Driving Force of the creative attitude

Part 2
by Charles S. Naidu

From milk to solid food. In most educational settings, students can be seen as babies and children wanting more lactose in their system. As babies grow up, they need certain nutrients to develop their mental and physical well being. As they say, nothing beats mother's milk! That’s very true. How true it is that all the formula milk and designer nutrition couldn’t compete with natural nutrition from the mother. However, all other supplementary foods would also assists greatly in children's growth.

As educators in this creative environment, students are like babies and children. In a country as young as ours and rapidly developing, young people still need to be nurtured and fed with such nutrition. Knowledge is one all in one super-nutrition that anyone couldn’t deny. It doesn’t matter which industry or field, knowledge in these areas is beneficial to all walks of life. What does students want to achieve? That question has always been answered in the classroom when students decided to undertake a challenge. When lecturers answer their questions, they would be giving the students ideas and solutions about the problems faced. Teachers and lecturers have not only answered questions but also providing students with the knowledge which was the requirement of the course or rather the text or website address which was supposed to be beneficial to the students. The question is, have the student benefited from that? Did they learn anything?

'Sir, did I do that correctly?' asked a graphic design student.

That question refers to the final sketch of a particular design solution. Would this question mean that this student has no confidence about his/her design solution or would it mean that this student does not know how to do it? How would we interpret that question? I have encountered this situation numerous times and I found out only to my delight, that these students were actually only nervous. Its like a little bird which learning to fly. Its not like they couldn’t fathom the scope of the creative brief! What I have done is to assure them that, besides fulfilling client requirements, they should be certain about their ability to solve the design problem. Therefore, 'What do you think?' would it solve that problem? That would be the next course of action between the uncertain student and me. I did that because, it is safe to assume that they have the milk and the nutrition which they need. Now its time to eat meat. This is not in any way insulting vegetarians but what I meant is that they should go for solids.

The creative industry is expanding and developing simultaneously with technology. Therefore, we see much advancement and emergence of new design solutions and statements. This is visible through exhibitions, latest campaigns and design conferences as well as conventions. Sometimes it is necessary to allow these students to even teach a thing or two about the new things that is in the market. Students are supposed to be our channel for education and not us. They are the vital source of information, which I personally feel is precious. Apart from what I can acquire, I wonder sometimes, how much do they know. We cant possible say that they are students therefore, they should be any lesser than us. So, they are nervous. The problem with graphic design students in my first observation is that they are hesitant and not that they couldn’t think. That fact of the matter is, how do they think?

The journey of discovery into what and how they think has only just begun. Therefore, If these students deserve solids, then how do we give them solids? Solids here would be the crutch, for which they would depend on in order to see their solutions implemented or presented. Students never want to have their efforts in vain. No more milk. Therefore, the students must learn to get out of that comfortable nest and freefall in order to flap their wings and learn to fly. Otherwise, they won't.

As educators in the design field, we too need not only present the solids to them, but also teach them how to hunt for solids or meat. We must be the ones to fly with them so if it is necessary, we could pick them up and push them over the nest again. It doesn’t pay to be safe. We live in a world where every design is constantly scrutinized under the microscope and the bizarre irony is that we as educators could be under the lenses! So what is the driving force? Its falling out of our nests. It means taking risks, standing up for what we believe in and sheer confidence to show the world what you are made off despite what others might say.

Design Students Cannot Think?

Part 1
by Charles S. Naidu

A design student's conversion into adulthood is inevitable in the natural psychosocial development process. The individual grow and experience various aspects of life, acquiring experiences in areas defined by their wants and needs in a holistic manner. Humanity as it seems are defining their goals as they go along a path towards their designated goals and objectives, whether as an individual or corporately as a nation or groups. 

In the vast field of Design, conversion takes place as a transition of thought patterns and perception. Ideas are born based on the needs to create and to improve the quality of life. The young person who has been experiencing life for their first eighteen years, has acquired enough information to realise that what they have acquired is not yet their achievement. In this age, the very word success has been redefined and the same can be made about the word failure. Much of these are based on different approaches to educating the young about effort to succeed or perhaps progress in specific areas based on differently-abled individuals. Enlightened designers today are moving towards creating more IP, filing more copyrights, winning more awards and having their work commercialized even more. 

Why is that? Many have asked this question especially design educators. Is this all just cosmetics? Can art and design students actually express themselves? This article isn't about students' expressing themselves but rather a thought about how can Design students grow up and explore more sustainable approaches and get busy exploring uncharted branches of design expressions and philosophy?

Babies are born and they go through a long process of growing up. The same can be said about thought patterns. The thinking of our students is like old tape recorders, which plays the same tune day in and day out. Primary and secondary school education delivery has greatly contributed to this. Much stress and emphasis on studying and scoring exam papers, furthermore to produce much anticipated 'A' grade for SPM/'O' Levels for example. Unfortunately this culture has seeped into the art and design field thus greatly diminishing the quality of analytical and critical thinking among the young. 

Students' have been greatly dependent on their teacher's guidance on just about anything due to fulfilling appropriate and correct standards; strictly enforced from time to time. Students' have no room for mistakes and mistakes are often viewed as illegitimate ideas or in other words, 'wrong'. It can be agreeable that mathematical and factual data has dimensional elements in which one cannot dispute its logical conclusions. However, when it comes to conceptual thinking, subjectivity must be also allowed for the student to ask questions freely without fear of ridicule. Ridicule here means, 'asking a silly question'. Teachers had the habit to labeling legitimate questions as stupid questions, silly, illogical and worse still, 'useless' or 'worthless'. At times, perhaps teachers are the overthinkers themselves. 

Unfortunately for some students, these labels fall directly on them. Teachers habitually place value on what deems do be correct answers too quickly which resulted in students struggle to achieve what has been deemed to be the correct standards set by their educators or so called educational standards. Negative or positive reinforcement methods to create efficient students have also produced result-oriented students. Therefore this result-oriented culture has not actually contributed to the development of this country. Not that result-oriented is not a good thing. But its how we achieve these good results makes the 'result-oriented' methodologies more sustainable! Otherwise we are just dealing with external cosmetics. 

Very few have realized the potential of their acquired knowledge. Most have achieved higher qualification because they were primarily directed to fiscal revenue. It is the assumption which states higher qualification equals bigger salaries. However, it appears to be quite the opposite. Some have said, earning big qualifications like a PhD in Design doesn't make them earn well. A full time artist with just a high school certificate probably earns better! However, its not all about the money and commercialization. That is just the surface. That is only 'milk'. Its time these students eat more 'meat' or eat more solids. So the point is this. Milk isn't enough.

Overdependence on digital tools,  generative artificial intelligence and aesthetics just to commercialize one's work is not enough, not only 'milk'.  Having a balance diet with solids would mean, changing their thought patterns, which they have been used to, all these years. By changing or re-arranging their way of thinking, they are redefining success and what changing or re-arranging their way of thinking, can be considered as a solution. Students in the art and design field actually have the power to redefine the quality of life, not to make life better but to make life worth living and to design with integrity. Having a balance diet of 'milk and solids' will open their mind and doors to more important discussions, dialogues and philosophy of design, rooting the foundation of design education firmly on a rock.