By the end of today all first years at the Emily Carr Institute must declare a major, and one major only, for second year. I know I want to be a designer for sure! (well, pretty sure). But there are two streams at ECIAD: industrial and communication.
\nFor the past two years I\u2019ve been very much into graphic design. A cool poster, a well-designed web site, infographics, etc. get me going. I know a few graphic designers, I read graphic design magazines and websites, I correspond with the Graphic Design Association of Canada (which, btw, seems hella more professional and together than what I\u2019ve seen of their industrial design counterparts\u2014just check out the websites for one).
\nGraphic design is the reason I chose Emily Carr for my second degree. I\u2019d never considered industrial design until a professor suggested it to me during my first term here last fall.
\nThis professor had some convincing reasons based on what he saw in my work and what he knew from teaching in the department. For one, I\u2019ve showed an aptitude for thinking in 3D: I really enjoyed my Materials, Form and Space class in the first term, i.e. building concepts into 3D sculptures and objects. Second, if I truly want to be a designer but perhaps not a specific type, then ID will offer more opportunities to perhaps pursue CommD-related ideas and projects, whereas moving the opposite direction (trying to do ID stuff from within, or after, CommD) is less accessible.
\nBut over the past few weeks I realize I haven\u2019t really thought too much about what gets me excited in the industrial design world. I do link to lots of 3D stuff in my web travels; in fact, I tag both graphic and industrial links with \u2018design\u201d rather than being too specific. And though I seem to think in terms of graphic design more often, and seem to get more excited when I see good graphic design, maybe I\u2019ve just never exposed myself to enough ID stuff.
\nBut something about CommD seems so much more immediate. I can communicate more ideas with my audience and I can act on and produce my concepts now.
\nI partly blame Stefan Sagmeister. I\u2019ve never been into a designer before, so maybe it\u2019s na\u00efve love, but after reading and learning about The Sag I couldn\u2019t be more excited by graphic design. Is there an industrial designer like that I should know about?
\nThere are a number of other factors, from the seemingly trivial (who will my teachers and peers be in either department?) and pragmatic (which will offer more employment opportunities?) to the big issues (what do I really love? Where do I see myself in eight years?). Maybe I should be asking myself if another undergrad is really what I need. Maybe I should get a real education at a real job? Or get my masters degree?
\nI don’t really like the title of this post, Industrial vs. Communication. I don’t want to be stuck in either; I want both. Nonetheless a decision must be made.
\nOn the other hand, I\u2019m not too worried about which path I take. I will be a great designer in either program and I will push my boundaries, my peer’s, and the school\u2019s in getting there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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