Right Tool For The Right Job
Jewellery design students are leaving uni without the basic skills needed to be a jeweller… Well, almost.
In a recent post I read recently from Dundee, it was proclaimed that Jewellery Design students are leaving uni without the basic skills needed to be a jeweller… And I agree, but it doesn't matter in the slightest. What is jewellery these days anyway?
In 1984 Marc Newson graduated from Sydney College of the Arts in jewellery and sculpture. The skills gained allowed him to understand the finer end of manufacturing, the little bits. It bestowed upon him an interest in learning new skills a good imagination and ultimately thirst for innovation, allowing a jewellery designer to go on to create the inside of aeroplanes, furniture and concepts for spaceships.
Newson actively adapted his understanding of sculpture and jewellery to create other objects, other machines and gems of product design. The principles of jewellery design still remain but your ring and stone are just slightly different.
Marc Newson is obviously only one example, you can take the Wright Brothers if that better, either way, In this modern and ever evolving design industry we work in, why does the jewellery industry feel so bound to itself? Just because you study jewellery why do you endeavour to be called a jeweller and use the final product to take solace with a profession? Oddly, The journey to make a wedding ring for example eco’s many other industry's who find the process particularly difficult. Take Service design, this is the “activity of planning and organising people, infrastructure, communication and material components of a service in order to improve its quality and the interaction between service provider and customers” This process comes second nature to jewellers, otherwise things don’t fit, materials are not sourced and deliveries are not made. Plus gold is expensive so jewellers tend not to get it wrong that often.
When Service and research design first popped on the scene much of it seemed obvious. As a jeweller It was odd to me. Whats So different? Why don’t people just know this stuff ? How did their products ever interact correctly with the user if they didn’t use this method? How does any of it fit…? Of course in jewellery, This is something you learn quick. As when creating for the body, it fits and works or it falls off and doesn’t. With these synergies why wouldn’t jewellery students try to apply their skills to something else.
There is slowly becoming a clear divide in the jewellery industry which has good and bad points. Designers are designing and craftsmen are making the designs, some do both but is becoming less and less frequent. The amount of actual making by jewellery designer is in rapid decline. The added extra of new tech like 3D printing and accessible CAD programs means the need to actually have vast skills in order to make something complex and physical is becoming minimal. Practically anyone can do it, but they are missing some key ingredients around understanding the users and how to understand the user. Understanding the process of making will always be of important but being able to make something by hand is becoming less and less important for achieving a final product.
In his book ‘Small is Beautiful’ E.F. Schumacher explored the right tool for the right job. Where Appropriate technology is the goal, not using high technology in an a scenario where a low tech solution would solve the problem better and visa versa. In this same vein multiple technology companies are seeking product designers to create wearable tech for quantifying the self. But this is surly the wrong person to look for. Jeweller already have the know how in order to make something work with the body without needing to relearn a profession. For me jewellers are the obvious choice. The high tech silicon wristband is the bracelet and the wiring with LED display are the gems. Wearable tech is the jewellery of today. If your about to say ‘but jewellery comes in precious metals too’ In November 2o13 a rose gold NikeFuel band was produced and is now one of the best selling premium wearable pieces of technology.
When I said it doesn’t matter in the slightest that Jewellery Design students are leaving uni without the basic skills needed to be a jeweller. This was aimed at the fact that the design world is currently changing dramatically and jewellery design as an industry is lagging behind. It is lagging to the point that product designers are actively doing jewellers jobs which renders the uni courses inappropriate for the modern world. The industry requires jewellery design students to solve problems that might not at first seem theirs to solve. Unfortunately there is a lack of emphasis on supply chain, wearable technology, sustainability, data and product design within jewellery design education and this bars the most obvious candidates from their future job rolls, not the fact that they cant make something by hand.
Jewellery and metalwork obviously has its place as a course. But going forward Maybe it would be better to address jewellery courses as ‘Design for the body’ as to turn the next generation of designers into a more generalised group of designers who purely create for the body. It the relation to the body which is of paramount importance. Utilising projects out of the remit of stereotypical jewellery design as to understand a wider breadth of body interaction with products. After all, Graphics at one point favoured computers over the letter press, but they don’t learn any less typography. Weaving favoured the Jacquard loom over hand loom, but the the textilers learn no less technical weaving process. Maybe Jewellery can embrace technology as a craft in itself instead of viewing it as the arrogant little brother.
For the record, If Your dying to learn a very traditional craft thats totally fine, I’m not against it. As I mentioned it has its place and always will as the basis of a industry but it should be a bit more defined as Jewellery design and manufacture. There is a catch here, as to learn jewellery manufacture to the standard that the Goldsmith company will sign you off as a ‘Freeman’ you simply don’t have enough time. To master your ‘making’ skills will take you a liftime. It might be worth thinking of it on a more Socratic level. That you will never stop learning this skill and that university purly gives you a rounded basis of the craft for you to spend the rest of your life building on. Its important to understand what skills your aspiring trying to learn, whether it be of a traditional nature where you actively learn to ‘make’ or to ‘design’, as i believe there is a lot of confusion from the universities as no stance is taken.
Ultimately the skills you learn as a jeweller can be applied anywhere not just the jewellery industry. During university it is becoming increasingly important to understand jewellery in the wider multi-disciplined format as to be competitive as a designer and as a industry visionary.
Jewellery design courses are frankly fighting a loosing battle if they do not embrace new tech and a massive change of strategy. They are not moving with the times quick enough, the knowledge taught should inform the industries not the other way around. It wont be that Jewellery students are leaving uni without the basic skills needed to be a jewellery maker, they are, it just takes a long time to get good. Their students worryingly and importantly are leaving without the skills needed to ‘future proof’ their jewellery knowledge in the current design industry.
