Teaching Philosophy
educating the next generation of passionate, purposeful, and practical designers
Passion, Purpose, and Practicality are the three tenets of Graphic Design that have become my pedagogical gospel. By fostering a love of design, encouraging critical thinking, and promoting practical, output-based thinking, I work to empower my students to become confident and successful designers with an extra competitive edge. I cultivate a learning environment that is both challenging and supportive, where students can explore their creativity and develop their own unique design voice in safe, explorative spaces. I am dedicated to inspiring my students to design with intention and purpose, and to master the technical and emotional skills necessary for success in the Graphic Design industry.
passion is a heady feeling
Engaging in passionate artistic play is a cornerstone of education in the arts. Passion sparks behind all creative endeavors and, as a facilitator of design education, it is my job to inspire and nurture a love of design in all of my students. By fostering an environment of exploration and experimentation through active exercises, demonstrations, and workshops, I hope to pique their curiosity and help them discover their own unique design voice. I work to inspire and nurture this passion in my students by exposing them to a wide range of design styles, history, and techniques, and encouraging them to explore their own creative interests.
Designing a safe and explorative space is key when asking students to create-on-demand. The difference in classroom styles creates a definitive difference in classroom outcomes and passion-driven design work. The mood developed within the physical space by the facilitator (i.e. me!) requires a palpable passion for the work. There is a sense of urgency when fostering devotion early on in a student’s design career, and I curate an environment to facilitate the growth of passion by offering myself emotionally to my students, allowing them to glean my own intensity from not only what I say but the actions I take and the environment I cultivate.
a purpose-driven pedagogy
If Passion is the emotional component of design work, then Purpose is the driving force behind it. What is design if devoid of purpose? I would argue that design lacking purpose is not design at all. All successful designers must find the purpose within their creation in order to communicate as effectively as possible. A purposeful design is the first step towards a successful design.
Purpose is the bedfellow of intent. Before pen is put to paper and any design work occurs, students are asked to find their purpose by asking themselves: what are your intentions with this piece? Who are you talking to? What do you want them to get out of this communication? Without intentions and purpose, the design work will inevitably fall flat and fail to gain the most it can out of its audience. We discuss intention and purpose through critiques, in-class dialogue, and hands-on projects. To write about design is to educate oneself in design, with theory and principles serving as the groundwork to discovering the purpose of any piece. It is because of this that I require my students to constantly and consistently write and think critically about their work and the intended impact on their audience.
practical magic
Quickly, Passion and Purpose can stall if there is not Practicality to reign them in and generate a satisfying and effective solution. As a teacher I am a facilitator, and I habitually work to bring what I’ve experienced in the field to the classroom, and answering the question “How does this get made?” is a crucial component of any design pedagogy. This final “P” was inspired when I was hired as a Graphic Designer for a promotional product company, and I was shocked at how much I didn’t know. I have since folded all I learned and researched into my teaching practice, articulating the needs of future employers and providing my students with a “leg-up” on the competition.
Practicality is magical. The practical designer navigates, questions, and instructs. The practical designer is an output-focused designer, always considering and researching the limitations of the substrate, medium, or product for which they are designing. Once a student has become conscious of how to “slap a logo on a mug” and everything that entails, they will continue that thought process for every design project in and out of the classroom environment, formalizing them as design researchers and investigators.
It is my primary goal that every Graphic Design student graduates with an abundance of Passion, Purpose, and Practicality. Their financial and emotional investment into their degree will not be wasted; the skills they’ve learned and developed under my tutelage will provide them with the competitive edge they will need to acquire a design position post-academics. At least, that is my hope. I am dedicated to arming them with these essential qualities and, when they are ready, pushing them out of the nest into a successful, fulfilling career path.