What use is design education?

Abstract

What use is design education? There appears to be a constant and never-ending barrage of statistics that seemingly disprove the value of design education, dispute the relevance of studying design and disregard the impact that design educators and design graduates can have into the design profession and into society in general. The simple truth is that many working design professionals, most often the alumnae of design education themselves, are critical of a perceived over-supply of design graduates into the creative industries. They bemoan the fact that students appear to spend less-and-less time with tutors and are also critical that, in their view, most design students lack motivation and in some cases even real talent. The design profession has one chief concern, or so it would certainly seem, and that is to find graduates equipped and prepared to row the boats of industry, rather than rock the boats of change.

Despite the general tide of cynicism directed towards design education, amongst today's design educators and students there is a genuine understanding of our responsibilities - we know that making our voices heard is critical if we are to shape real change. In this time of environmental, economic and social crises - we make a simple choice, we can either equip those that choose to enter an industry that, as David B. Berman states in Do Good Design; 'invents deceptions that encourage more consumption', or we can equip those that will help 'to repair the world'.

How can design education reeducate the disengaged, de-motivated and disfranchised design professional? If we are to succeed in changing opinions within business - it is crucial that we engage and communicate with the design industry. So, how best to achieve this? By constantly entering students into industry-focussed, industry-led commercial 'student' design competitions, No. By sending out students to engage in ill-conceived design placements and internships - in effect supplying a cheap labour force of can-do/will-do Mac Monkeys, No.

The solution is in inviting the design industry back into design education. By flipping the standard work placement/internship model a full one hundred and eighty degrees and having design professionals leave the confines of the commercial world and step back into education to reinvestigate, rejuvenate and reinvigorate their practice with new thinking - engaging in both student-led and industry-initiated projects with a difference. Educators, students and designers united together in investigating the new values of today, tomorrow and thereafter. At Kingston University, London, the School of Communication Design is spearheading a new initiative - the Studio-in-the-Studio program.

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What use is design education? When one considers, that in the UK, only 41% of all designers hold a degree level qualification and as many as 350 000 people working in design consultancies are actually non-designers, does design education really still have a role to play? [1] What use is design education, when the competition for employment following graduation increases year on year - between 2004 and 2007 the number of UK-based design students rose from 56 785 to 59 345? And even with rising student numbers, merely 39% of the 17 297 new recruits into the design industry arrived directly from art school, college or university courses, equating to just 6 745 of all design graduates. [2] Given that only 29% of all art and design students currently engage in any form of professional work placements, are the creative industries and design education now so out of sync that the links between them both are irretrievably damaged and are now beyond repair? [3]

With a constant and never-ending barrage of statistics that seemingly disprove the value of design education, dispute the relevance of studying rather than simply practicing design and disregard the impact that design educators and design graduates can have into the design profession and into society in general - what are we, as design educators, prepared to do to challenge and change opinion? The simple truth is that many working design professionals, most often the alumnae of design education themselves, are critical of a perceived over-supply of design graduates into the creative industries. They bemoan the fact that design schools, colleges and universities are increasing their intake, while students appear to be spending less-and-less time with tutors, and they are also critical that, in their view, most design students lack motivation and in some cases even real talent. The design profession has one chief concern, or so it would certainly seem; that is to find graduates equipped and prepared to row the boats of industry, rather than rock the boats of change.

Despite the general tide of cynicism directed towards design education, amongst today's design educators and students there is a genuine understanding of our responsibilities - we know that making our voices heard is critical if we are to shape real change. In this time of environmental, economic and social crises - we make a simple choice, we can either equip those that choose to enter an industry that, as David B. Berman states in Do Good Design; 'invents deceptions that encourage more consumption', or we can equip those that will help 'to repair the world'. [4]

The relationship between design industry and design education will continue to break down unless we do all we can to resolve the rift. As professional communicators and educators - communication must be at the heart of our strategy. If design education is to reeducate the disengaged, the de-motivated and the disfranchised design professional with what design has the power to communicate; we must communicate ourselves. If we are to succeed in changing opinions within the business of design - it is crucial that we communicate frankly and honestly with the creative industries.

So, how best to achieve this? By constantly entering our students into industry-focussed, industry-led commercial 'student' design awards and competitions, No. And not by sending our students out to engage in ill-conceived design placements and internships - in effect supplying a cheap labour force of can-do/will-do Mac Monkeys, and perhaps the real reason that such a low percentage of students are taking up placement 'opportunities'.

This can't be about one-way traffic. Of course, stepping out of the lecture hall and into the 'real' world is important to the growth of a student's experience but the solution to the problem isn't going out, it is in coming in - inviting design industry professionals back into design education. By flipping the standard work placement/internship model a full one hundred and eighty degrees and having design professionals leave the confines of the commercial world and step back into education to reinvestigate, rejuvenate and reinvigorate their practice with new thinking - engaging in both student-led and industry-initiated projects with a difference. Educators, students and designers united together in investigating the new values of today, tomorrow and thereafter.

