I also was considering a Masters>PhD after school. Typically, that route is more for education and research, not for practicing designers. There is a lot of value in that direction and I don’t think it’s a case where it’s lesser than a practicing designer who sketches every day.
A good example is Donald Norman. He’s got a Ph.D and maybe can’t sketch (I dunno) but does a lot of critical thinking and analysis that likely most practicing designers don’t.
John Maeda is another Ph.D.
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