Graphic design major speaks out

It’s obvious that the graphic design department (and ESU in general) are currently at a crossroads. People are beginning to negotiate what graphic design is. Some people are trying to label it as some bland corporate, mechanized product. I disrespectfully disagree. Our university’s administrators have a choice and I’m not one to tell them what the right answer is, they are well educated and I trust they will make the right decision regarding the future of the graphic design department at ESU. I hope that they do not betray my trust. Even though some people in the art department have been less than trustworthy. (What happened to the ‘nation wide’ search for a graphic design teacher?) Currently I feel that the current professor lacks the necessary knowledge of the computer programs used in the industry and this seriously hinders her ability to design and teach and I fear that she will send future graduates into an already deprived job market unprepared and under-educated. Graphic design has amazing potential both at this university and with respect to its impact on the art world. It is art. We need instructors who believe that and who urge their students to push boundaries and not be afraid to look at things differently. For those who doubt graphic design and its place in the art community I always refer to this quote from an employee at Sagmeister, Inc.:

“Ultimately we feel that the relationship that a creative person has with their work and the relationship between such work and its audience is much more important than the label that it is assigned.”

Jason Stewart, senior graphic design major