The rise of the start-up, non-traditional approach to becoming a design professional has turned into a movement popular amongst self-starters, inquisitive young adults, and those wishing to make a career pivot. The "unconventional design education" has fostered an attitude intended to motivate individuals to pursue a career in design, but what does that mean exactly?
With "basic" design principles readily available thanks to e-learning platforms and social media sharing like Youtube and Instagram, should traditional design education systems be worried?
Granted, this boom of alternative design learning won't completely eradicate traditional design programs, but is there something these platforms for personal enrichment can teach academic educators and institutions?
Meg Miller of Fast Company reported in October, "the majority of designers working today have a bachelor's degree (32%). Seventeen percent said they've engaged in online learning, and 10% have taken workshops or programs, while only 6% have master's degrees, and 0.1% have received Doctorate degrees (participants could pick multiple options). Most surprising: More people ticked the boxes for online classes or workshops than for specialized art schools." according to the 2019 Design Census.
Have traditional design degrees lost their luster in the 21st century? Alternative programs like General Assembly, Udemy, Skillshare, and others offer online and workshop intensives that provide individuals the skills to "keep up" and possibly surpass those with traditional design degrees.
Miller spoke with John Caserta, associate professor at RISD, on this topic. According to Caserta, "College shouldn't be the only way to start doing design, because it's potentially a very egalitarian discipline." Miller adds, "A clear benefit to more non-traditional design programs entering the educational space is that there are more options, which opens design to more people."
Are you an advocate for traditional or non-traditional design education? Is this new wave of design education what the profession needs?
Traditional design degrees have been a tradition for all of, what, 70 years tops? Congratulations, your vaunted tradition didn't even last two lifetimes.
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"Traditional design degrees" (or even attending college) are not economically viable for the vast majority of the population due to the high cost.
Economics at work. Duh. Nothing beats a great art school education, but very few can afford it.
There's also the fact that "traditional design degrees" don't prepare you to design buildings that most people would find attractive. Unless you are well connected or get one of the few starchitect positions that allow you to be really creative, you're much better off educating yourself while getting through the archibabble of most design studios. You don't need to "keep up" as much as learning what people like. Fortunately, the evidence is all around if you can keep an open mind.
Traditional design degrees have been a tradition for all of, what, 70 years tops? Congratulations, your vaunted tradition didn't even last two lifetimes.
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