- Hello, and welcome
to this beginner's guide series to graphic design,
for what graphic design is,
skills to be a graphic designer,
design theory, education you need,
equipment you need,
to the graphic design portfolio and interview advice.
This series is for anyone at any level,
so if you're interested in graphic design
and consider becoming a graphic designer,
then join me as I discuss a series of graphic design topics.
So you're thinking about a career in graphic design,
and you're wondering if you really need
to go to University or art college.
In this video, I'm going to discuss
the pros and cons of seeking higher creative education.
In this video, I'll also be sharing
my experience and opinions on higher education,
why I think it's important,
and why I would encourage
anyone who has the opportunity to do it.
Now, today it is debatable
if university education is actually necessary
to become a graphic designer.
Some people say you do not need it, and others disagree.
Anyone seeking a career in creativity
will undertake their own creative journey,
to which I believe there is no right or wrong path.
I do believe that you can make a career for yourself
in graphic design, and become successful,
without going to university.
However, having said that,
I do believe that higher education is extremely important.
If you're fortunate to have the opportunity to go,
I would highly recommend it for many reasons,
of which I will be talking about later in this episode.
So to begin, I'm going to start
by talking about the cons
to going to university or art college.
So this first con is probably the most significant,
and that is cost and debt
of going to university or art college.
Now, this may vary
depending on which part of the world you live,
and the cost of the degree courses,
but currently, here in the UK,
and I believe in the U.S.,
degree courses are very expensive, well into the thousands.
It's not only just the cost of the course
you need to cover,
but also the cost of living,
especially if you're moving away
and living in student halls of residence,
or a student house.
To fund course costs and living costs,
a lot of students need to take out loans.
Over a three-year period or more on your course,
you could be looking to graduate
with 10s of thousands of pounds worth of debt.
Now, I graduated university in 2006,
and yes, I'm still paying off my student loan.
So cost and debt is shamefully high,
and one of the biggest deterrents to going to uni.
The next con is preparing for the real industry.
So traditionally, when someone goes to university,
it is seen as the end of the road in their education,
the highest qualification you can get in your field.
Now, after investing so much time and money,
one would expect higher education to prepare them,
to equip them with the skills,
and make them employable, to get a job upon graduating.
Well, for most higher education courses,
I would imagine this to be true,
but not so much with graphic design.
It is rare that a higher education
graphic design course
will adequately prepare students
to enter into the real industry.
Now, this might not be true for all.
There may be some courses that have work experience
as part of the course.
If you can find a course
offering some kind of work experience program,
then this might not apply.
Now, it could be argued
that it's not the responsibility of the university,
but to me, it feels like a bit of a letdown
to take money and churn out students
only for them to struggle to get into the industry.
At the end of the day,
that is why anyone pays to take a degree course,
because they believe it makes them
more employable and ready for the industry.
In my experience, my university was very good
at encouraging your creative skills
and conceptual design theory,
but failed to prepare students
with the practical skills and knowledge
for the harsh reality of the industry.
Thinks like how to find a job,
types of job and career choices,
preparing for an interview, and interview tips,
tailoring a portfolio, creating a CV,
personal skills to have,
technical skills required, such as software skills
and understanding how the industry works.
I have seen where fellow students
who have spent years studying design
fail to get a job,
not because they're not good,
but because they are not ready,
for the fast-paced, competitive reality of the industry.
Some might not know how to use creative tools all that well.
Some may not know how to present themselves
in their best light,
so struggle and end up giving up,
and not pursuing their career in design.
So those are some of the cons
when applying for university.
Now, I happen to believe
that higher education is extremely important.
If you're fortunate to have the operation to go,
I would highly recommend it, for many reasons.
Generally, I find that the people
who are anti-university,
or discourage people from going to university
are often people who have not
attended university themselves.
Now, I attended university.
I did my degree in graphic design
from 2003 to 2006, so I speak from experience here.
Yes, university was a huge struggle,
probably one of the most hardest times of my life,
but it was also one of the most important
and priceless stages of my life.
If it was not for my degree,
I can guarantee I probably would not be doing as well today,
or here talking to you and sharing my experience.
So one of the biggest pros of going to university
is actually one that I don't often hear spoken about,
and that is self-development.
It can take years to study graphic design,
and university can be anything
from three-years onwards.
In one's life, it can be very rare
to get such a time for personal development.
This is an opportunity
to step out of the real world for a few years
and have the freedom to develop,
mature, and grow as a designer.
