Jack of All Trades, Master of None
Designers are increasingly called upon to do all sorts of new tasks, whether it be design, management, writing, business analysis, documentation, programming, technical support, and more. In every aspect we are asked to do more and more, yet our status as professionals in the business world seems to be dwindling lower and lower.
A recent salary survey for design professionals by corloft.com had some details that left a bad taste in my mouth. Graphic Designers are seated at the bottom of the totem pole. One of the most interesting things is that Graphic Designers have the lowest percentage of "Master" Degrees (0% in the Rocky Mountains). I don't know if there is any correlation, but I have always seen a general disdain for educational credentials in the Graphic Design market. I've even seen it posted in ads where it is made very clear that a "a degree is not as important as a great portfolio." It seems that in the larger picture, the graphic design industry has cut itself a bit short.
These salary surveys still don't list a category for "Website Designers". I'm finding more and more, that "Website Design" is very different and more comprehensive than Graphic Design. The category is interesting because I can't think of a single company that doesn't have or shouldn't have a website. It has been over 10 years since the arrival of the Internet, yet we're still trying to cram website design into the role of graphic design.
More random thoughts on design education
Recently a few articles in my reading have really caught my eye. About a year ago, I read a post from Jeffrey Zeldman where he criticized the curriculum in design schools for not having a focus in real world website design. And just recently he posted another article that included the same complaint:
The bad news is that college and university design curricula are still mostly about everything but information architecture, usability, application design, user-focused design, accessibility, and web standards.
A year ago, I was searching for a school that would offer an MFA. I've always wanted to get my master's degree, and finally decided that it was time to do it. I took Zeldman's advice and put together some criteria for my school selection.
- The school should have an emphasis in website design, not "multimedia" or "computer installations".
- The school should have a decent website.
- The school should teach current best practices for website design & usability.
- The school should embrace technology and offer online courses. If I really believe that the Internet is a powerful communication tool, why should I be hesitant to take advantage of it for education?
- The school should have a realistic approach and include business education.
I found a couple schools that met this criteria, and ended up taking courses at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. After the first semester, I've been very happy with what I've learned. My first "required" course was "Usability", a class focused on industry best practices, the user experience, and web standards. The other course was a Typography class with a very strong emphasis on readability and web typography. I have to say that it met my expectations and proved to be much more difficult than I had imagined.
The Academy has done a great job keeping their curriculum current and relevant, and their business focus makes it a great match for my personal goals. I'm also glad that I'm not falling into the trap that Zeldman has warned about, and that at some point, I'll at least be the "Master" of one thing that I do.