I was looking for a school that taught the fundamentals of design with some fine art and software and Holland College’s design program fit the bill. Holland College is located in Charlottetown, a small town of about 33,000+ people which was a big part for me. It was the first time away from home and I didn’t want to be overwhelmed in big cities.
That’s when I realized that I could actually make a living drawing all day.
I always had a love for drawing and in eleventh grade, I had the chance to be a part of a design competition that opened the world of Graphic Design to me. That’s when I realized that I could actually make a living drawing all day. That was definitely worth looking in to.
The Program
The program is two years long with 8-15 classmates. You get to know them very well and you are bound to bond with some classmates. There are actually only two teachers for the Graphic Design program. One is mostly for the first years and the other for the second. They have both been in the industry for a long time and still are, so they’re great references.
The first year, you are taught the fundamentals of design (such as its history, type, colours, structural drawing, etc.) and at the end of the year, you start learning a bit on the computer by transferring some of the hand drawn projects to vector files.
In the second year, you learn more about the industry trends, how to start freelancing, and how to become a well rounded, unique designer. The plan is for you to come out of the school and people would be able to say, “Yep that is a (insert name here) design” and still be current with today’s trends. They now have a fundamentals program that is a year long to teach you more about the fine art aspects of the media programs offered.
The best design gets the job and actually gets paid.
The second half of the second year, the class is divided into groups which you get to create your own “design agency”. Every project, you get to switch tasks such as art director, designer and project manager. Most of the projects are actual client projects and you present to the client at the end. The best design gets the job and actually gets paid. I got to design a logo and create a masthead for a community bulletin.
The only issue I had with the program is that I wish they had taught the basics of web design. It seems every design agency seems to require some web skills. I took it upon myself to learn the fundamentals of the web. Holland college does offer a one year course for web design and I kind of wish I had taken it, but I didn’t want to subject myself to another year of school and even more debt.
Tuition was reasonable for the Graphic Design program at about $3,250 a year not including the cost of living. The computers were really slow while I was there. The year I left, they invested in super nice ones which solved that problem. In terms of the software, I could not have asked for more. When I asked the staff about getting tutorial books, they offered to purchase them and lend it to me so I could teach myself.
This program is not for slackers since you have a project due every day. In the first year, they have to be all done by hand so that makes it very time consuming. If you don’t complete 3 projects, you are kicked out. Half a day is devoted to your homework, but I had spent nights working on projects with only 2 hours sleep. You get to learn if this career choice is really for you. Your work will be torn apart and you will learn quickly to detach yourself from your work, and you will grow a thicker skin from criticism.
Every year, designers from previous years get together and discuss the current trends in the Graphic Design field. With that said, I know things have changed since I graduated almost 3 years ago – we were taught Freehand and I think they aren’t taught that anymore since I graduated.
I found a job in Graphic Design even before graduating.
The Verdict
I would recommend the program. If you are hard working, open to suggestions and willing to learn, this program is for you. I found a job in Graphic Design even before graduating. 11 out of the 15 students that I graduated with got jobs in the design field.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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