My uncle had a successful career in advertising. He would always say to me, "don't be just a wrist." He meant participate in guiding the concept and strategy instead of just being an execution person.

I've been in the design industry for 15 years now. When I was starting out, there was a flurry of philosophizing about design. There was a belief that designers should focus on solving problems instead of just making slick UIs. I don't see that discussion anymore. I see a bunch of "wrists" arguing over which pencil is best.

Maybe I'm just an aging curmudgeon...