How tough it is being a student! Over the last few weeks thousands of students have graduated from hundreds of Colleges and Universities, without doubt the most stressful period of their lives so far. In some subjects their results are an act of faith between the staff and the student; at that point proud parents realise that all the work has been worthwhile when they see the degree being handed to their son or daughter. The formal photographs mark that point. If they are lucky those parents meet a new young person who has confidence and skills that, at first, mean lively debates and exchanges of opinion at home. And then lead to a worthwhile career, at which time everyone can see the results of years of study. For the design student things are a little different, all your skill and passion for the subject is there on show for everyone to see and comment on before you graduate. The physics or mathematics graduates do not have the chance to display their talent until they are employed, parents are unlikely to understand a fraction of what has been learned so can’t question the student’s achievements. With design, everyone has an opinion no matter how lightly informed they are so designers are constantly defending their work, thereby gaining in confidence. This is tough on the academic graduates who initially have little more that a sheet of paper to confirm their brilliance. This does mean for design students that they must develop their critical skills in the public area. With almost all colleges taking in ever more students each year to meet budgetary needs, there is a tendency for design students to work at home. Viewed from outside, the results of solitary ‘home working’ are easy to see when compared with students who are always in college debating with, learning from, and competing against their fellow students. There is a visible difference in risk taking, confidence, hand skills and an inquisitive spirit of adventure among those who spend the majority of their time in college and those ‘grey ghost’ students who rarely appear. And of course in college there is the chance to talk with staff members who are not required to make house calls. So some images from the RCA 2014 students and one of the daughter of a very proud dad, well done Alice.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 17:30:01 +0000
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