Hello, my name is Joanna and I am an industrial design student in New
York City.
I downloaded and read the proposal for the new school at UCI. First,
I would like to say that such a school would offer an approach
different than the current types of programs available in the U.S. I
would expect with a rise in number of design programs/schools there
would be some good alternatives offered. I hope to see more such
proposals in the future. I also hope that existing design programs
look at the UCI proposal for inspiration and food for thought. I
have done some research into design education for my thesis as well
as for my own interests in pursuing design studies. What I have
found is that schools here in the US are limited in their ability to
reach out to other departments and disciplines. I have also noticed
the influence big businesses (Ford, GM, Sony, Braun, Phillips, and US
government) have had on defining what kind of designers schools
produce. The various competitions and projects funded by such groups
invariably affects the status of the school as well as how students
perceive design outside of the classroom.
As thorough as the proposal is, it is very broad and does not address
how the school will manage such a wide range of interdisciplinary
concentrations. There is some logic in the way that all schools
operate-they tend to be stronger in specific areas and therefore
attract students and faculty in those areas. A design school that
attempts to incorporate the strengths of all the best programs faces
obstacles such as establishing consensus between diverse faculty on
curricula, resistance to specialization or indecision from students,
difficulty incorporating all the relative concentrations, and
increased competition between concentrations for resources and
status. Schools are both political machines (particularly state
schools) as well as cut throat businesses--something we don't always
like to think about when we talk about education.
This is related to the ongoing conference, but not a response or
question to any of the postings.
I am looking for demographic statistics on design education
in the United States for my thesis. I am especially interested in
industrial design. I have already looked at Core 77's Industry
Snapshot and the US government's publication on design outlooks.
What I am looking for specifically are things that provide numbers of
women vs. men, and ethnic diversity over the course of the 20th
century. Of course the numbers of women and minorities have
increased, but when did that start and how fast/slow has that change
been? Where can I go for this kind of data? I don't want to have to
dig through census books because design industry data isn't broken
down in useful categories, but do have access to a national
depository at the Science, Industry and Business Library in the city
if anyone can tell me where to look.
Many thanks,
Joanna Clark
Master's Candidate in Industrial Design
Pratt Institute, New York, USA
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