Graphic design education is failing students

"If graphic design is a vocational subject, we are teaching too many students. But it isn't - it is a worthy academic subject. the trouble is, few degrees in graphic design come close to the intellectual rigour we should be demanding. Students deserve better."

"The graphic design programme I ran had around 300 students on it. No more than around 40% of them will ever become graphic designers."

"We need to ask serious questions in graphic design, if not in HE as a whole."

Interesting, relevant and valid even though it's from 2004. Take a look.

Comments

[Jonathan]

Thanks for the link!
It's interesting how my current research has come back to this theme, and the debate has become even more important today. I wrote that in haste, but I stand by pretty much all of it even now - the only difference is I have even more evidence to back me up ;-)

[Valarie]

I know the point of this post involves schooling and graphic designers, but what about schooling for non-graphic designers? It seems absurd to me that the average high school or college student (at least in the U.S.) is not required to take classes to help them understand graphic design, architecture or film - probably three of the most popular, visible and relevant art forms. If people are being schooled in these arts to communicate a message, a function or a vision, shouldn't we also have some bit of education in how to receive that information, just as we do with literature?

[Jonathan]

Valarie, I agree and that's actually the point I'm trying to get at - that design education has to extend beyond just those who want to be graphic designers.
My current concerns focus on a British organisation called Creative & Cultural Skills who want to limit the number of design students based on quotas they set, to avoid 'oversupply'. But that suggests the only reason to study design is to be a designer.
At the same time we have concerns (often raised by the same organisation) that the problem faced by design is that it isn't 'understood' by non-designers. Now what better way to tackle that than by, er, restricting design education!

We also talk about literacy and numeracy as being important in any general curriculum, but visual and media literacy are not valued - indeed, media studies in the UK is widely regarded as a 'Mickey Mouse' subject (like the study of semiotics is soooo easy!) and as one careers advisor said to me 'graphic design is for people who are thick'.

A publisher recently asked me for my opinions on the need for a new range of introductory text books on design aimed at undergraduates. I said the need was for books aimed at 13 and 14-year olds, and at school teachers, and ones that go beyond 'all designers need to know photoshop' to 'all designers need to know about society'.

[Chloe]

In Jonathan's post he ends by saying

"Graphic design degrees should be producing intellectuals, thinkers, radicals, individuals - not carbon copy automatons in the image of their creators trained to emulate their tutors and make money for agencies by copying the latest visual trend"

I studied on a very reputable graphic design BA (graduated 2003) that promised to produce exactly this, and was the reason I chose it. They began the course saying "we're going to change the way you think" and their mantra was "there is NO HOUSE STYLE". We studied Edward de Bono and did lateral thinking workshops, sudied semiotics and film and advertising history, amongst other exciting events and lectures.

I don't know where it went wrong, or why, but all 35 of us left feeling technically unprepared for employment and like our creativity had been taken from us. I knew I had "it" in me, and have since proved it.

Those who got the best marks were the ones whose work followed the "latest trends" and were suited entirely to advertising.

The course leader realised what a mess it was and apologised after our degree show. He said the same to the years above and below.

I completely agree with Jonathan's point, but I think if we are to encourage the intellectual sides of graphic design education, care should be taken in its implentation. I personally wish I could have done an apprenticeship or similar.

I think what I'm saying is I agree, but it's easier said than done!

[Jonathan]

You're right Chloe. It's not easy to plan any course and in my experience many have buzzy 'philosophies' but tend to rely on traditional teaching techniques and project-based approaches.

To run a course along the lines I suggest takes real ground-up planning, and a willingness to throw away everything and start again. This usually gets the goat of the traditionalists, and then the people who are teaching because they like the fact it's quite easy (the ones who just wander round the studio talking to their favourite students... We've all met them!)

No, it requires dedicated teachers who are willing to work hard, and buy-in from students.
Without knowing which course you're talking about I can't comment beyond that.

I was interviewed not long ago for the rare job of creating a graphic design course from scratch - I didn't get the job and from what I hear it's turned in to yet another clone of every other 'whacky' course with no intellectual rigour and no link to commercial reality. Like many, it's really a fine art course with a sexier title :-(

[Jonathan]

Actually, Chloe - a bit of detective work and I figured out... didn't I teach you?? Pebbly-beached place? Two piers, big palace?

Best be careful what I say! ;-)

[fiona]

Interesting comments Jonathan.
I am in teaching after working in Industry for some time and totally support your lament of lack of intellectual 'grounding' that many courses seem to suffer from. From my experience sadly this seems to start from pre-Higher Education.
I teach on a Foundation Course. I am often dealing with students that have very limited general/cultural knowledge, which so far as Graphic Design goes, has an impact upon what they have to drawn on in terms of generating and developing ideas.
I was horrified today to discover several students I was teaching did not know who Charlie Chaplin was, had never heard of 'Breakfast at Tiffanys' (let alone seen it)and one who thought all the Beatles were dead!
Despite this, we teach a course which places a huge emphasis on IDEAS and thinking skills.This includes some introduction to broadrer issues which can help to inform and inspire deeper thinking.
What I would like to see is some kind of introduction to this at pre-Higher Education level, in schools.
If it started here, perhaps there would be more of an incentive for this to be maintained and developed at a higher level?

[Chloe]

Ha ha Jonathan! What did you teach? My memory isn't what it used to be!

[Julian Van Loxton]

Interesting thread, it's struck a loud chord. I'd like to ramble a little about the practical aspect. I graduated in 1989 just before the Mac explosion and therefore had a good grounding in production, print etc and consider myself pretty prepared for work and was able to hold my own (the 9am start thing was still a shock as i recall!) however, here we 'work through' the odd placement and I am disheartened that far from being students, the trend is for graduates to seek work experience who recognise a hole in their general ability to 'get things done' from artwork to time management. I cringe to hear about being able to select projects that take your fancy and being able to spend a term on it. Our last placement had zero knowledge of type, artwork, macs, tea making etc. Surely a balance of thought v basic skills has not been lost. We get our placements working on live briefs and often despair that there is actually very little thought in their response to a brief other than it has followed the latest trend. I wont start on getting the work done. Its a complete revelation when we start talking in a business context, (I make no bones who our business is aimed but we must be a pretty normal business model for an agency). Ultimately, answering a brief at college is quite a leap from that of a client, who are you selling to?

I reckon to have interviewed over 200 designers in the last 10 years and do think i have seen a gradual decline in standards. I know for a fact my course years ago there was 30 of us, there are now over 100. This must impact. Is it education or an industry, not sure myself.

Maybe we have just wrong'uns, whatever we are still happy to help and are very very forgiving allowing from the start for skills that are lacking. ramble ramble...