Firstly, I think it might be worthwhile to start this review by mentioning that Carleton University is not an Art School in the traditional sense. Within the Industrial Design world, one can gain an education from a multitude of schools, and whether you study design at a fine arts school, or a University, the education you receive and the experience you gain will no doubt be different due to different experiences. This review will attempt to cast light on what you can expect to experience at the Carleton University School of Industrial Design.
I had first heard about the program at Carleton in a grade 11 Technological Design course which led to my entering the Annual Canadian High School Design Competition. After seeing favorable results, I realized that design, and particularly Industrial Design is something that I was very interested in pursuing as a career. Further publications in local newspapers showcasing the highlights of the annual Grad show exhibition at Carleton piqued my interest even more as I dreamed of attending University without being buried behind textbooks, and stuck in science labs. Actually being able to work with your hands in creating products where you can actually help and interact with people while making the world a more functional and beautiful place seemed too good to be true. Being able to do this while also being studying traditional fields of academia made me realize that the program at Carleton was for me, and at this point I had decided to gear my grade 12 courses to be in line with program acceptance requirements.
The Awakening
I chose Carleton for one, being from Ottawa, but also because it was one of the very few options in Canada for a University degree in Industrial Design. Having also researched the program, I found that Carleton has a very good reputation for producing influential designers, and that it was one of the most respected and established design programs in the country.
In this day and age, individuals are expected to have more skills and abilities at an increasingly younger age. Your portfolio should reflect this.
As part of the application process, Carleton offers prospective students the opportunity to undergo portfolio review sessions with professors to gain feedback on their work before they submit it. Not having a traditional arts background in high school, this experience was very beneficial in understanding what it really takes to get into the demanding program. Looking back, I feel fortunate to have been accepted into the program, and I would advise any future applicants to really take their portfolio seriously. In this day and age, individuals are expected to have more skills and abilities at an increasingly younger age. Your portfolio should reflect this.
Laying The Foundation
Upon starting the program, I personally found the first two years to be especially challenging. Changing focus from high school attitudes and behaviours to a much more professional university environment, compounded with my lack of artistic experience and trying to manage a part time job, made it a struggle to keep up.
The first two years of the program focus on laying the necessary foundation in terms of developing a design skill set, as well as rounding out your design studies with a variety of other mandatory courses. These courses proved to be quite challenging, but this is where Carleton University differs from other design programs. Taking courses such as Physics, Economics, Psychology, Marketing, Calculus, and Linear Algebra created a much more conventional University feel in the first two years.
These academic courses, complemented with more specific ID courses such as Mass Production Technologies, Form and Colour, and Ergonomics created a very solid foundation that Carleton prides itself on; students known to have a strong technical background, and a set of diverse skills and knowledge.
Students can expect classes to range from 35-40 in the design specific courses, to traditional University type auditorium lectures with 300 other students and conventional exams. A studio room full of drafting tables is devoted to the first and second year classes that are shared. Once students move into 3rd and 4th year, they get their own personal space and desk to decorate or clutter in whatever manner they like. Furthermore, it was encouraged for all students to buy traditional drafting equipment in first year to learn traditional skills such as hand drawn technical drawings, and to buy a laptop in second year.
Looking back as a graduate of the program, in my opinion, while this diverse set of courses was important in creating a certain mindset among students and in breeding the Carleton mentality, in the future more emphasis could be placed on building more design related skills as early as possible. If this comes at the compromise of Calculus and Algebra courses, then so be it, as the more time spent on building design skills, the better. In this extremely competitive world of design, it is becoming very important to graduate with an extremely strong design skill set in terms of visualization, communication, and creativity in presentation. (Note, I attended first year 6 years ago, so during this time, requirements for first year students may have changed.)
Learning to Think
Where the first and second years of the program are all about building core skills with very specific assignments, 3rd and 4th year are about beginning to think and explore on your own. In addition to the intensive design studio courses, upper year students begin to get the opportunity to take electives within the University. With most students choosing psychology or business electives to complement their ID studies, I was able to complete a Minor in Business to go along with a Bachelor of Industrial Design.
These later years also often get students the opportunity to deal with actual company sponsored projects, and design competitions. These projects give students the opportunity to have their work reviewed by professional working designers, and the opportunity to add to their resumes with impressive awards to their name.
