Last month I had the pleasure of contributing to an interview for Dude, Dutch Designers Magazine #1 2018, which is out now.
The article was about the transition from art academy into the professional design practice. It argues that a smooth transition is rarely the case for many students. There are questions if design design training sufficiently reflects the reality of the professional field. The author spoke to teachers, designers and design-buro owners.
I was happy to inform how we try to bridge that gap at the WdKa by using the following tools;
- specify the design practice into 3 different ‘area’s of expertise’
- offer authentic and challenging design projects
- offer integrated courses in business and value creation for design
- let students collaborate (multidisciplinary) in open workplaces (stations)
- open dialogue about the professional practice through assessments
- provide student coaching
Last month we had a presentation by Gert Gerritsen & Markus Praat (owner of the ‘New Chique Agency‘) about the BNO, the Ducth Design Union, which received many positive reviews by students. I believe in many ways we’re trying to make that gap smaller; by having dialogue with students about how they see their future.