The space, time and freedom to experiment and explore truly creative and innovative solutions to communication design problems, away from the harsh realities of commercial clients and constraints, has become a rare commodity for design professionals. Real world projects come with deadlines, restrictions and reality-checks - the business of graphic design can be a hugely uninspiring place if corporate clients dictate every brief, every job and every project. And if every communication problem is set by a commercial client, with executives and shareholders to please, it is likely that the planet is being force-fed yet another example of promotional design 'persuading people to buy things they don't need, with money they don't have, in order to impress others who don't care,' as Victor Papanek reasoned in Design for the Real World, as long ago as 1974. [5]

Of course, it would be naïve to believe that all designers should immediately and completely stop creating work for clients wishing to sell, promote and persuade but if a call-to-arms, initiated by David B. Berman, for every designer and each design studio to 'donate' just 10% of their time and their output to projects that are ethically, environmentally and socially responsible, communication design could play a vital role in reversing the damage to the globe. We are currently heading along a pathway to global ruin, but it really doesn't have to be this way - the 10% call-to-arms could easily be less fantasy and more a reality. And design education can communicate the message; education has a responsibility to lead, to inspire, inform today's students, tomorrow's designers, but getting today's designers on board, those that remain out of the loop, must be fundamental if change can happen.

A new program, Studio-in-the-Studio, within the School of Communication Design at Kingston University, London brings small design consultancies, companies, practices and studios back into the educational environment - for these practitioners stepping back into education can bring about real debate regarding the roles and responsibilities of the graphic designer. Closing the gap between educator and educated, Studio-in-the-Studio can alter the behavioural approach of a company by determining that 10% of each working week is given over to projects that make a difference to society rather than solely making a difference to bank balance.

The Studio-in-the-Studio program runs for between four and eight weeks and enables a varied timetable of projects, commercial and not-for-profit, to be run jointly by the professional practitioners, design educators and students. The visiting design company is housed in a professional studio environment, equipped with flat-screen monitors to plug laptops into, access to wi-fi, phone lines and use of a meeting room, all located within the educational institution, ideally within a student design studio.

The participating design company brings into the institution a range of live and very real commercial communication design problems to solve for real world clients with real budgets and real deadlines. The company moves lock, stock and barrel from their own commercial studio premises to educational studio. Design students then work alongside the company's staff as art directors, graphic designers, design assistants and art workers while members of the team of design educators deliver associated contextual lectures, presentations and workshops that explore creative thinking methodology and the role of the designer in contemporary society.

Alongside working with students on commercial projects and engaging in forums with educators, the only other requirement for the design company participating in the Studio-in-the-Studio program is that they dedicate a minimum of 10% of their working week, just four hours, to contributing to not-for-profit projects. With design professionals and students working as equal partners, rather than students acting solely as interns, they approach a range of diverse projects. Working with local charities, community groups, hospitals and schools to participate in bringing strong visual and aesthetic design awareness to issues and concerns outside of mainstream commercial requirements, the design professionals are introduced to projects that combine design and social awareness.

Recent projects have ranged from the creation of a promotional campaign for a drug awareness center and rehabilitation program, utilising ambient media and viral marketing techniques combined with print solutions to project work with anti-racism organisations, anti-fur charities and groups involved in raising awareness of issues such as the welfare of children, people with disabilities, the promotion of healthy living and eating and blood donor schemes.

Studio-in-the-Studio aims to bring together those that will articulate a greater understanding and commitment to driving and promoting change within the role of communication design. Charles Handy, the Irish author and philosopher, best described the part that designers, students and educators must play; 'The future is not inevitable. We can influence it, if we know what we want it to be. We can and should be in charge or our own destinies in a time of change'. [6]

Endnotes

1. Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), 2009.
2. Design a New Design Industry, Design Council and Creative and Cultural Skills, 2006.
3. The Business of Design, Design Council, 2005.
4. Do Good Design (AIGA / New Riders) - David B. Berman, 2009
5. Design for the Real World (Thames and Hudson) - Victor Papanek, 1974.
6. The Age of Unreason (Harvard Business Press) - Charles Handy, 1989.

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About the author

Lawrence Zeegen is an illustrator, educator, writer. As Head of School, School of Communication Design, Kingston University Zeegen leads undergraduate and postgraduate courses in animation, filmmaking, graphic design, illustration and screen design for film and TV. As an illustrator, Zeegen creates images for the Comment and Debate pages of The Guardian Newspaper, as a regular fortnightly contributor. As an educator, Zeegen has lectured and spoken at conferences, institutions and design events nationally and internationally including in Australia, China, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Turkey and the USA. As a writer, Zeegen contributes to numerous magazines and publications and is the author of four published books - Digital Illustration: A Master Class in Creative Image-Making (Rotovision, 2005), The Fundamentals of Illustration (AVA, 2005) and Secrets of Digital Illustration: A Master Class in Commercial Image-Making (Rotovision, 2007) and What is Illustration? (Rotovision, 2009).

Lawrence Zeegen
Kingston University
School of Communication Design
Knights Park
Grange Road, Kingston upon Thames
Surrey
KT1 2QJ United Kingdom
E: / zeegen@kingston.ac.uk