I applied to the Design Essentials program – offered jointly between Emily Carr and BCIT in the spring of 2007 after coming to the realization that the life of a career barista was not for me. There were a number of factors that drew me to this program in particular. One was the short duration (12 months); as a relatively recent recipient of a B.A. in History, I was not keen to undertake another 4-year degree program. Another factor that led me to apply to Design Essentials was the fact that it was split between two reputable schools both recognized as leaders in their fields. Like any program, Design Essentials has its strengths and weaknesses, and what you get out of it depends entirely on what you put in.
Getting In
At the time I applied the admission process consisted of: attending an information session at BCIT; requesting an interview; attending an interview with a portfolio in hand; and waiting for an acceptance email. I believe the info session requirement has now been dropped. (The BCIT website will have the most current admissions information.)
There are no strict requirements for the portfolio; as far as I can tell they want to see creative thought and some artistic ability.
The interview itself was only about 15 minutes, which, as someone who had traveled to Burnaby from Vancouver Island, was almost a letdown. Applicants are required to bring a portfolio of 10 to 15 pieces to the interview as well as transcripts from any previous education. There are no strict requirements for the portfolio; as far as I can tell they want to see creative thought and some artistic ability. Design Essentials is marketed as a program for people who don’t necessarily come from an art background, so being the next (insert famous artist of your choice here) is not important.
Tuition for Design Essentials is about $10,000 and students are required to pay half of that to BCIT well before the program starts. $10,000 for a year may seem steep but the course is actually two years crammed into one and you would pay about the same for two years full-time at a university or college.
The Program
All written descriptions of Design Essentials that I have come across state that courses are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings as well as all day Saturday. This is a lie. In addition to the times mentioned above there are also periodic Wednesday evening classes as well as a Monday course that runs for the first six weeks of term three. The program is divided into four 12-week terms with a break at Christmas, another one around Easter and a final break at the end of June.
Design Essentials is intense. There is no communication between instructors in terms of scheduling project due dates in an attempt to simulate “the real world”. As a result several projects end up being due within a short period of time. I definitely had more than one sleepless night as I worked to get projects finished in time. Be prepared to let go of any self-consciousness around your work; presentations will become almost second nature by the time you are finished. Critique sessions are also a major component of the program and can be really useful if you are with a group of people who actively participate.
Over the duration of each term, students work independently on their projects and are in regular communication with their assigned teachers.
The centerpiece of each term is the Portfolio class. The projects for this class get progressively more involved each term. After Term One, this class only meets about four times a term for critiques and a final presentation. Over the duration of each term, students work independently on their projects and are in regular communication with their assigned teachers. In theory this is a great way of working and learning, but my experience – and that of my classmates – was mixed. One term I worked really well with my instructor and found it to be a really rewarding and useful experience but another term I did not click as well with my instructor and did not find her feedback to be useful or instructive. As a result, that term, I ended up with a final product I was not satisfied with.
One drawback of the Design Essentials program is that there is no flexibility in terms of courses. The program was too heavy on the branding and too light on the editorial and layout design for my liking. We were also repeatedly told how important typography is and yet the program only has one, very introductory, typography course. I think the program would be greatly improved if in Term 3 students could choose to follow a stream that best matched their interests and strengths. (For example, an editorial design stream, a branding stream or a web-design stream.) The computer instruction could also have been better; this will probably sound crazy, but there wasn’t enough homework in the computer courses! The Adobe Creative Suite is huge and to properly learn the programs requires a lot of repetition. Finally, Design Essentials is very light on the history and theory. I think it is important to understand how we got to where we are today and to have a basic understanding of the different intellectual perspectives that have informed design over the years.
I would also say that it is better suited to people with an interest in branding.
The Verdict
In conclusion, I would recommend Design Essentials, but only to those people who are looking for a very practical introduction to graphic design and who are willing to put everything else aside for 12 months and immerse themselves in the program. I would also say that it is better suited to people with an interest in branding. If you are more interested in other aspects of design I would look at other programs. The small class size means you get to know your classmates well and it can be a lot of fun. But, prepare yourself for long Saturdays (take a lot of food to class) and the inevitable headaches that arise from being enrolled in a program at two institutions. I feel as though I emerged from the program with some useful skills and a good understanding of graphic design, but was left unsatisfied with the instruction of some of the less hands-on aspects of design. It was also disheartening to be told by several instructors that a four-year program was much better than a one-year program. (Why were they teaching in this program then?) Like I said though: what you get out of Design Essentials depends entirely on what you put in.
(3 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)
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Lisa
Lars
c
Mizz Bee
Since it’s a certificate program, were you able to get a job against people with diploma’s or was it a complete waste of time?