Design has outgrown the traditional designer

The useful part

Someone with visual talent learned typography, composition, color, image-making, and a collection of professional tools. With enough skill, that student could turn artistic ability into commercial work without the uncertainty of pursuing a career as a traditional artist. Design is often presented as a field where creative people can produce visually compelling work while building a recognizable career.

How it works

• I know this because it's how my journey began, as it did for countless others.
• As the profession changed, I learned to code, moved into user experience and interface design, honed my strategic and business thinking, and developed an interest in the ethical and theoretical questions...
• The appeal is understandable, and generations of exceptional designers entered the profession through exactly that route.
• I was good at drawing, interested in art, and attracted to a profession that offered a practical outlet for my creativity.
• That foundation served me well, but it would not have been enough for the career I eventually built.

What to take from it

My career evolved because I did not remain confined by the traditional designer persona. After two decades in professional design and now as a design educator, I se...

Details worth keeping

Why design education must reconsider the kind of student it imagines. They could pursue a practical career without giving up creativity.