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Getting a Design Education

Most design disciplines now have degree status university courses available in many states of Australia.

Degree courses for design are now often four years in duration and can be taken with honours, masters and even doctorate (PhD) extensions.

Design training is also available through Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions and through private suppliers for some courses. These courses may lead to certificate or diploma qualifications or statements of course completion. They may only require one or two years study.

What do employers expect?

Some employers will be satisfied with the training offered by the shorter courses but employers who apply more formal assessment of applicants prior to hiring are likely to place importance on the apparently more substantial degree qualification.

There are large numbers of graduates in all disciplines so an employer who advertises a job position will generally receive a large number of applications. Many employers, and particularly those in design consultancies, are likely to use level and duration of design education as one of the ways to reduce the list of applicants down to a manageable short list to interview. So if design is your chosen career, striving to get into and complete a degree is the surest way to start.

The value of a design education

Design is an industry where visual evidence of your competence through your folio and your ability to talk intelligently about your design discipline may be all an employer requires.

However the value of design education is that an employer can be more confident that you have an understanding of the historical precedents in the industry, a broad understanding of techniques, materials and tools, and have absorbed the standards and values by which the industry operates.

Self training is a possibility in many design disciplines but unlike those entering the industry thirty years ago you will now be competing with thousands of formally educated graduates.

Software tools can make it relatively easy to grasp the mechanics of the tasks that designers perform and there are many books on all fields of design that discuss procedure and illustrate what is considered to be good practice. However there is no substitute for the immersion in the culture and aims of a profession that a good tertiary education can supply.

In keeping with professional training currently available the DIA recommends four years of tertiary design training to degree level.

Finding out more about design courses

Contact your local universities and TAFE colleges or visit their websites to see which design courses they offer.

Ask for the annual 'Art and Design Education Resource Guide' available at newsagencies or directly from Design Graphics Pty Ltd, www.designgraphics.com.au.

Look for annual education publications at your local newsagency such as 'The Good Universities Guide' (www.thegoodguides.com.au) and the state-by-state tertiary admissions and course guides.