Jon Spruce Liverpool John Moores University School of Art & Design. Dr Martyn Evans Lancaster University Institute for the Contemporary Arts

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1 Jon Spruce Liverpool John Moores University School of Art & Design Dr Martyn Evans Lancaster University Institute for the Contemporary Arts 00

2 Supplying the Demand: Aligning product design curriculum and the professional practice of design Our research explores the relationship between product design curricula and the professional practice of design. > HEI s as facilitators of knowledge networks > Student experiences of design education > Expectations of entering the creative industries > Reflections of design graduates: 2 yrs, 5 yrs + > Design employers expectations of graduates > A framework for getting the balance right 01

3 The National Context... Design Skills Advisory Panel. High-Level Skills for higher value. (2007) Design Council. The Business of Design. (2005) Cox, G. Cox Review of Creativity in Business: building on the UK s strengths. (2005) DTI. Economics Paper No.15: Creativity, Design and Business Performance. (2005) Lord Sainsbury. The Race to the Top: A Review of Government s Science and Innovation Policies. (2007) Vanilla Research. The Supply of and Demand for Design Skills. (The Art, Design, Media Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy; The Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning through Design; and The Design Council, 2006) What employers are saying they want from design graduates: Design graduates are increasingly being called upon to not only possess high level design skills, but have a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between design and the business context in which it operates. 02

4 The National Context... This discourse is characterized by issues of increasing emphasis of design within commerce; multi-disciplinary design engagement; broadening the understanding and skills of tomorrow s design entrepreneurs; blurred career paths for design graduates; and the increasing demand for designers to possess complementary skills that can be applied beyond traditional design boundaries. Design Skills Advisory Panel. Design Blueprint. (Design Council and Creative & Cultural Skills, London, 2008). 03

5 UK design industries identified as being burgeoning and in need of overall structure to ensure healthy and continued growth 04

6 The Design Context... Design was about creating artifacts and we ve moved past that to now creating contexts in which activities happen and in which people participate collectively. Sudick B. In New Contexts/New Practices: AIGA Design Educators Conference, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, US, October 2010 Broadening our field of vision as designers in considering context, parameters and impact of design. 05

7 Establishing the stakeholders... Students Academics Employers Graduates 06

8 Students... Experience & Expectations Method: Questionnaires with final year product design students from a number of UK degrees to generate insight into two key areas: > Student views on their experiences of design education > Student expectations of entering the design industry Findings highlighted the degree to which students felt their course aligned to the practices of the design industry, and if their HE experience has equipped them for employment. 07

9 Students... Tech & manufacturing knowledge 12% Communication skills 29% Q: What is the proportional value of skills developed throughout the duration of your course? Business & commercial awareness 6% Practical design & making skilss 23% Computing skills 18% Contextual studies 12% 08

10 Creativity Students... Team working skills Q: What attributes do you think potential employers desire from a graduate? Computer literacy Enterprise skills Technical and manufacturing knowledge Visualisation skills Commercial awareness 09

11 DESIRABILITY Students... Q: Rate the desirability of these employment opportunities and what you consider to be their availability within the market AVAILABILITY Design consultant In-house designer CAD designer/visualiser Self employed freelance Self employed freelance CAD designer/visualiser Design educator Design consultant In-house designer Design educator 10

12 Students... > > > Students perceive there to be a skills gap between their educational experience and industry expectations. Students are aware of transferable skills and have an understanding of their value in broader design and creative industries related employment. There is a disconnect between student and industry perspectives regarding the importance of commercial awareness. Summary: Opportunities for building relationships between industry and students, while education largely driven by project based learning. This approach focuses on the design process and practical design skills rather than engaging students in broader commercial context or deployment of design 11

13 The need for a coherent approach to design industry and design education collaboration 12

14 Students... Deployment of skills Practice design skills development Learning to learn Autonomy Synthesis of transferable skills Academic knowledge base Identity and place 13

15 Graduate designers... We consulted with UK early career design product design professionals to understand the perceived link between their undergraduate studies and the everyday practice of the design industry. Specifically... upon the realities of working in the design industry and explores the extent to which their undergraduate training supported the transition from designer-intraining to design professional. Method: Semi structured interviews with early career design product design professionals. 14

16 The Questions: Graduate designers... 1: How does a university experience prepare graduates for entry into the design industry? 2: What aspects of working in the design industry were unexpected? 3: What would you have liked to known before leaving university to help with the transition into professional designer? 4: What can you only really learn on the job? 15

