Design education in the UK: The students speak

Sun, Q

Abstract

As a topic, design education is usually the province of academics and researchers. We also see a large number of articles by design practitioners commenting on various aspects of design education. New graduates’ voices, however, are heard less often. They’re busy looking for work! However, their perspective as they enter employment is critical if we want to understand the concerns and consequences of our practice for both education and industry. Even more important is an insight into the reasons for the perspective of new graduates. This article presents some key debates drawn from student reflections, focusing particularly on the employment situation in the UK’s design industry.
What can design graduates ex¬pect? Is it true that the inexperienced are educating the inexperienced? Does a false apprehension of the reality of pursuing a career in design contribute to an oversupply of design graduates? This article does not aim to propose a solution to these issues. Rather, it seeks to elaborate on the context in which they occur. It suggests that breaking down the “cottage industry” mindset and developing a collaboration model with international partners, based on mutual benefits, is the only way forward.

Citation

Sun, Q. (2012). Design education in the UK: The students speak. Design Management Review, 23(4), 36-45

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Feb 28, 2013
• Journal: Design Management Review
• Print ISSN: 1557-0614
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 36-45
• Publisher URL: http://www.dmi.org/dmi/html/publications/journal/journal_d.jsp
• Related Public URLs: http://www.dmi.org/dmi/html/publications/journal/fullabstract_d.jsp?itemID=12234SUN36