Emotional Readiness to Disrupt University Practices

Christine Geiger. Graphic and Media Design.

Something that gets neglected from our courses has been a splash of reality. We’ve spent 2 years so far, 3 if you did a foundation diploma, completing a checklist of briefs and in return have been assigned a letter corresponding to the degree of which our tutors think our work complies with the checklist. This gets a little psychologically taxing when you think about the reality of the industry compared to the colouring by numbers for grades. Most of us know that Graphic Design is ultimately assessed by its audience, but actually living and believing this is something we learn by working on real briefs. 

Firstly, by removing the power of one person assessing your work, you allow multiple opinions and perspectives. Furthermore, your tutor is certainly not always going to be your target audience, it seems inappropriate to have them judge what is not really for them. 

Secondly, the concept of grades is dismantled. How do you quantify the success of a campaign, when you can’t monitor its hits on social media or count your profits from it? There is satisfaction in real gains other than receiving a standardized number or letter in the form of a grade. Moreover, a grade could never consider long term changes. Graphic Design is a world of subjectivity and qualitative data. It’s all about reactions to the design and not the design itself. 

Thirdly, there are no limitations. Your secondary practice gives you an edge in professional practice, and does not have to be cast aside for university briefs. DPS lets you rediscover your skills and nurture them. 

Lastly, and on a more personal note, I simply do not have the energy to return to another year of university without something to shatter the system that has been trying to ingrain itself into my ways of working. I feel like my work has become predictive and uninspired. DPS is exactly what I need right now. I get to have a voice again.