In just over a month, I’ll finally be graduating after four-and-a-half years of college education. That isn’t bad compared to some of my colleagues who have been in college for five, six, seven, even eight years.
The Graphic Design program at the University of Minnesota is not a bad program but it isn’t good either. Let me start by saying that every professor/instructor I’ve had in the design program have been extremely helpful in my design education. I’m not bashing them nor the University of Minnesota. Instead, I’m criticizing design education in general.
Here is why design education sucks:
1. Instructors and Students are too nice.
2. Design is subjective, so is the education.
3. Bad design habits are picked up quite easily.
4. Experience is much more valuable.
Instructors and Students are too nice.
This is usually dependent on your school and the classroom environment (students, location, etc.). During a critique process, a good designer will be literally torn apart and should leave crying. A bad designer will only be told what to improve or told their work is “nice” but could be improved.
I progressively improved my design form year to year because my instructors and fellow students gave me good advice. But if both instructors and students were honest, I would be a much better designer today. Face it, most of us (students) wait until the last minute to complete a project. The best designs I have seen in class are from the students who take the time to complete a project and focus on the entire design process. What employer wants to hire a designer who waits until the eleventh hour?
If some of my instructors early in my education called me out on my procrastination, or told me that I could have pushed further than I really did, my designs would have greatly improved and I wouldn’t be scrambling to “perfect” my portfolio.
I propose that instructors make their students cry. Call their designs crap if its crap. Don’t do the traditional method of starting with something nice to say, provide a negative critique, then finish with something nice. Start with the negative, and end with what works in the design. If there isn’t anything that works, be honest. Too many instructors are forced to give a number of A’s, B’s, and C’s. The university system should allow a classroom full of A’s and also allow a classroom full of C’s.
Design is subjective, so is the education.
Design is a lot like art. I may think the red dot in the center of your business card works because it draws the eye to the center of the content. The person sitting next to me may disagree because the red dot is too distracting. So in education, how can an instructor grade such work?
I’ve learned a few things in my collegiate years. Get to know the professor’s design criteria. I have one professor who mostly grades based on the typography even though the objective is not focused on typography. I also know this professor has a “style” similar to the 80’s decade. When I create designs for this particular class, I focus on typography and make sure the colors and style are reflective of the 80’s. There is something VERY wrong with this.
I would never include these projects in my portfolio. Yet I still received A’s. So am I at fault for selling myself out? Absolutely! But I have an excuse. I have no money. I can barely afford rent. There is no way I can afford tuition. So in order to earn a scholarship, I have to receive excellent grades. I sell myself out to earn that A. But isn’t the instructor at fault too for grading based on his/her style? Yes!
To solve this issue, both students and instructors need to work together to create designs for a portfolio from the very beginning. Instructors should grade based on participation, work ethic, attendance, clear evidence of progress, etc. I do have instructors that take advantage of that model and I thank them greatly because they have focused on helping me improve my portfolio instead of worrying about getting that “A.”
Bad design habits are picked up easily.
This just happened a few weeks ago. One instructor told me every logo we ever design should first be created in black and white, simple & flat, one or two colors, and the “symbol” should be recognizable to the company/organization. Another instructor told me that every logo should first be done in color (but easily converted to black and white), can be dimensional, use as many colors and gradients as you please, the symbol has to look good but doesn’t have to be reflective of the products/services of the company but should reflect the brand identity.
What am I supposed to do?
I have complete opposite instructions. Of course, I have to treat my instructors as clients. I will go about designing the logos according to each specification. I’m far enough along in my education and understanding to know what is right and wrong in design. But for those early in their education, they may pick up a few bad habits. These habits, such as keep your logos flat and simple, could hinder the potential of the student later in his/her education.
Here is something to think about: isn’t the way we design logos subjective?
Experience is much more valuable
Education is experience and experience is education. I don’t want anyone to think that education is not important. Design education is the foundation for every good designer. It sets the pace for every designer leaving the doors of the educational institution.
But every designer is DEFINED when they are on their own. This is a competitive world trying to fight for that piece of meat like dogs. May the best designer win.
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I teach design at a community college, and I’d like to thank you for this provocative essay. I’m going to ask my students to respond.
I agree with Dusty. Most of my instructors have different views on design. One of them is all about form and layout with objects and color, and another is all about measuring things out with a laser micrometer.
I am a critical jerk and make sure to voice my opinion on constructive criticism to avoid being the “nice” guy. I understand the value of a good critique!
I don’t think that a teacher should bring a student to tears but I agree that if the design is crap call it like you see it. I’ve known teachers who would tear a design apart like you handed them a crinkled piece of paper with scribble and a smiley face.
I too have a professor who is set in his style which is in total opposition to the style I’ve developed. I’ve learned to mimic his style just enough while maintaining my style enough to get a B.
Designing is like a race: around many turn, hills, dips, etc. As designers we go threw many bad instructors and their bad advise/teachings. However even though we look at them with the stink eye somehow somewhere that bad advise will meet up with us on that design race. While going through this painful process of design school, I heard the same advise that you spoke of with the logo being black and white. I was told “yes color is pretty and adds a little punch to the piece but black and white compatible to everyone and everything.” Who in their right mind would have a logo that doesn’t have any color in it! You are just waiting for people to just push you off the charts and not get any customers.
