Does Design education prepare us for future design careers?

Debate week finally arrived. Tensions were high in the college while we prepped ourselves for game day. I was feeling a good balance of nerves and excitement. I was lucky I liked our teams topic which was “Design Education does not prepare students for future design careers”. I was on the opposing team which was good because I feel very strongly about this subject.

For starters, not just anyone can be a designer. Although they think they might, it takes a lot more than a good idea to actually kick-start a design career. You would have to be extremely lucky, have a comfortable amount of money and know the right people to get to where you want without design education. As a design student I can confidently say that we are thought to think like designers. This isn’t just encouraging us to be a little more creative it is so much more than that. We have to put research skills to practice by putting ourselves in the user’s shoes, gathering primary and secondary data that can help us narrow down to our observations, problems and needs. We are thought to focus mainly on the user and help make their lives as easy as we can. Not everyone who paints themselves as a designer but we are thought to think this way through our design education and this will push us to do so in future careers.

In our course alone we have been given so many amazing opportunities to study abroad, travel on course field trips, part-take in workshops and visit exhibitions. They really do emphasise how design is everywhere and we can take inspiration from just about anything. Once you go into deign education, I think it almost becomes part of who you are. I have definitely burned the ear off a few people on my passion for design but at least it’s how I know I’m doing what I love. In this course you have so much to show for it. Every weekend is like show and tell when I whip out my laptop and show my family recent projects, models and poster designs, you name it.

I think design thinking in design education is so important and relevant right now. People who don’t take part in this way of thinking can end up with very narrow minds. We are thought to take an idea and explore it in as many ways possible. There is always room for more innovation and further development. We are the people who are supposed to think outside the box. Sometimes our final solutions to a problem can be completely opposite to our initial ideas.

The obvious need for designers is finally being recognised globally. We are lucky to learn such a wide range of universal skills in this course that allows us to fall into any role in the design industry. These days, most companies want a qualified designer on their development team to get this different perspective to the usual accountants and engineer mind-set. We are thought that no ideas a bad one and even the craziest ideas can lead to the best solutions.

I never thought I’d be creative enough for this courses until I was thrown into it. We aren’t just given skills to be a designer, we are constantly changing our life styles to become one. Design is not just an occupation, it’s a lifestyle which I enjoy living. Therefore I can definitely say Design education absolutely prepares us for future design careers.