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I have received a few emails recently from people asking me for advice on choosing a graphic design school/university. It’s a long time since I was at design college and so I thought I would throw the question open to you to see if any one else can help.
- What made you choose the Design College or University you went to?
- What did you like dislike about the course?
- Are there any specific design schools/universities you would recommend?
- What specific things/subjects would you look for in a design school/university?
I actually went back to my old college to look at the end of the year design show and was shocked by what seemed to be a lack of web design examples everything still seemed focussed on design for print when I would have thought this was a key area that should have been pushed. A lot of the students didn’t even appear to have online portfolios. I think if I was going to college now I would make sure that web and multimedia were a key part of the course as well as design for print.
http://www.allgraphicdesign.com has a series of links to articles about choosing a design school which you may find useful.
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13 Comments
Thats just great, here in Poland i cant find any quality design school, so your problem of choosing is not really mine:p
Anyway, i might just pack my bags and fly to USA:)
If it would be so easy…
I would recommend working in the field first, finding out what your motives are, who your customers are, and then choose the school that focuses on those areas. The graphic design industry recently has become very broad, from print-to-3d programming. As a designer you will not touch all those areas, you only need to touch up on a few. There are people who purely do the web and multimedia and those that do only the print, and some do both. Find out what you will be doing, and then go to school. Learning to design for internet and print, are time consuming enough.
Ben
bibikova.com
This is a great post; it’s hard to find genuine advice on the subject. When I went to school I actually went for Graphic Communications with emphasis on Design. I chose that route because Graphic Design, at my school anyway, was more focused on actually creating art, and not so much on the end user or use. So there was no web designing in graphic design, nor was there any information on designing fo print, only creating the art to make it look pretty. Which is all well and good, but it didn’t seem all that useful in the future unless I was going to be a studio artist. But, in Graphic Communications we got down to the nitty gritty, we designed jobs, ran them on press, actually operating the presses, created web pages, learned multimedia, etc. Now that I’m out in the real world, I am a graphic designer, and I know how to design for print (which I prefer) but I can also design web (when absolutely necessary).
So, of course there is not one straight and narrow path to follow, everyone and every school is different, but I think it’s important to check out the curriculum before targeting a specific major because they’re all different even though it might be titled “Graphic Design”.
Best of luck to all the students out there!
I’m not sure how much bearing the choice of school/college has on job prospects (apart from in extreme circumstances), so really the choice should be a personal-practical one. If you feel comfortable at the college, like the look of the work other students are doing, and its a convinient location then it sounds a good college to me
I think you’re right Tara re the lack of web skills in Graphic Design. I did a multimedia course so it wasnt a problem but the straight graphic design students were barely touching new media stuff.
I agree about choosing a school based on practical issues. Also hard to pinpoint is cultural/area differences between your Universities/Colleges. Everyone has different opinions as well, so it’s best to see what’s right for you. Though I do recommend the following always:
- Getting that degree BEFORE working in the field but AFTER doing some independent client work. It’s better to know you’re not fit for the industry before dishing out a lot of money for it.
- A setting where traditional art, art history and direction are taught.
- A setting where new mediums are taught.
- Taking general courses across the board early on. You may find out you take a liking to video or painting more than design, and it’s better to find out sooner rather than later.
- Doing research online to see what the industry would entail.
Though I always say, with self direction you can learn anything!
obviously a school choice is huge, but you can also make the best of it no matter what school you choose. My best friend went to Montclair with me, which isn’t a huge graphics art school and excelled, and eventually got recognized. This probably isn’t the norm so you give sound advice
1. I chose my school because that’s where a friend was going and what he was doing looked interesting
2. There are many things I liked. Most of the professors were top notch, they actually taught at UCLA (very prestigious). The school I went to was geared more towards continuing education for professionals, so I only had 1 class per course per week, which was 4 hours long and there was no social life at school. We were in the quarter system (11 weeks per term) which made it difficult if you missed anything. What I really liked about the program was the diversity: I did everything from print to sound design to web design/development to motion graphics, video production, animation and 3D. That was also a down side, no extensive experience in any one field. We started out with print, which also gave us an easier way of learning the basics of design and composition.
3. In the Southern California area, there is always UCLA and Art Center (“world famous” I’m told… have any of you heard of it?). I’ve heard Art Institute is good too. I went to Mt. Sierra College and I guarantee you even the people that live next to it have never heard of it. But I think I had a very good education there. Loved the professors, didn’t care so much for the administration, though.
4. I would look for a strong foundation in design, which I believe beings with learning layout (print). From there, I think you’re right, Tara, web training is a MUST these days. It’s frustrating when people don’t have websites! I think Louisa has a good point about at least touching on art history, and I would add graphic design history, too.
In all reality, most designers are self taught and get into the industry by themselves, no schooling. I think that’s becoming less the norm today, but it still happens and the education just gives you a little head start. It won’t turn you into something you’re not.
Great questions and subject, Tara! I hope some people find this information useful
HI Maniu, thats a shame courses aren’t available near you.
Hi Ben – it’s a great idea to try working in the design field before going to college but in my experience not that easy to achieve. i wanted to learn design while working for a design company but most won’t look at you without design qualifications – degree/HND.
Hi Suziq – you sound like you manage to find a really prcatical course, I think more teaching should be like that. When I was at college we had ridiculously log deadlines – a monh to design a poster – when you got in the real world it was a major shock.
Hi Aaron – it’s good to have your input having recently graduated and succssfully found a job. Hope your new course is going well too.
Hi Louisa and Lauren – thanks for breaking down your thoughts into points these work really well as a check list really useful for people looking for a course.
Hi Dan, like Aaron you make a good point that if you have talent whichever college you go to you can do well.
well I think that’s a tough one. If you’re gifted, you’ll go places. And different colleges have different things to offer. :p
But I think one great way to learn more about design is really just immerse yourself in it. For example, I just heard about the upcoming Singapore Design Festival. Sounds interesting and seems like there’s lots to see and learn from there, so I’m definitely checking it out.
You can find out more at the Singapore Design Festival website: http://www.singaporedesignfestival.com
I’m not too sure on this one, many colleges and universities have good reps, but I think it probably does come down to where you feel most at ease as this will let those creativ juices flow. I chose mine by chance, I had some work copied and went to see a local design tutor about what I could do…ended up there was nothing I could do but he thought it was a good idea I enroll there instead of CSM’s…good choice now when I think about it.
i have been desperately trying to look for a course that suits me but from your column i realise that the area where my interest may lie may not suit me and i wont know until i try but that may cost alot of money and time and i know how frustrating its going to be eventually…but if i were to go look for a job related to the art field and start exploring from there, its also rather difficult cos i do not have any relevant experience in this field (although i know i wan to be in it but which area, i am still not sure) and employers, i find out, wont wanna ‘waste time’ on people like that and would prefer they come with the necessary skills and recognised diplomas and degrees… so i feel kinda ’stuck’ actually
Do you think that going to school for graphic design would be better than learning about it on your own and getting a degree in say, business or something like that? or do companies only hire from schools where you get a graphic design degree?
Hi road signs
I think if you want to get a job with a design company the likelyhood is you would need some professional training in design. If of course you want to be self employed you could try to teach yourself and once confident start looking for freelance projects.