Nicole Roberts MFA Thesis Visual Component Artwork - Savannah ...

EXPECTATION 4 | digital media
Conversely, when surveyed on this topic, 60% of
educators do not believe that print design and digital
design should be treated equally within undergraduate
graphic design curricula. The opposite is true for their
students; 73% feel that with the direction technology
is heading, print and digital design should be taught as
equals within their curriculum. The dichotomy persists
when educators and students were asked which aspects
of their curriculum are emphasized the most. Digital
media ranked second highest for educators, while
students ranked it as the least emphasized within their
current curriculum.
It is undisputed that digital design education
must be incorporated into collegiate graphic design
programs. The problem remains that with this
addition there are significant time constraints placed
upon educators and more pressure placed upon
students to master new media while concurrently
developing a quality design project. Therefore, how
technology is taught must change. Ideally in design
education, technical proficiency comes prior to the
application of these skills to extensive design problems.
Students report that when expected to master the
two simultaneously, the results were both technically
and aesthetically below average. Ultimately, when
the aesthetics within new media projects suffer, it
is predominately due to poor technical proficiency.
The solution for graphic design curricula resides in
separating the two tracks of new media learning
(technical versus conceptual/aesthetic) to ensure
students are equally competent in both. A close
comparison can be made in respect to international
students who must first take an ‘English as a
Second Language’ class in order to fully articulate
and comprehend future coursework within their
curriculum. They do not expect other professors in
each of their core classes to teach them basic English
comprehension in order to verbally communicate,
just as students of graphic design cannot expect their
design studio professors to spend time teaching them
basic new media software techniques in order to
visually communicate. Students must come to these
courses equipped with a moderate level of technical
knowledge. This is not to add yet another requirement
to an already lengthy course list for graphic design
majors. But curricula must publicly offer elective
courses focused exclusively on mastering software
immediately prior to each relevant studio class.
This effort will serve to set the pre-requisite of
acquiring a moderate level of experience with new
media software prior to the design studio coursework.
As a result, students will no longer be weighed down
by a technical learning curve while they try to produce
quality design projects, and educators will not feel
compelled to lecture an entire class on software
techniques. This solution will save time and energy
by allowing both educators and students to focus
more so on the critical thinking and aesthetics to
solve the digital design problem. The field of graphic
design will always be intrinsically linked to the tools
and technology its practitioners use to create. But as
technology is destined to continually reinvent itself,
so must the skill set of its students. The opportunity
for pedagogical change lies in promoting technical
proficiency prior to design studio requirements,
while continuing to exercise their new media skill
sets throughout their educational career. Graphic
design curricula must not allow students to become
technologically complacent.
We as educators have not taken
web design and interactive media
as seriously as other areas like
typography and imaging.
martha Scotford, Professor
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
24