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What Goes On In Design School?
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What goes on in design school?
from AIGA Career Guide
Design education doesn't happen in the typical university lecture hall or laboratory. It takes place in studios (literally, places for work) and through seminars (organized discussions characterized by informality and high interaction). Learning takes place through the analysis of problems and possible solutions using composition, typography, photography, images, and space. Students use materials and processes from basic hand skills to computers to create communications.
Another difference is that design education is project-based rather than subject-based. Teachers create projects to reveal certain visual or communication principles or the nature of certain kinds of problems or media. Students learn by doing. From early to late in the curriculum, projects become more complex as students build on past experience. From the university's perspective, design education is expensive because it requires that teachers spend time with students individually. No student is anonymous in a design program.
Another aspect of design education is the group critique. "Crits" take place at different stages in a project and provide an opportunity to step back and reflect on the project, to exchange critical or supporting ideas, to clarify intentions, and to develop the ability to discuss or even defend one's own work--a necessary skill that will later be important with clients. The critique helps students to deal openly with criticism while it trains them in the important verbal skills of explaining the reasons behind their solutions. They must go beyond "I like it" or "That stinks." Critiques help students to internalize standards of excellence, to develop a shared vocabulary for discussion, to learn to incorporate useful suggestions from others, and to evaluate their own and others' performances. This process helps students to separate work from self and to acquire the maturity and perspective needed in order to benefit from intelligent criticism. The critique is a basic exercise in critical thinking.
Graphic design exists as a response to the need to organize the flow of communication in society. The designer creates the visual interpretation of the message from client to audience. The ways in which the designer chooses to present this information depend on training and on the designers's own personality. That's why design schools spend as much time on the student's path to a satisfactory solution as they do on the solution itself.
Design school students are immersed in problem-solving activities. They think spatially as well as verbally; they work in teams and individually; they get things done. As a project-oriented, highly interactive process, design education fosters dialogue, resourcefulness, and a constructive direction for these creative students.
How do design programs differ?
There are hundreds of design programs in the United States, and their content and philosophies vary widely. This gives you a lot of options, but is also means that identifying the particular programs best suited to your needs and interests can be difficult. The following information can help you understand and compare your options.
Graphic design programs are found in a number of different kinds of institutions and in different areas within these institutions. You need to look carefully at each program; its curriculum, the ratio of hands-on design work to academic classes in design or other disciplines, and the type of degree awarded. You also need to assess your short-term and long-term objectives, the kind of college experience you want, and the kinds of career opportunities available after graduation.
Generally, four kinds of institutions of higher learning can prepare you for a career in graphic design. A university will typically offer either a four-year undergraduate program leading to a BS (bachelor of science) or BA (bachelor of arts) degree. Many universities also offer a graduate degree, the MFA (master of fine arts). Within a university, graphic design is likely to be a major in the College of Fine Arts; smaller universities might offer graphic design as a concentration within a fine arts major. Four-year colleges offer only undergraduate programs leading to a BA. Typically, graphic design courses are part of the offerings in a fine arts major.
Art schools, often called schools of design or institutes of design, offer a more intensive design education than colleges or universities. On the undergraduate level, four-year programs lead to a BFA (bachelor of fine arts). In an art school, you will usually find a comprehensive graphic design major in its own department. Some art schools also offer the MFA graduate degree.
Two-year programs leading to an AA (associate degree) are available from community colleges. These programs are often designed to allow students to transfer credits to a college, university or art school program. Check requirements carefully to leave your options open.
Because there are exceptions to these typical programs, you should look carefully at the curriculum and degree requirements of any program you are considering. Always make sure that you understand how the program prepares you both for employment and for additional study.
Particularly important is the number of graphic design courses available versus the quantity of humanities courses (or, in some cases, science courses) available or required. This ratio can be very important to your post-graduate opportunities.
For example, in most college or university programs, students receive a broad liberal arts education. Because their design program may not be as comprehensive as art school programs, college students may wish to supplement their education with internships or concentrated summer programs in graphic design, and then get a graduate design degree. However, because designers work with diverse clients whose messages might involve content from abstract art to zoology, a broad exposure to ideas and a well-rounded education are often an advantage. By contrast, art schools offer fewer humanities and social studies courses than colleges or universities, but students are intensively prepared for current job opportunities.
An associate degree program in a community college gives students the technical skills to become production artists who prepare art for printing. Graduates might work as assistants in the design or printing industry. These programs give students immediately marketable skills, but advancement in the field may be difficult without additional study.
