6 Steps Guide to Get Design-Education
Utilising technology through the mediums of light and sound, designer and interactive performance artist, Michael L. Dolto enjoys honing and nurturing individuals' awareness of their environment. This approach and attitude are what provide him the constant nudge to guide the younger ones.
As a new academic year is about to commence, one is reminded of the expectations one has of the educational experience. All is not rosy, neither all thorny, for that matter; it is mostly a mixed affair—there are "good" and "not-so-good" aspects of any educational institution, Indian or foreign. Students, generally, are quite adept at recognising negatives over the positive. As per Michael Dolto, though, the best bet is to make qualitative judgments while employing parameters such as the follows:
1. Malleability
It is useful to have a set of academic goals for oneself. At the same time, the context to be in school should be to get exposed to things you didn't even know existed. Certainly, you may have ideas as to what is out there, but it is more likely that you will be able to discover fascinating new things through your time spent with faculty. You have to remain open to possibilities and be true to your own interests, and so also consider it fine to shift your goals based on the experiences of your education.
2. Experiment
Students are often stressed about finding work when they graduate. In the creative industries, there is no formula, per se. The professional market is starting to realise that the world is capable of changing very quickly. One's marketarketability will increase with the ability to adapt. This ability is developed only through experimentation and taking chances with one's work. This experience will only make you more confident and able to adapt to any professional opportunity that much quicker.
3. Process over Product
Every design school should focus on developing an individual's creative process, not the individual's product. What makes you valuable in the workplace is your ability to solve problems; to reconcile parameters with resources to make the ends meet. If a faculty gives you a bad critique of your work, reflect on the processes you implored, not the end product.
4. Detachment
A creative process should include a sense of detachment. The object is not important; the object is an expression, just as you form your sentences in dialogue. You need to learn how to detach yourself from your work. It is the only way to develop your critical and analytical thinking.
5. Perspective
An education in design is likely very different than the education you have previously received. The foundation of one's success in any creative field is a measure of one's ability to develop analytical and critical thinking. Teachers and peers will help you, but only you can become an observer of yourself.
6. Environment
In evaluating your education, understand that the texture shifts at all academic institutions. Faculty enter and leave on their own trajectories, so the chemistry of faculty can vary tremendously. Some years may be better at a given institution, compared to another. Thus, "good" and "bad" is a relative dialectic, as the teaching methods of one institution will likely vary greatly from another institution at any given time. Not everyone learns in the same way, so the effectiveness of the experience can vary among individual students.
