Fears for the next generation of graphic designers banished

Posted by Pat O'Hare on November 09, 2009 in Creative, Graphic Design, Industry comments with 0 Comments

I’m taken back to 1997, the year I graduated as a graphic designer or so I thought. I was going to take on the world or even Cork, I was bright-eyed, rearing to go and hugely unaware of my inflated ego.

What brings me back to this place are my visits to the Media & Communications Department in CIT. Here is where I sit on an Industry Advisory Panel and occasionally meet with the students to discuss all things "designery".

My first visit was a real eye-opener. I had this rather archaic view of the Media & Communications Dept. being a sub-standard graphics program that was embraced by anyone with enough Leaving Cert points who had a vague interest in graphic design.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. What I witnessed was an ultra-modern facility, harboring some of the most innovative designs by some of the most creative individuals. Raw talent was very definitely on show, which was a testament to how the degree program was now being run.

The last visit I had was to meet with the third-year students and give them an opportunity to experience a brief that had previously existed in the industry. This was a chance for me to illustrate the importance of 'quick turnaround'.

On occasion (more often than not) our industry requires a quick turnaround and that was one thing I never experienced as a student and I very much doubted that these third-year students ever had the pleasure of experiencing also.

I briefed them on a corporate identity reminiscent of a brief I had a year earlier. They had four hours in which to read the brief, conceptualise, work it up to a finished identity and present to me, their lecturers and their fellow students.

To my surprise, the majority were well able for the task in hand and also presented very well, something which will be a vital asset for them in years to come. Also their brainstorming and development processes were identical to those in the industry which will again stand to them once they branch out into the industry.

In conclusion, my fears for the next generation of graphic designers from Cork have been banished by witnessing a very talented and confident group of individuals. I will look forward to meeting this group again and watch with great interest as they finish their degrees next year.

The future's bright, the future's Pantone 165.

Pat O'Hare has been a graphic designer for the past 12 years and is relishing the next 12. His skills are spread across many diciplines in design and he likes to keep up-to-date with all the latest developments, from design, online media right through to music.
Find out more at Pat's Profile. Don't forget to subscribe if you'd like to hear more!

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