marstudio
marstudio
Sep 8, 2018 · 1 min read

I love this article! Thank you — but I have to tell you something. I teach all of the things you mention above, and more. My colleagues do not want to hear about it. Those of us trying to improve design education need some support. The “old boys” (and they are all boys, all over 50) are actively fighting the advances you talk about here. I was recently told to stop requiring mini-briefs and client analysis in portfolios (“Nobody wants to read all those words. Get rid of the words”). When I told students they needed to have all the information that complies with federal and state regulations on packaging design, particularly on food and beverage packaging, I was told to “stop. That information isn’t important and not needed.” I could go on and on, but you get what I’m up against. The worst part of this is the fact that the students support the old boys.

The old boys give the students what they want — they are allowed to express themselves and what 20 year old doesn’t want that? It’s only later, after they graduate, do they seek me out and apologize for the terrible student evaluations they gave me. I just had coffee with an ex-student who said repeatedly, “You are the one — you are the only one telling anybody the truth.”

So, besides sending students and faculty to your thread on Medium among other articles all saying the same thing, what can I do? What can we all do?