design school or DIY?
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- sparse
truth is, i'm all for formal education, but at 28 with a dwindling bank account, it seems too risky?
me: advertising copywriting background, did the whole ad school thing at an undeservedly well-known ad school. literature degree prior to that.
what if i found an internship w/ a design firm and worked on my skills at night? get crits from my boss? is that feasible? or is the total immersion of school necessary?
i've already collected the LifeStyle, the Tibor, the El Lissitzky books. i read "The Education of a Graphic Designer" just for kicks. i have an elementary understanding of Adobe CS... can I self-teach from here?
would DIY be selling myself short? thanks for any help.
"Mom, Dad, I think I'm a designer."
- MLVR0
I used to work with a Copywriter who had studied to art director.
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I'd say no school, depends on yer skills tho...
- tkmeister0
I always hated school, yes it can teach you technique and theory but it's nothing like a real experience.
I always said myself if you have enough passion, then you should be able to teach yourself.
but this all depends on a person. you are in late 20's not in early 20's. we get lazy as we get older.
- warheros0
you can never go wrong with education.
- robotron3k0
imo design is one of those skill sets that you can teach yourself, as in almost anyone can learn how to use a design program and do it. now if it's good or not is another thing, that is where taste/skill comes in, and that cannot be taught.
my BA is in psychology, i've taken 3 art classes during college and dropped out of one of them,
now i'm not a great designer, in fact i may not even be that good at all, but i'm a great conceptualist and i can sell my work to clients, so in the end, i can hire talent and make my work great.
but i agree with MLVR, no to design school at this stage of the game. if you have natural talent, it should be easy for you to stand out.
- sparse0
if no school, does that model of internship + self-teaching sound feasible? it's true, we do get lazy as we age...
also--we all know awards are the catalyst for advancement; without school, you can't enter student competitions, therefore making notoriety less accessible. sorry, but it's true... :(
- tkmeister0
awards are over-rated.
- sparse0
but when you're starting out, don't they help? honestly.
- ********0
good work speaks louder than student awards imo
and yes, if you're passionate enough, you can teach yourself..
- grafholic0
i don't think awards will help you all that much -- you need a good portfolio. w/out good portfolio, awards really don't mean a thing.
- warheros0
no question, that when youre doing design in school you do a lot more work than you would if you were doing it on your own. that is another way to look at it.
- fate0
warheros, whenever I am forced to do something I end up half-assing it just to get the job done. I'm more productive when I'm truly motivated.
- warheros0
yeah, but you gotta figure out a way to do something you want to do with the given assignment. it's like that in the real world when you get shit you dont want to do.
- blaw0
sounds like you've got the passion/desire thing down.
i'd say the odds are in favor of you succeeding with the diy approach.
- ozhanlion0
I say don't lose that passion as it is the most important thing.
because you always want what you don't have like if I go to school it wwill be better and the next minute you are in there, you don't hundred percent give what you should give, because you are in there so if you make remember yourself why you are there every morning looking at the mirror and keep that motivation you can be successful whether you are in school or at your home.school is only good for networking, you have peeps out there with similar interests that's the only thing, but internet is a large bucket you can find your way here as well regarding most of the classes's documents can be found around as well.
yeah it is gay