University is the perfect environment
to make mistakes, receive criticism, and to learn.
These are vital years
that you will have the opportunity to create work,
specialize, and study everything about graphic design.
It's this time that will equip you
with the creative skills to enter into the industry.
Tutor time.
Tutors on your course
will already have years of expert experience
in the design industry,
and they are there to inspire you.
They will know what is good,
what works, and what does not.
This is a priceless opportunity to learn.
At university, you will get proper feedback
from tutors on your course.
If you're lucky, you will get some one-on-one time,
where tutors can advise you on your work
and help you progress in the right direction.
Challenging.
Over the course of your higher education,
you will undertake a variety of creative briefs
that will challenge you
to research and develop your visual communication skills
across a variety of media.
Creative freedom.
As soon as you enter into the industry,
you'll soon realize you won't have
as much creative freedom or opportunities as you like.
At university, you will be able
to explore your full creative potential
and respond to briefs in whatever way you wish.
You will be able to produce some really unique
and interesting work,
which you can include in your portfolio.
Team-building and communication skills.
On a good course, you will often have to work in groups
to tackle a brief.
This will put you in a position
where you will gain experience
working with others in a team.
This will encourage your teamwork
and communication skills.
As you and your fellow students produce work,
you will all, at some point,
have to present your work to each other, and talk.
You will not only be encouraged
to talk about your own work,
but also critique and discuss other people's work.
You will be expected to receive criticism, and give it.
Education.
On a course, you will be encouraged
to learn and practice
some of the finer disciplines of graphic design,
such as typography, color theory,
design theory, and learn how to use creative tools.
You will attend lectures
and be expected to produce a written dissertation
on a subject of your choice.
Past student talks and presentations.
Now, as I mentioned earlier,
it is rare that university
will adequately prepare the students
to enter into the real industry.
To me, that is a serious drawback.
Now, depending on where you do your degree,
your university may ask some of the previous students back,
to talk about their experience.
On my course, they did this,
and it was a good opportunity
to see the work they were producing
and ask some serious questions about the real industry.
Build a specialized portfolio.
At the end of the course,
you should hopefully graduate
with a specialized portfolio of work,
which will form the main basis of your qualification.
This will represent your talent and skill,
which you will use to find a job.
Degree show.
At the end of your creative course,
you will be able to display your work in a degree show.
This is where many agencies will attend
to look for fresh creative talent.
This is a great opportunity
where you can sell yourself
and talk to potential employers,
get noticed, and make contacts.
Creative qualification.
Once you graduate,
you will receive your degree qualification,
but this will not be
the only qualification you will receive.
At the end of all this self-development,
practice, and achievement,
you should hopefully be better prepared
to enter into the wide world of the design industry
and seek to start your career.
When entering into the design industry,
you will be able to say you finished a degree course,
which is recognized
as a valuable qualification to potential employers,
because it is understood
that you spent the time to specialize
and develop as a graphic designer, to a high standard.
So to conclude, my ultimate answer to this question,
"Do I need to go to university," would be yes.
Indeed, it can be very expensive,
but I cannot proclaim enough
how priceless the years you get at university are.
I can safely say that without my time at uni,
I would not have become as inspired,
as conceptual, as philosophical,
confident, or as knowledgeable
about typography and design theory as I am today.
So I would recommend university or art college to anyone.
However, at the end of the day,
it is really down to the individual
and the creative talent of the individual.
If you are talented, you're going to do well
regardless if you go to university or not.
If you don't want to go, or can't go,
it does not mean you can't still make a career for yourself.
The graphic design industry is full of various roles,
at various different levels.
You can spend that time working your way up in the industry,
and get some really valuable experience.
I do believe it is possible for someone
to make a career for themself in graphic design
without going to university.
You could spend that time
working your way up in the industry,
and get some really valuable experience
that may supersede a person with a degree.
So those are some pros and cons,
and my opinions about university and art college.
If you would like to take a closer look
at the list of pros and cons I discussed in this video,
you can find out more in the PDF document
that accompanies this video series.
So what are your thoughts on university or art college?
Do you think it's important or not?
Do you agree with the points I have raised?
And do you have any experiences you can share?
Let me know what you can think,
and share your comments below.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this video.
If you did, hit the like button on my Facebook page.
If you'd like to see more videos like this in the future,
hit the subscribe button,
and you can also find me on Twitter, @TastyTuts.
So in the next video,
I'm going to talk about the qualifications you will need
to become a graphic designer,
to enter into the industry.
So see you in the next video.