please share recommendations between Kendall and University of Michigan…Pros and cons, teachers, corporate connections.
what do you want to design?
both schools are very good. you are going to have to visit both to figure out which suits you better.
i went to kendall. i think the program is what you make of it, but i think that is true for any program.
i am hesitant to say anything negative about either program. if you decide design isn’t your fortay, u of m offers an extensive list of other majors. kendall is a small school; an art and design school, so their offerings are highly specific and detailed.
i have no regrets about my education at kcad. all the people i keep in contact with are doing very well in the design field that thet studied.
i transferred into kendall and appreciated the smaller classes and the specific nature of the school, it helped me to maintain my focus. also, the majority of the professors are adjunct. this helped me to land important and valuable internships on my own that truly helped my career.
thank you very much for your input.
can you explain a bit more what you mean in regards to “the program is what you make of it”
As far as what I want to design…it has been narrowed down somewhat to “functional sculptures”
That is probably the best I can explain it.
Not cell phones.
not shoes.
I come from the background of an experimental artist and i enjoy exploring unusual forms…but unlike art it is important for me to have things be functional.
again thank you.
in a lot of design schools, the students often don’t realize that they control what they are supposed to be learning and how to effectively utilize the various resources at hand. in other words some students like to be spoon-fed what they should know. really, they should be seeking more and trying to improve trhough their own desire to do so. i learned this as i progressed through the program at kcad, which is when i feel my perspective of the field ballooned into the numerous possibilities, strengths and weaknesses.
make sense?
you may want to look more closely at ID’s process.
I’ve looked at your work, we rarely make actually functioning things. Some of us are very hands-on in the shop types producing breadboard prototypes. But rarely are modern mass produced consumer products technically simple enough for us to actually do that. So that’s de-emphasized in many cuuriculums.
Your functional sculpture direction is probably more about metal shop skills than marker renderings.
As far as what I want to design…it has been narrowed down somewhat to “functional sculptures”
i’m transferring to Kendall next year as a furniture major. the school offers a program called Functional Art/Sculpture… I’ve looked over the core requirements for that prog and it appears VERY specific. I might minor in it.
the work the kids do is very hands on, and it’s all about building… whether it’s a chair or vase or case goods or whatever… go on their website for more info…
kcad.edu
it’s also a heck of a lot cheaper than most art colleges… the work i’ve seen from the students seems at par with the rest of the design school grads…
grand rapids is also a very cool place.
u of m (ann arbor campus i presume?) has a very broad BFA degree… I would never go there for my purposes… but I guess it doesn’t hurt to check it out.
i called up UofM one time and this lady told me that their school was not a “vocational school” when I asked her if their degree-offering was similar to CCS’ course of study. She kinda pissed me off so I just told her thanks and never looked into it again.
thanks all for the responses.
i have not checked on this thread for a bit and see i have missed some great info.
no_spec Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 1:36 pm Post subject:
you may want to look more closely at ID’s process.
I’ve looked at your work, we rarely make actually functioning things. Some of us are very hands-on in the shop types producing breadboard prototypes. But rarely are modern mass produced consumer products technically simple enough for us to actually do that. So that’s de-emphasized in many cuuriculums.
Your functional sculpture direction is probably more about metal shop skills than marker renderings.
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no_spec posed some smart questions that got me thinking. ie. "you may want to look more closely at ID’s process.
Is process the essence of design?
On another note, I have heard of and briefly checked out Kendall…looks good.
The other school that really peaked my taste buds is Design Academy Eindhoven…
The stuff I see coming out of there is what I see myself creating.
nobody seems to want to jump in on your last question - but I would agree with you that process is the essence (depending on what essence means) of design.
another question concerns the goals of the process - and without starting a debate here, ‘design vs. art’ has been distilled to ‘self-expression vs. problem solving’ (and yes, there’s tons of overlap)
For your needs, try to imagine your funtional art on a continuum between self-expression and problem solving, and because you have little exposure to ID, I reccomend visiting the U. of Houston’s ID program. This is a straight forward ID program teaching the skill set most of us need to earn a living - that should give you a good perspective of one pole of the continuum.
finally apply to as many programs as you can - include at least a couple universities besides art schools too.
great.
i will have to get down there to houston for a visit.
admittedly, i was not interested in there program because it did not seem to be offering to much interesting projects.