Humber College – Too Many Options For An Aspiring Designer

A review of the Humber College - Multimedia Design and Production program.
By David G. who graduated in 2007. 1,437 views.

There were a few options that I found appealing when I was looking at colleges. I am from the Toronto area, so I looked closely at Humber College, Seneca, and Sheridan. All had similar programs which dealt with web design in general. At the time, I wasn’t sure what area I wanted to specialize in, so the most appealing part of Humber was the diversity of courses that were available.

I ended up talking to James Cullin, the program coordinator at Humber. Of course he had somewhat of a biased opinion, but it helped a lot to talk to a teacher in the business. He expressed the strengths of his program, and it truly helped me to make a decision for myself. I was more interested in Flash, and at Humber they had a few courses explicitly dedicated the program, so for me, it was an easy decision.

If You’re Unsure, Dabble In Something First.

I also took a general media course prior to the diploma program, which is how I figured out I wanted to be a Flash designer. This was also at Humber, but it was called Media Foundations. For anyone who is unsure of what area of media they want to pursue, this is an absolute must. I got to dabble with graphic design, web design, journalism, photography, and film. Upon entering this program I was more interested in film, but by the end of it I was clearly more interested in graphic/web design. This one year certificate program was the best choice I could have made at the beginning of my career.

Get The Most From Your Teachers.

Humber was a great school because of the teachers. Any school can offer similar topics, but you need to connect with some of your teachers to make a difference. Personally, I tend to keep to myself in classes and don’t speak up much. I was lucky enough to feel very comfortable in the small classes offered at Humber, and the teachers were great at making you feel like you could ask them anything.

Internships are where you learn faster, and more than you could in a classroom.

Internship Is Key!

The best part of Multimedia at Humber was the internship. I can’t stress how important it is to get an internship these days. Internships are where you learn faster, and more than you could in a classroom. Well, this is all true, but in the real world it also gets you a job. I found that many colleagues didn’t take all the help that Humber offered – where they practically spoon fed an interview to you and let you choose where you wanted to go.

I found that learning at school was more like an introduction. There is no way to learn in-depth design or programming techniques in a classroom. They merely show you the basics, then it’s up to you to dive in and look into it.

One mindset that you need to take in order to be successful, is to do more than they ask of you. If you just get things done, then you won’t learn much. If you take the assignment seriously, and actually put a lot of effort into it, then you will start building a portfolio when you need it most.

The Verdict

I would absolutely recommend taking Multimedia Production and Design at Humber. Not to say that other programs aren’t useful, but I found that Humber had a few passionate teachers that made the difference.

I’m currently working as an interactive designer at the same Flash development shop that took me on as an intern, DesignAxiom.

As for myself, I’m currently working as an interactive designer at the same Flash development shop that took me on as an intern, DesignAxiom. One piece of advice that might help, would be to take an internship at a smaller company. You may not work on the big name brands, but in most cases they will let you get your hands on some real work. I got thrown into work that made me extremely uncomfortable… but thats fine! You always have people there than can answer your questions, and as long as you keep trying no one will think badly of you. The main thing to portray is your willingness to learn, thats what employers want from a recent graduate.

www.davidghent.com