17 Analysis and Initial Insights: Graduate designers... Respondents had experience of a variety of roles as product designers including lighting, web, graphics, packaging, and retail design; working as independent designers and/or inhouse within larger organizations. Common themes began to emerge during the thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. Themes were organised into two main categories: Design know-how Business know-how 16

18 1: Level of preparedness My degree course provided me with a structure to the way I design, a process or spine to work with. This gave me a level of confidence in approaching projects. Design know - how Confidence that I could become a designer - uni started a journey that has continued into industry Problem solving and creative skills drawing, model making, presentation Presentation and communication both traditional and 3D CAD and digital visualization skills Awareness of the design process a structure to the process of designing Appreciation of tutors as designers helped to make design real Business know - how Project management and time planning emulation of compressed timescales during projects Awareness of business issues related to design New Product Development as a process The breadth of design as an industry the wide spectrum of design 17

19 2: Unexpected aspects The level and amount of responsibility was bigger than I expected. As a designer you live and die by what you deliver as the final outcome. I wasn t really ready for that. Design know - how Level of competency required in design for manufacture constraints and limitations are real The pace and speed of work required Level of responsibility much higher than expected Business know - how Terminology - the need to use and understand and use business language to gain credibility Industry knows little about design and what designers can (and can t) do, i.e. designers are not magicians Interpersonal skill and the need to get on with colleagues and clients The need to build your own brand as a designer earns credibility 18

20 3: Gaps in knowledge Being aware of yourself and your skills more, understanding what you are good at, or what suits you best so you can then promote yourself and move in a more direct career direction. Design know - how Team working is essential to being a successful designers in industry More awareness of design as a process rather than hoping that the creative lightening will strike Internships and even more links with the design industry to bridge the gap between university and the real world Talking to people about design work openly helps to develop better ideas Business know - how The need for a thick skin and the ability to take criticism openly The economics of design how to calculate daily rate, charge clients, etc Awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses both in design and more broadly in business Lack of actual control over what design can influence in business 19

21 4: On the job learning As a graduate you have a huge ego which needs to be popped otherwise it s like pushing water up a hill! You have to listen to what the client is saying not just tell them what you want or how great your idea is. Design know - how Design isn t a 9-5 job the job must get done whatever it takes Design is a cog in a complex commercial machine Business know - how Truly being able to multitask Deadlines are deadlines they never move back, only forward Your boss and clients are direct tutors aren t always tough enough Your graduate ego will, and should, be popped listen to clients and don t go off on a personal tangent just because you think it s good! 20

22 Graduate designers... Identity & place prof v.s personal Academic support & facilitation Ability to multi-task range Design s sphere of influence Working to someone else s deadline Pace and competency 21

23 Design employers... We consulted with leading UK product design employers to gain insight into their perception of the requirements of design curricula and the desirable attributes of graduates. Findings established the continued importance of traditional design skills in addition to the breadth of emerging areas graduates need to be able to engage with. Method: Participatory workshop, presentations and seminar discussion. 22

24 A Study by Michael Roller Looks at the skill set needed by Junior Designers Agendas in the UK are at odds with other international studies in identifying desirable attributes of graduate designers. 23

25 Design employers are often critical of educators as they feel they are out of touch with contemporary industry trends. Design employers... There is a need to develop mutually beneficial ways of industry/university engagement. Employers want graduates to be the finished article upon graduation, yet......are often unwilling to engage with universities in a meaningful way to provide a real-world perspective. Some employers are critical of universities when the engage with real-world projects as they feel such approaches is taking the food out of their mouth. 24

26 Design employers... Efficiency effort Vs reward Synthesis of transferable workplace skills Training & CPD Commercial viability Managing clients & expectations Design s sphere of influence 25

27 Bridging the gap... Established relationships between academic institutions and industry... Is there s a gap here in supplying the demand? Our model aims to bridge the gap and satisfy the relative needs of all stakeholders... Providing academics a framework for developing product design curricula. 26

28 Student Deployment of skills Practice design skills development Learning to learn Autonomy Efficiency effort Vs reward Synthesis of transferable skills Academic Knowledge knowledge base Hub CPD Academic Training & Identity and place Ability to multi-task range Employer Commercial viability Managing clients & expectations Design s sphere of influence Working to someone else s deadline Pace and competency Graduate Graduate to employment

29 Summary > Academia and industry have different agendas > The (product) design industry is evolving > Industry doesn t have a single viewpoint > There is a need for alignment between the stakeholders > There is a need for a mechanism for continued communication > Our framework aims to address these issues and close the loop 28

30 Thank You... Jon Spruce Dr Martyn Evans 29