Hi guys, deleted my other posts to tidy things up a bit! Had a quick word with Geoff today concerning my FMP and future career ambitions (i want to teach art and design in secondary school) and tailoring my FMP to that. So here are some thoughts relating to that:
Graphic design in schools; is it encouraged?
Do parents encourage it?
General perceptions, likely to lead to a proper job?
Myths/preconceptions
Wondering how to tailor something around this, especially as it must have 'substantial use and purpose'. Does this mean that it has to be live, i.e, a live client? Was thinking of contacting dept education, connexions service etc, and see just what they give out when confronted with a teenager who expresses a desire to work in this field. Problem is, i don't want to be stuck doing leaflets etc, and certainly don't want to be doing something that might not even be used, which wouldn't do me any favours. Was also thinking of all the things i would have to say to a despairing parent after discovering their child had chosen graphic design as a career path; maybe the 'A-Z' of graphic design jobs, a book to allay all fears. Not sure if this is a bit silly though. Would going into the classroom be a better idea? Soz, in a bit of a pickle here, guess i'm wondering just how live, tangible and useful this should be!
Christine
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11 comments:
Cool, more like it, good start. Sending this quick message by way of support- when I've had a little more time to think, I will probably be able to pass on some contacts in this field- in order to speed up your initial research.
GTS
I can't speak for Inner London schools, but I had a reasonable time of it at secondary school with my interest in Graphics, though it wasn't taught in an ideas-based fashion (even less so at 6th form college). I wonder what kind of creative megalomaniac I might now be if I'd been trained on conceptual design since the age of 11.
I know that Audi do a lot to promote idea lead design in schools... the Audi Design Foundation has been set up for this and they run competitions like the Audi Innovation Awards (http://www.audiinnovation.org/). Competition briefs have been very spot on with kids designing with the 2012 Olympics in mind etc. Worth a look...
Hope this helps
A x
Hey christine in my secondary school-inner london there was nothing about graphic design at all-no oppurtunity to study it etc i know this isnt the case for every school but it seemed that those that did study it leant more towards product design then graphics. Almost as if to be able to study it, it had to have an economical outcome. Its that age old stigma about a creative degree not making money.
Rachel
Well back out in the sticks, graphic design is really encouraged. Our school had seperate teachers for graphic design who are absolutely brilliant.
Our school became really well known for it
Michelle
Thanks for your comments guys, how times have changed; in my day (back in the jurassic) all we had was life drawing! My daughters' school has an element of graphic design built into its art course and i was wondering if maybe i should go in there an ask to work with the kids. I sort of feel that if i tailor my FMP to teaching, then not including kids is a bit of a no-no. Still having a problem with the 'sustained use and purpose bit'; and i thought of maybe setting them a brief, and then an exhibition of their work, with a catalogue produced by me, which would take care of the 'tangible' aspect. I know Jerrome is doing something similar though, and i don't want to tread on his toes. Also, if graphic design is so widely encouraged in schools (and i'm judging by your comments that it is) then maybe i'm barking up the wrong tree?
Christine
My secondary school had a huge emphasis on the arts, including Art, Dance, Drama and Graphic Design. We also had a one way system on the stair cases with posters directing the 'traffic' and it made me think... possibly you could invent/improve some kind of system that exists in a school that will use your design skills. Then it would demonstrate the practicality of design to the students and the power it has to communicate.
Had a look on dept for educations website, and the connexions service, and they're not too bad. When i punched in 'graphic design' there was no shortage of entries relating to it and career paths etc. Also found the syllabus that my daughter seems to have been set; i found that a bit strange, i would've thought that teachers would set individual briefs. Had a thought about asking my daughters' school if they would allow me to set a 'graphic design-off', sort of a mass competition with a prize for the winner. The kids would get something to put in their portfolios, and i would document it all in a book. What do you think?
Christine
Hey Christine, why don’t you have a look at the guardian newspaper? There’s an education section in there and it is on all sorts from the lack of training in schools to the 'arts' in schools. In Tuesday’s paper there was an article on "can the arts keep boys keen in key stage 3?" (I’ve got that copy if you want it) there’s also a section on 'Education show Exhibition guide'
I don't know how helpful this will be to you because I don't know what direction you want to go, but if anything to help let me know because that's an interest we both share. xxx
you're becoming the educational ambassador for graphic design :)
oh sorry that was Ivy by the way
Cheers Ivy, yeh that sounds interesting. There's a rumpus going on at the moment about teaching kids their ABC, or rather how it's not being taught! Mind you, there's always someone complaining about something! I guess the only gripe i really have with graphic design is that it's so computer oriented; and i wonder how many teenagers will enter arts colleges in the future without the basics of colour theory, perspective, line and tone etc, etc.
Christine
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