Navigating Design Education: A Guide for Prospective Students and Parents

A recent post on Instagram from a designer from India intrigued me. The post addressed an important question faced by prospective students of design and their parents: How does one choose a design school from so many options? Are standardized ratings a good indicator? From reading the responses to the post from professional designers, I gathered that standardized ratings may not completely satisfy the prospective students’ or their parents’ need for guidance. Having inhabited the practices of design, design education, and design research for the past 49 years, I am tempted to offer my perspective:

First of all, ask yourself a question: “Why am I interested in the field of design?”

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. It is just a starting point for making an informed decision. Your answer will change as you gather more information and learn more about your options. Hopefully, my article will help you start thinking about what career path you will enjoy, the career goals that are achievable, and how to consider your prospects.

Next, you can breathe easy because the field of design has many career pathways, and you do not have to make all the decisions right away. Just be aware of what it means to choose design as a career.

The next question to ask yourself is:

While studying in high school, what did you enjoy? Think about which teachers, subjects, projects, or activities (even extracurricular activities/hobbies) you were interested in and good at.

Answering this question will help you discover an aspect of design practice that you will enjoy and be good at. Be assured that the practice of design has so many different types of jobs and career paths available to you that if you know what you like and are good at, you will make the right choices.

Now let me explain at a very broad level what joining a design career means in terms of what you will do.

In simple words, design is about imagining something that does not exist and bringing it to life. That something could be a product (things we use like appliances, cars, tools, etc.), an image (the things we see like a street sign, a billboard, a book, a movie, etc.), a service (how we get help like while shopping, banking, travel planning, consulting a doctor, etc.), or a message (like a story, an advertisement, a brand, etc.).

In today’s Information Age, design could also mean organizing information and making it easy to access (like designing software for organizing, analyzing, and using data in an intuitive manner or designing new experiences using Artificial intelligence). I am just giving you examples of numerous opportunities the field of design offers you.

You don’t have to choose a specialization in design early in your education. All good design schools have a foundation program — a whole year dedicated to helping you develop skills that you will always need regardless of the specialization or career path you choose. At this early stage, one thing you find out is which school has a reputation for a good design foundation program. You can find out from some of the graduates of the school.

Next, if your career goal is to work in a specific industry such as automotive, digital design, fashion design, film/animation, etc., you have two choices: you can either join a school that specializes in that industry or a school that offers that specialization as an option after the foundation year. Do ask the representatives of the school what they are known in the industry for — a specialization or a more flexible approach that allows for a focus at a later stage.

When you are doing research, you could also find out more about the resources available for high-quality learning. You can ask questions such as:

1. Unique point of view: Does the school have a clearly articulated philosophy of design? Is there published evidence of how they have practiced their philosophy?
2. Qualifications of the teachers: Are they able to clearly articulate their teaching philosophy that you can understand and feel drawn to? Where and how much have they studied? Do they publish articles, and are they invited to speak regularly, and on what topics, how much industry or global experience do they have, etc.
3. Rigor of learning: Does the learning experience involve research, dialogue, critique, and a collaborative approach to working on projects?
4. Physical infrastructure: Do they have the latest technologies from diverse fields of design? Does the architectural design and landscaping of the school offer a nurturing, reflective, and inspiring environment?
5. Network of relationships: How well is the school connected to the future employers and to other academic institutions nationally and internationally? Are these relationships made actionable by way of faculty/student exchanges, research/fieldwork/internship partnerships, etc.?
6. Career prospects: where are the graduates finding jobs and in what roles? Does the education prepare them to take on more senior/strategic responsibilities? Does the school have a successful placement service? Does the school have a good reputation on the job market? Etc.

It is very important to meet (or remotely talk to) graduates of the school and teachers to get a better sense of what your learning experience at the school will be.

Finally, you can consider logistics of studying such as costs, location, food, cultural richness of the city in which the school is located, etc.

I would also caution you against taking coaching classes that promise to help you succeed in the admission process. These classes may help you gain admission, but they may also hinder your ability to fully engage in the learning environment once you join because you will be indoctrinated with a preconceived and pre-fabricated view of design skills. Ultimately, you will be hired based on what you learn at the design school, not what you learn at the coaching school.

I hold that this article will help prospective students and parents compare their options for design education.