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

conclusion
37 MarshallMcLuhan.com, http://www.
marshallmcluhan.com/poster.html
38 Heller, Education of an E-designer,
105.
The field of graphic design has constantly and consistently changed upon its
inception and will continue to reinvent itself as technology advances. Pedagogy should
not be defined by or limited to industry expectations, but should be greatly informed
and influenced by them. Graphic design education must not rest on serving the public’s
current definition of it or reacting to change only after it surfaces within the industry. The
best curricula anticipate future change and produce design professionals that embody the
same philosophy. The essence of this proactive vision in education can be traced back to
the Marshall McLuhan caveat, “If we look at the present through a rearview mirror, we
march backwards into the future.” 37 Armed with the knowledge of what today’s leading
professionals expect from new graduates of the future, visualizing certain pedagogical
change seems all the more tangible. Research shows that in order for design student to be
fully prepared to enter the today’s professional graphic design workplace, they must be
proficient in fundamental skills of (1) creativity, (2) craft and technique, and (3) design
discourse; new modalities and methods of (4) digital media and (5) multi-disciplinary
approaches; and knowledge of business with (6) innovative strategy, and a sense of (7)
social responsibility. Realistically, even with the best schools and the top professors, a
design curriculum cannot carry the entire responsibility of a graphic designer’s success or
failure post-graduation. As Steven Heller says, “The content of education is more than
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