that was a big one for me! as yo mentioned, its definitely a part of the industry now, but usually handled by someone other than the ‘primary’ designer of the shoe. Imo because its more time consuming(?).
fully agree with most all the other points mentioned as well.
One of my good friends in another field of design is always talking about how he wishes he could have as much input/control over the final design of his products as i do. One designer taking a product through the cycle as mentioned, vs a team of 5-10 people designing something. Although not all places are like this, there are lots of positions out there where you can just specialize in color or materials.