The showcase project of the ID program at Carleton is the 4th year Major Studio course. It represents the culmination of studies, and allows students the opportunity to spend 8 months working on a fairly self-directed thorough project. Carleton breeds thinkers, not stylists. Well rounded Industrial designers, not artists. The 4th year studio is there to enable students to pursue higher level thinking; projects with great substance built on a very strong foundation of research, justification, and testing.
I credit my work experience for fostering a more professional and mature attitude towards design.
Another unique component of the Carleton program is the requirement to graduate with real world work experience, and the opportunity to enlist in a CO-OP program. CO-OP is a service where the University looks to place students with companies looking to hire for internships. Having been accepted to the co-op program, I quickly found a job at Research in Motion, working there for 16 months between my 3rd and 4th year of studies. I credit my CO-OP experience for fostering a more professional and mature attitude towards design.
The Facilities
Students at Carleton University have access to many excellent facilities during their studies. An excellent woodshop and metal shop supervised by experienced technicians, as well as rapid prototyping machines, a large assembly room that will quickly become a home away from home, plastic forming equipment, and a new electronics lab empower students to really push the boundaries with their models and projects.
Words of Wisdom
Like other design programs, Industrial Design at Carleton is extremely demanding, and all nighters are all too common of an occurrence. Studios in the later years tend to be littered with energy drinks, as well as students sleeping on couches and even desks. Be ready to explore the capacity of the human body to endure sleep deprivation. You are not alone though, next door is the faculty of Architecture, so in your late night strolls looking for some form of sustenance, you will encounter others in a different program, which helps in coming to grips with your seemingly dire situation.
Furthermore, for admission and to get through the first couple of years of the program, it helps to be a somewhat technically minded individual. While it appears that Carleton is in somewhat of a transition stage in terms of its identity, its reputation is built on being more of an engineering based design program that values meaningful, thoughtful, and thorough design work.
And finally, sketch. This will no doubt be hammered into every student countless times throughout their education, but it is impossible not to emphasize this enough. Sketch on your own time, sketch all the time, and you will reap the rewards not only in school, but after you graduate. Again, sketch…A lot…
Strengths And Weaknesses
Strengths of the program:
- Very thorough education that covers all facets of Industrial Design from history and theory through to modern sustainable design initiatives
- The chance to engage in the University academic experience by taking other relevant courses
- Excellent facilities for prototyping and model making
- A respected and established history
- IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) affiliation, enabling students to participate in IDSA conferences and competitions
- A brand new Masters of Industrial Design program to further your studies beyond a Bachelor’s Degree
Areas to Improve:
- Putting more emphasis on design skill development in the earlier years, and focusing less on courses that ultimately have very minimal practical application to Industrial Design (Linear Algebra, Calculus, Thermodynamics, Wave Motion)
- Focusing on teaching more about actual practical design theory from a formal development perspective
- Ensuring professors are aware of current trends and movements in the design world, to help students appreciate the relationship between what they’re studying and what’s happening in the real world
- While it’s great and important to understand traditional and conventional manufacturing methods, times are quickly changing in terms of material and manufacturing innovation and the courses should reflect this
An education at Carleton can give students the potential and ability to be respected difference makers in the design world.
The Verdict
The Industrial Design program at Carleton University is a very intensive, thorough and well rounded approach to teaching. It provides students with a University Degree, as well as the opportunity to Minor in another interest area of their choice, and gain very valuable and respected Co-op work experience upon graduation. In an era where design has a more influential and meaningful role to play than ever before, an education at Carleton can give students the potential and ability to be respected difference makers in the design world. As a student at Carleton, due to the program’s fairly technical nature, it really helps if you can find the time and energy to really immerse yourself in the current design world and work on honing your design skills in terms of visualization and sketching. These crucial skills coupled with Carleton’s strong design foundation, can lead you to find yourself among a crop of some of the most capable and talented design grads out there.
I graduated in 2009 after taking 5 years to make my way through the program with the Co-op option. I am currently working on freelance projects in the Ottawa area, while looking for new and exciting opportunities with respected, established design firms.
Please feel free to view my work at www.coroflot.com/michaelgrigoriev.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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