Graphic designers - self-taught or educated, what's better?
Replies17
- Define 'better'…
- Hi Joel. I don’t think one is better than the other. Both are valid career paths and one suits some people better than the other.There are so many variations of what it means to be a designer, so not everyone needs the same skillset and backgrounds.I think it gets exciting when designers from different backgrounds come together as they enable each other to learn new ways, approach problems from a different perspective and challenge each others’ habits in such productive ways that the end result can really benefit the audience.
- Big question. I know from (sometimes bitter) experience that to the company you work for or the client is doesn't make the slightest difference. As some have already pointed out here it's more to do with the skill, imagination and abilities of the individual. I've worked with and for some extraordinary designers and many of them were self-taught. That said, I've also worked with and interviewed others who clearly got a copy of Photoshop and did 2hrs of tutorials. Someone who can cook an incredible meal doesn't have to be a trained chef but they do have to care.
- It’s worth pointing out that all of this assumes that someone has a choice between the two. Design – in particular, design education – isn’t particularly accessible. While some of that will hopefully change with the influence of the pandemic, plenty of people don’t have access to artistic tuition. Many people who have an interest in design might not be able to pursue it because of economic or health-based limitations. Though, it should be said that plenty of people who don’t care about design take on design degrees – I had a number in my own design course.
- Hi Joel,I would say it's not the same thing. I went for Saint Martins, got a BA and MA and lkearnt a lot about designing thinking. But nothing about softwares. By nothing I mean nothing.I do feel the effect of the ducation on my work and yes I did learn things that didn't come across on youtube but its more likely that someone get away with software knowledge without design thinking than the other way around. From the other hand I charge as s top designer because my design thinking.So I would say self-taught for short run and uni for long.
- I think better phrasing here is self-taught or university-taught. All designers need education, whether it's structured (i.e. a course) or self-initiated. What really matters is the sincerity with which the designer pursues design.I work in book design - specifically self-publishing. There are thousands of "self-taught designers" who, at best, are illustrators pretending to be designers or, at worst, have a copy of Photoshop and have taken in a tutorial and call themselves designers, all catering to clients for whom something being cheap is more important than quality. At the same time, I have seen and known plenty of designers who have all the necessary qualifications, float into design work, and twenty years later are terrible at what they do. One doesn't inherently give someone an advantage, it's how one engages with the discipline that informs how they emerge at the end.A self-taught designer really needs to do that: teach themselves. Many self-taught designers are, in fact, talented copiers of existing work. Similarly, university-taught designers often regard themselves as the finished article straight out of university. Both types often ignore one of the most important aspects of design education - which is especially daft of students given it is handed to them - and that's contextual design. Plenty will engage with the history of design for the sake of, for instance, copying International Style but not enough actually engage with what history tells them.So that's it for me: how much do designers engage with their education? It doesn't matter where they get it, but if all they're doing is teaching themselves how to use computer programs, the result will be the same whether they've been to school for design or not.
- I don't think one is necessarily better, rather it comes down to a few traits:• A level of taste• The open mind of a person willing to learn, grow and change• The ability to listen to and understand clients and what they needI "studied" graphic design at uni and I've learned waaaaaaay more in the last ten years in the real world than I did there, so I would never say an education in design is "better", but that's just my experience - there are some amazing sounding graphic design programs out there.
- Great question.There are plenty of graduates who start successful studios straight out of the Royal College of Art.Then you look at David Carson, surfer, sociologist and self-taught designer.His unique style was a result of his limited knowledge of design software.I think it comes down to mindset.You could say that self-taught designers have something to prove so work twice as hard.When it comes to success, it may come down to networking, with educated design being about what you know and self taught design being about who you know.Or both.
- Both. When you sell your ideas internally or to the clients, academic/historic/social context could strengthen your design.You never stop learning but having a good foundation certainly helps.
- I often see this question being asked, and its an important one to consider. In my experience, the qualifcation or where you did it is not important at all. What's important is allowing yourself the time to learn and grow without the pressures of a career. Of course, this is a very privileged opportunity and is not available to everyone in all countries.This time, and being exposed to other peoples creative processes and work is whats valuable about being educated. Your experience on the job will teach you more than you can learn in any university, but your time to explore and discover what you love to do will be limited when you are a professional.
- I'm half/half: I learned mostly working or self-taught as my design education wasn't at an academic level. I don't think one is better than the other but I do miss the time I didn't spend at the University experimenting, collaborating or just having fun.
- I agree, practical experience with real humans, real clients, real agencies – positive, negative and the in between – is what's really important ❤️
- I think even if you do have a formal design education, the most beneficial form of learning is through practice and experience. If you do have a design education technical skills at more than a basic level be mostly self taught anyway (in my experience, and those I know anyway), formal education may focus more on design principles and thinking
- It depends on you: I am mostly self-taught but did sign up for a design course and have kept signing up for online classes (CareerFoundry and similar) since then. Personally, having a formal foundation helps you feel legitimate, it also helps you exchange ideas with other creatives and learn how to give and receive feedback (which is a huge part of design education). I personally think a combination of both is the best way to go!
- Hi Joel, have been self taught mostly but did a foundation class in multimedia in colleague before a internship.Then did lots you tube creative pieces. Learning online is pretty fun these days you as you can make a lot bespoke designs whenever you like. Having a sound knowledge of design theory helps too.
- @Luke Freeman That's a good point Luke - I guess we're always learning on this journey right. There's never not too much you can know!
- Regardless of being in education or not, it’s down to the experiences you put youself in. You’ll always have to teach yourself --- as there’s always something new to learn, that you’ve never been taught before.
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