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

EXPECTATION 6 | innovative business strategy
There are several avenues within a student’s
educational journey from which business strategy
must begin to be instilled. The obvious source of this
information is from professors’ expertise with client
interaction. 61% of students surveyed said they respect
the perspectives more so of professors who maintain
a professional business position over those who do
not. Yet the larger portion of educators polled (54%)
do not practice professionally outside of the school
environment. It is an obligation for educators in graphic
design to stay up-to-date with their discipline. For busy
professors, this may transform into authoring essays
for academic publications or lecturing at various design
conferences outside of their school of employment. 24
Another opportunity for graphic design programs
to encourage knowledge of business strategy, above and
beyond the standard coursework, is from professional
practice (also known as interning, co-oping, or
apprenticeship). “A well thought-out internship program
creates a relationship between the design firm and the
student that is mutually beneficial. For the student, it
provides exposure to the work environment and the
complex challenges of ‘real world’ design projects.” 25
58% of educators surveyed believe that all design
schools should make multiple professional practice
terms mandatory prior to graduation, although few
schools comply. 50% of students feel that there are
not enough opportunities for adequate professional
practice experience within their undergraduate design
program. Without this exposure, students will find
themselves unprepared for the professional workplace.
Design schools must not be content with offering
professional practice on an elective basis, or expect
students to acquire business connections on their own
fruition. Collegiate programs must build this necessary
component into their curricula as a requirement and
assist students by providing the necessary contact
information of interested employers. Business Week
magazine recently published an article confirming this
shift in demand for designers, “Those who can marry
creative right-brain thinking and analytical left-brain
thinking are at a premium. Right now a lot of new
value is being found at the intersection of design and
business. Professionals who can understand and respect
both sides are at an advantage. 26 For new graduates
to be competitive in today’s job market, they must
come equipped with knowledge not just of creativity
and craft; they must also be considerably strategic and
innovative on the business side as well.
My professors lacked a serious
connection to real world trends and
practices. This wasn’t as apparent
in college, but became much
more evident after being in the
professional environment myself.
24 Meggs, 75.
25 Shel Perkins, “Be Smart about Student
Internships,” AIGA Center for Practice
Management, May 20, 2009, http://
cpm.aiga.org (accessed Feb. 13, 2010).
26 Harry West, “The Cross-Discipline
Design Imperative,” Business
Week, October 4, 2007.
http://www.businessweek.com
(accessed February 15, 2010).
Amberlee Isabella, Recent Graduate
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
39