I know exactly what you mean. I honestly have had problems with layout my entire almost 4 year college career. That alone should have destroyed me and forced me to get better, but I’ve managed to scrape by. I don’t blame the teachers at all, but I wish they would be harder on me. Then we’ve got the problem with different instruction. It gets so bad sometimes that I have to figure out my own personal take on it, because EVERYONE is telling me something different. On a different note, I often times have the problem with classes that don’t actually teach anything and just have us do projects with little or no critique and just a grade. What am I doing right or wrong? I have no clue. What was I supposed to get from this? No clue. The only thing I can say is that we’ll all figure it out by eventually.
College isn’t really for what it needs to be for. It should be for training people to have careers. Largely it is not. College is still stuck in its roots where it taught artsy stuff to rich people who just went back to live off their inheritance. It still even bases its schedule around having summers off (usually) so that you can go back and work on the family farm. Kids are complacent in this as they ship off to college as if it is the most important thing in their whole life rather than a means to an end. This approach mostly ruins design and any other career oriented education.
I agree with most of the points. It is up to the student to take the things they learn and make it their own. I especially agree that there is too much kindness during critiques, however I (and I assume most people) find it very difficult to say harsh things about a fellow student’s work, even if it could be helpful to them as a designer.
I agree with you 100% that instructors should not grade based on their style. It is frustrating for a student to walk into one class expecting it to be on one part of design and find out its not because the instructor prefers a different style. I have noticed the pattern you mentioned in the article about how instructors start off by saying one positive, then one negative thing about the design and finally end with a negative comment in a few of my design classes and I do agree with you that the instructors should be a little more straight forward. Maybe not to the point where they make you cry, but to the point of where the student is so irritated that it provides fuel for them to make a better design.
I agree with most of the points you made. My biggest gripe with design education is that in four years I’ve spent here, I don’t have anything I’d be proud to put in a portfolio. Most of what projects I have are exercises or practice. For example, we’re taught to use a new tool in Photoshop, then we have to make a project revolve around that. Those aren’t exactly portfolio worthy. Not all blame is to be put on the school though, because I know I haven’t been pushing myself as hard as I could. But why put in maximum effort if I’ll get an A for something a slapped together the day before? Like you said, I think design classes should be more objective than subjective. It’s hard in a field like this, but there should be some sort of standard to avoid tailoring your assignments to each teacher.
Excellent read! Especially point #1. I’ve encountered so many people like that and just wish people would give more negative feedback (for me at least). I wouldn’t go as far as making the person cry but being honest, like you said, only makes people try and go back to their project and make it better.
Who wants to work on something that people call shitty all the time? Sure negative feedback is necessary but only when appropriate. If a student leaves all critiques crying, eventually they will be turned off from the entire field. And as you said yourself design is subjective so who are you to rip someone’s work so much it reduces them to tears. Unless they literally shit and call it finished I don’t believe they deserve to be attacked so brutally. Your laziness is not the responsibility of any teacher. The diversity of school is no different than the job market. I think experiencing different teachers and their styles prepares me mentally for the type of jobs I would like to apply for.
it is true. i agree with you. i know some of instructor is very nice… they are always talk very nice…i mean nice instructor is good, but not good for the student…because students may not know what wrong of their design. some of instructor only go with their design like student have to follow him/her. you mention instructors make their students cry that is good because that can push them anyway…i think the instructor just point that out what wrong of their design…
Thank you all for your responses. Dare I compare design education to a television show? If any of you have seen the reality show Hell’s Kitchen with Chef Gordon Ramsay, he has a reputation of yelling/screaming at the competing chefs. That shows his passion for food and the culinary arts.
I believe a passionate professor, who doesn’t necessarily have to “yell” at his/her students, can utilize their passion for design to push students to the limit.
Dusty…
I’ve seen the show once or twice and can’t be that person even if I wanted to (I don’t). I’m not even sure that his behavior proves his passion for food. He may just be a jerk.
But that’s another discussion. I’m very interested in suggestions on how to “push students to the limit” without yelling. Have you had profs who did that? How?
Thanks for starting this discussion.
There is a certain professor that I will never forget. On the very first day of class, she made it very clear that she will be completely honest with our work, and call those out who were lazy in their work.
She took time out of her busy schedule to meet with each person individually, and even when a project was “perfect” she would make us push it further.
She always provided suggestions for improvement, but what really stood out was here ability to have us reflect on our personal attributes, and incorporate those into our work.
For example, my personal attributes (which we discussed on day one of this class) were: surprising, unique, quirky. For every project, she made sure that I reflected those attributes. For surprising, she wanted to see something I normally wouldn’t do. For unique, she wanted to see a design completely different than anyone else in the class. And for quirky, she wanted to see designs that were, well, quirky.
The goal for this “personal attribute” model was that we, as designers, are in a very competitive field. We have to differentiate ourselves as much as possible. I believe she achieved that, because each student in the class had a distinctive personality and adaptation to design.
I like to see this type of constructive criticism about the U’s Design program. As a senior student graduating in the spring, I can attest to many of these points.
Can I ask who this professor was?