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So, here we are already, the first term nearly over (or the first semester half way through), for those of us in the wonderful world of design education. So what future for Freshers studying at any one of the graphic design, illustration and multi-media courses across the land? What can these 'brand-new', 'fresh out of the box' students expect from their courses, what should they expect from themselves and what can the design world expect from them when they graduate?
Rewind, if you will, to the point before the start of the new academic year. The big question facing students entering design education has to be 'why bother? With tuition fees now the norm and grants replaced by loans replaced by debt, it's a valid question. As the number of jobs for graduates in design decrease rather than increase the odds stack up against design education. Yet, despite those odds they keep on coming. Why?
The very best courses and institutions have the answer. It is not just about the teaching; it is about creating the right kind of environment for learning. Art School is about taking risks, about experimentation and having the freedom to express yourself. Students need this time and space to be creative, make mistakes and to get to grips with their own responsibility for self-learning. The realisation that learning does not stop the moment that graduation gowns are returned is vital, that the notion of 'life-long learning', although sounding like an edu-speak cliché, is a real truth.
The average length of a degree course in design is three years. A lot can happen in three short years. Think back three years ago, to the dot bomb crash that was still waiting to happen to three before that and a dot com boom that hadn't yet surfaced. Three from now, who knows what will be happening in our digital world? That is why teaching today's rules for a June 2005 entrance into the design world makes little sense. Instilling students with a flexible approach that allows for a future where change is a certainty and puts value on 'life-long' learning skills is crucial.
Don't get me wrong, we in design education have a huge responsibility to teach the 'here and now', but equally we must also work as initiators and facilitators for the future too. Our current crop of Freshers will develop into Graduates that develop into Designers and the process of learning we initiate must evolve throughout their journey. For when you stop learning, when you stop looking, when you stop thinking it's really time to call it a day. The world is evolving, evolve with it.
Lawrence Zeegen is a regular contributor to Computer Arts. He is Academic Programme Leader for Communication and Media Arts at the University of Brighton and an established illustrator and designer. View his work at www.zeegen.com
© Lawrence Zeegen