Graphic design and photo design are becoming more popular courses on college campuses, and it’s all because they’re the perfect combination of skills, said David Daley, director of the Center for the Study of Creative Technologies at New York University.
Daley, a graphic design instructor at Brooklyn College, said students who study the craft need to be aware of what they’re getting into, but also be careful to focus on the material.
If students have to take a test or a course, they should look at it for their own benefit, he said.
“I think the best way to learn a craft is to try it,” he said, “and to actually do it.”
Daley said students should have a clear goal and the right mindset when they enroll in a course.
They should be interested in learning about the craft and be able to connect with it, he added.
“It’s not a bad thing to want to do something, but it’s the right thing to do,” he added, “to take the course, and really get immersed and feel really immersed.”
Daly said students need to take an active role in their education and that includes choosing the right course.
For example, he suggested students think about what they want to learn first and then find a course that matches the skills they want.
“The course is your life,” Daley said.
Daly also encouraged students to make an effort to get a job before they get their degree.
He said if they’re interested in being an artist or designer, it helps to have experience in that field first, and that experience will help them with their work later on in their careers.
“If you want to be an artist, you’ve got to go to art school,” he advised.