What are they teaching us?

I was reading this blog post this morning and I am honestly not surprised that so many designers don’t use grids. I didn’t until recently.

As a Twitter commenter said, “We are not taught grids in school.” At least, nobody did at my university. To be honest, I don’t even remember what I learned there (besides how to use the programs), and I don’t think I have applied any of what I supposedly learned.

Everything I do apply today when designing, I have learned on my own through other designers or design books (books and designers that were never mentioned at Uni either).

What are they teaching us at school?

I know design is a never-ending learning career, but are the things they teach us useful? Maybe they are just giving us the basics and not telling us that we need to keep learning after graduation. We need to learn that on our own if we care about our craft. Are they even teaching us the actual basics, though? What are they actually teaching us? What are they teaching you?

Not every designer has the opportunity to go to a renowned design school with a renowned designer that teaches you the actual basics, so what is left for the rest of us mortals? Do we give away our money for a mere diploma or should we just be self-taught?

Two things are true:
1. Design schools need to do better.
2. If we care about our craft, we need to keep learning on our own.

Because at the end of the day, those “flashy gimmicks” are what makes a difference.