s problem.” Print materials are then sure to match the website, and the logo will convey the same feelings as the product names. In addition, comprehensive design is inherently more efficient: no wasted time explaining the same information to different people. This also creates more confidence that everyone is on the same page, contributing to the excellence of the finished product.

The quality of work is also improved by a recognition of design beyond your specialization. Thinking of design as a comprehensive system opens your eyes to inspiration in the whole world around you. If you’re designing a website, don’t just look at websites that have come before, as that only perpetuates monotony and stagnation. Instead, find new solutions and delightful innovation by looking at how the sun falls on buildings in your city, or the way rivers flow around boulders within them. Jonathan Snook, a web designer and developer, based elements of an earlier version of his website on a 1950s diner. Examples of inspiration are everywhere, just waiting to be discovered.

Designers should think and act in this comprehensive way as much as possible. Recognize the position of your specialization within the comprehensive design field, and embrace an understanding of problems and people. Use this ability to navigate between specializations, and confidently criticize shortcomings from any source. While one person may not be able to do everything on a given project, seeing how your domain interacts with every component is essential to achieve the best result. Without this mindset, you’ll miss opportunities to be inspired, control your work, and provide for clients.

AIGA, with only a limited list instead of a definition, identifies the most important trend for future designers as “wide and deep: meta-disciplinary study and practice.” Be everything, or be left behind.