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

the college curriculum.” 38 Even after mastering the core set of professional expectations,
a design student’s body of knowledge can never be looked upon in completion; it
remains ongoing and continuous. The best remain curious, thirst for knowledge, and
39 Heller, Education of an E-designer, 105.
surround themselves with forward-thinkers who embrace the same notion of change.
Graphic design education must continue striving to stay ahead of the industry’s learning
curve and to bridge the dichotomy between pedagogy and professional practice. More
strides need to be made to develop professional certification for graphic designers, more
portfolio reviews need to occur within academia, and more design programs need to
consistently seek national recognition through nasad. Currently, without the universal
acceptance of these tenants, the sole criterion for measuring a design program’s success
lies within the competency of their students in the professional workplace upon
graduation. Impending change and growth is the one unrivaled consistency schools
embrace globally, as graphic design pedagogy continues to be translated into diverse
configurations across the nation. On this account, the seven distinct professional
expectations identified are in stride with the twenty-first century workplace today, but
also come with the guarantee to evolve through time and technological advancement.
This is the cyclical nature of the cultural force that is graphic design, its “education has
no beginning or ending.” 39
Education itself might be looked upon
as the assimilation of experience – the
content of education is more than the
college curriculum. Education has no
beginning or ending.
Steven Heller
63