Having to Decide...RISD,MICA, and SCAD

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>//Although some may argue that RISD's prestige doesn't necessarily make them a better school as far the instruction and education itself goes, the fact that it is more famous, than say MICA for example, will draw in more companies, designers, lecturer's, etc. and will create more and possibly better job opportunities for their students.//</p>

<p>For the record, I would like to mention that Ellen Lupton at MICA, probably has as much weight and pull as anyone in the design industry. I am certainly NOT dismissing your enthusiasm for choosing RISD, but simply wish to speak up for a moment on MICA's behalf.</p>

<p>Ellen Lupton's short bio:</p>

<p>Curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, since 1992, during her tenure Lupton has organized such major books and exhibitions as Skin: Substance, Surface and Design (2002), National Design Triennial: Design Culture Now (2000), National Design Triennial: Inside Design Now (2003), Graphic Design in the Mechanical Age: Selections from the Merrill C. Berman Collection (1999), Mixing Messages: Graphic Design in Contemporary Culture (1996), The Avant-Garde Letterhead (1996), and Mechanical Brides: Women and Machines from Home to Office (1993).</p>

<p>(BTW, I would consider "Mixing Messages..." to be the defining exhibit post-modern movement in graphic design during the 1990s. I believe you can still purchase the book.)</p>

<p>Also active in academia, Lupton serves as director of the Graphic Design MFA Program at Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore. Recent books include Thinking with Type (2004) and D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself (2006). In 1996, she published with J. Abbott Miller Design/Writing/Research: Writing on Graphic Design, a collection of essays about design theory and history. Lupton’s articles have also been seen in such periodicals as Design Issues, Design Review, Print, I.D., Eye, Emigre, and Assemblage; and in the books Design Discourse (ed. Victor Margolin), Graphic Design in America (ed. Mildred Friedman), and The Edge of the Millennium (ed. Susan Yelavich). She is a regular contributor to AIGA Voice. Ellen Lupton was voted one of American’s top design innovators by I.D. Magazine (1993), presented with the Chrysler Design Award (1993), and honored with The New York Magazine Award for her work in shaping the cultural life of New York City (1997).</p>

<p>Here is a link to the present exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum...all designers should endeavor to include a trip to this museum anytime they are in the vicinity of NYC.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.peoplesdesignaward.org/designlifenow%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.peoplesdesignaward.org/designlifenow&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>But Ms. Lupton is the director of MICA's <em>graduate</em> program. She really is turning that into something special, but I doubt she has much affect on the undergrad program.</p>

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<p>You are correct, I do not know what effect she has on the undergraduate program directly, but I do know the co-chair of MICA's undergrad GD program as he was one of my profs at SCAD and I admire him a great deal. Also, I don't know...but generally, undergrad and grad programs do try to establish common approaches to design theory and practice. I think it would be very unusual for a graduate program to diverge significantly from the focus of the undergrad program overall. </p>

<p>However the point I wanted to make was that Ellen, and her reputation and connections, certainly would help to draw interest and establish relationships with lecturers and companies, etc toward MICA. </p>

<p>Nonetheless, whether someone chooses RISD, MICA, or any number of excellent design schools, it is important to feel comfortable and to like where you are at. ALISONART was "amazed" by RISD, and so she should attend RISD.</p>

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<p>The big thing that I see her bringing to to grad program that I don't think is present in undergrad is the publishing component of the program- each graduate class works with her to publish a book during their time there. The first of these was 'Design It Yourself', and there are two more in the works right now. The undergrads don't get the chance to work on these, as having 9 different authors and designers on one book is hard enough, without inviting more.</p>

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<p>I am thinking more in line with from what perspective do the undergrad or grad program approach "visual communications". For example, if I look at Cincinnati's program I see en emphasis within the faculty - based upon their backgrounds - on the modernist approach, or the International style of Typograpy, aka Swiss Design. However, perhaps those faculty were influenced by Wolfgang Weingart, and may have loosened up a bit.</p>

<p>Weingart article: <a href="http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/wolfgang-weingart-making-the-young-generation-nuts%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/wolfgang-weingart-making-the-young-generation-nuts&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Graphic design is in many ways the commercial application of a visual language. What "language" does MICA's design dept. "speak" or encourage? What "language" does RISD's speak/encourage? - regardless of the projects themselves. This is why many programs do not call themselves "Graphic Design" but perhaps "Visual Communications" because they focus on the constructs of a visual language first and foremost and then apply them to whatever media is best suited for the audience and transmission of the message.</p>

<p>I don't know the answers to these questions per RISD, or MICA, etc...but these are the questions that I would seek to discover, having the benefit of looking back upon my education, but this is from a much more distant perspective - one that I gained only after I finished my degree. Myself, when I enter the teaching ranks, I will focus specifically on establishing the semantic/ and syntatic relationships between elements to deconstruct and reconstruct ideas in new ways...this isn't original actually; it begins with cubism, and was made popular in the 1970s through 1990s. As an architecture student, I would guess you are familiar with deconstruction in architecture, but I do not know how well that practice relates to what I refer to as deconstructivism in graphic design.</p>

<p>p.s. I hope you find this information interesting in regards to your own pursuits. I do not mean to preach, but to add to the dialog and open minds to subjects and perspectives that I was not aware of when I was seeking a career and making choices.</p>

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<p>alisonart, it's great that you truly <em>know</em> that RISD is right for you! Do please come back and fill us in on your freshman (and beyond) experiences. Good luck and best wishes for a grand educational adventure at RISD!</p>

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<p>anyone who knows how to write a strong personal statement for major in painting?</p>