Ask DN: Who are some really talented designers that didn't go to d-school?
over 10 years ago from Kyro Beshay
Title is self-explanatory.
over 10 years ago from Kyro Beshay
Title is self-explanatory.
I didn't want the D
No degree and doing great. I definitely got lucky at a few points in my career though.
Who can afford D-school? We've got Adobe CC to pay for! :)
CC is cheaper for students ;)
Mike Matas: responsible for the UI of Nest, Photobooth, and a lot of the iPhone UI. Began working with Apple when he was around 19, most recently his design agency was acqui-hired by Facebook. http://mikematas.com/
Bret Victor: UI designer/developed with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Known for his thought-provoking talks on interaction design http://worrydream.com/
I wouldn't consider myself very talented but am moderately successful working as a designer for a very well-known tech company. I got my undergraduate degree in Biology and never went to d-school.
I skipped the college track as well. — dribbble.com/taurean. I do okay.
Here's one that springs to mind, Tim Van Damme: http://dribbble.com/maxvoltar
I'm not saying that I'm talented, but I dropped out of University after just over 6 months. I like to think that I'm now slowly working my way up the Design Industry ladder, and I've had the opportunity to work on some pretty cool things.
Like Dan V. Peterson, I got lucky.
P.S. Here's my shameless plug - http://dribbble.com/carlfairclough
I didn't learn anything about technology and design at school. Didn't even go to university. Doing pretty well for myself. Though wouldn't go as far to say I'm 'talented' just yet...
Good stuff, man. How'd you get to this point?
I taught myself everything I know. And as Josh said, just learning off people that are better than you. You can only get better when you can accept that there is better.
I too (Don't want to say that I am a really good designer, but didn't go to "d-school")! I was going to get my a-grade and learned by doing. Just open Photoshop and scribble a bit!
What's "d-school?"
Design school -- degree in graphic design, etc.
Figured, just funny that you said the title was self-explanatory. I went to architecture school (like buildings) and now I'm a UI designer...so I wouldn't be on your list.
Ah, cool. Did many of the skills transition over, or was there a lot of self-teaching involved?
Not much overlap in skills. Technical skills in arch. school were all about sizing beams, figuring out solar exposure, etc. Digital work was done mostly in AutoCad and Rhino, with some finishing in Illustrator and Photoshop.
Design thinking, systematic processes for solving design problems, balancing technical constraints and aesthetics...those kind of things are relevant for me today.
I had a hard time finding work when I graduated, but was able to build websites freelance. Learned by doing. I feel sometimes that the architectural education was a waste of money, but I went to a school with strong design fundamentals (RISD), so I think overall it worked out well.
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