Attn graphic designers - DD wants to go into graphic design

amother

Wed, Dec 28 2011, 8:02 pm

What would you recommend is the best route to go? DH would love her not to go to college and only be in a frum environment. I don't think that's pssible out of town. DD doesn't want to go to college, or thinks she doesn't, she doesn't want all the extra stuff. There is what seems to be a good vocational school with a year long program that local colleges give about 25 credits for, very legit. Would her options be better with a degree? What are the most important classes that should be offered?

TIA!

amother

Wed, Dec 28 2011, 8:39 pm

As a graphic designer, where she is trained really depends on what she wants to do with design eventually.

From your DH's attitude of "no college", I'm assuming your family falls into the more yeshivish side of the spectrum. There are many graphic design programs from various sources that are a year or so - as the one you described - and give the attendees a working knowledge of the programs. Are they producing talented designers who can then go off into the real world and get a design job at anything but a heimish company? Very much no.

So if you DD wants to work for some frum or heimish place that does work mainly in the frum community, then a year-long program is just fine.

But if she wants to get a job in a "real" company, design firm, agency, etc, a program like that's not gonna cut it. She doesn't have to go to FIT or Pratt - I went to Touro Manhattan, had excellent teachers and a fantastic internship, and now have a b'H excellent job for a non-Jewish company. But I was in school for 4 years, was thoroughly put through the ringer by one teacher in particular, and granted, I have a lot of natural talent.

Graphic design has been my dream for a very long time, and I paid my dues to get to where I am today. But I would not have been able to do that if I had gone to a year-long program or course for frum girls, where the working real-life knowledge of design in situations other than the next Bais Yaakov's dinner journal is minimal at best.

Good luck to your DD. It's a hard field to break into, especially if you're freelancing.

amother

Wed, Dec 28 2011, 9:12 pm

amother wrote:

OP here. The vocational school is not Jewish. Does that make a difference? This seems to be a fairly rigorous program, a full year, not 2 or 3 months, with internships and some degree of placement help.

Ah. That actually does make a big difference, at least to me. I would be interested in knowing what this program is, do you mind sharing the name?

But either way, this sounds like a much more legitimate training program to me, even though I am hesitant to say that just a one-year program is really enough.

amother

Wed, Dec 28 2011, 9:39 pm

My husband is a graphic designer who also went to Touro College, although it was the Brooklyn campus (not as part of the frum gender-segregated programs). So he has a four-year degree, but I don't think it has helped him much. He has not be successful at finding employment outside of the hemishe world. He actually doesn't have problems finding freelance work, for all types of companies, but we'd prefer him to be able to get a salaried position for the benefits and lifestyle. I think his work is great, but I am not in the industry, so I cannot say exactly what employers want. In the past, I have hypothesized that he looks too frum and that employers aren't sure about how he'd fit in with his coworkers. Who knows? We're living out-of-town now and he has been getting interviews, so I am hopeful things will change.

Anyway, I think I have written too much about us! My point, however, was to agree that if she wants to work in a non-Jewish agency or company, where she goes to school is important and a one-year degree/certificate is not likely to cut it. I think networking is important to help get those first jobs, and if the only people she's met are in the hemishe world or not at the level she wants to be, she isn't going to get the results she wants.

crl

Wed, Dec 28 2011, 9:42 pm

In general, you don't NEED a degree to be a graphic designer -- you need a working knowledge of the most commonly used design programs, an understanding of basic design principles, as well as a creative eye. It is a talent based field and many of the greatest designers around today are self-taught.

However, graphic design is also very competitive and if you're going to make a real parnassa out of it, you need as much experience as possible. A one year vocational school may be okay (and definitely will give you more broad design knowledge than the average "Jewish" program), however, in today's economy, a degree is a very important thing. It shows that you take your career seriously enough to study it for four years, and is more widely accepted than a vocational degree (in my observations anyway) so if you are going to school anyway for a certain field, I'd say you'd be doing yourself a disservice for not pursuing the highest degree of education you can -- while also getting as much design experience as you can. As much as your daughter may be creative, getting good at design takes a lot of practice. I am constantly keeping up with current trends, technologies, developing designs, etc. because I have to -- otherwise I lose my edge. Also, she most likely would not be hired by more conservative companies if she doesn't have a degree, because many corporate companies only hire employees with a degree as a policy, regardless of talent.

I do agree with amother that your daughter may be very limited in what kind of jobs she can get if she doesn't get as much training as she can, that is as on par with industry standards as possible and I don't believe that the Jewish world has enough business for her (or any graphic designer for that matter) to make a living.

That being said, if your issues are hashkafic, I'd recommend Touro if possible, because it's the one of the "frummest" you're going to get while still getting a very rigorous graphic design curriculum. Their program is actually one of the hardest the school offers -- it's 61 credits or something like that, and you are required to take all the basic computer program classes (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) as well as classes on Design Principles, and they have a few electives such as illustration, photography, and fine art that can also be helpful in terms of helping your daughter find her niche in graphic design. It's a very diverse field, and having a specialty (such as illustration, packaging, 3D design, webdesign, programming, etc) is definitely helpful.

If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me, and I'd be more than happy to answer them. Smile

amother

Thu, Dec 29 2011, 9:10 am

Rubber Ducky wrote:

I teach computer graphics at Maalot Baltimore. The art department here is excellent -- and it's a frum school.
Most, but not all girls here do get a degree.

Here's a link to the school website: Maalot Baltimore

I did attend an art school way back when, and you may not want your daughter to be around some of the people there. Art schools attract a pretty unusual group.

The best four year places here are either the state U which is more artsy, or a private college, more techy. The latter is defiinitely a problem with finances. And I don't know how we could swing Touro. We're the working poor who don't qualify for anything.

Thu, Dec 29 2011, 10:17 am

I went to Touro, and landed a job right after college in a frum company. At least one girl in my class never got a graphics at all, and ended up getting a job as a secretary. No college can give someone untalented talent.

Honestly, the schooling isn't everything. Touro's 4 years is 2 times a week for a few hours - an intense one year program would very possibly be just as good - and maybe even better - I wasn't all that happy with the graphics program - I thought that a lot of things should have been different, and I definitely think their graphics program is not worth spending money you don't have for it.

Besides for the very elite non jewish companies, what matters most is talent and skill in the design industry. If your dd is really creative and visual, it shouldn't matter where she learns her stuff. In fact, one of the best designers I know never even took a course, she taught it to herself!