[Travis Rice]

While I enjoy the job security of there being more “talkers” in the work force I am alarmed at the number of instructors teaching in accredited schools coming straight out of grad school without one ounce of real world or practical knowledge under them.  With most of today’s university presidents forcing assistant professors and even lecturers to have grad degrees and even at some places phd’s we are missing out on a bevy on great professionals with so much to offer.  They are forcing a template meant for science, engineering and medical fields upon design and it just doesn’t work.  Some of my best undergrad instructors just had bachelors degrees and a whole lot of professional experience…Where are you Arthur Schaller!?  I guess they call it “education inflation” to give it a name and I genuinely feel it is hurting how we educate designers.  Nick …I hope both you and Brian stay busy …best of luck to both of you in the new year. 

[Travis Rice]

Blending theory with practical knowledge should be a given in any institution that is worth a darn.   There is no reason why you can’t absorb knowledge from Foucault and Baudrillard one moment and then understand the basics of 2 point perspective the next.  Both will serve you well in your professional pursuits…I can attest they have served me well.  Thanks for the thoughts Eli and keep fighting the good fight…lol!

[Travis Rice]

I think Norman’s ears are ringing…he has definitely made a large impact on many of his students…I just think those are great things to hear…be sure to let him as well as others know how they have affected your life as a professional.   Those truly committed to being great instructors need to be commended.  I can only imagine what it would have been like in the early years of the Bauhaus to have been taught by the likes of Klee and Kandinsky…utopian.

[Travis Rice]

You are right Jason.  If students are able to build an agenda or approach on how to communicate ideas they can apply more energy to process and design. Though, I am not so concerned with impractical ideas as school is meant to be an opportunity to think without boundaries and students will have the rest of their lives to deal with the burden of practicality.  Thanks for the thoughts. 

[Travis Rice]

Great to hear Toby …I am sure both James and Norman would be incredibly proud to hear of the impact they had on you as a student.  Thanks for sharing.

[Travis Rice]

I’m just going to automatically place you in the “talker” category.

[Travis Rice]

Trace One…thanks so much for posting this article.   This article put into words the way I have always felt.  I don’t know how many times I have sat in meetings looking at a project and having to listen to someone talk just to hear themselves talk…”well what if we do this or what if we do this or what if we do this….blah blah blah?”  Then they look at me as if I should be ready to affirm their random thinking and my response is always “I have no idea…it has to be studied”  Wasted energy…its exhausting.   This article goes against the majority of the philosophies of many design offices out there producing one mediocre idea after another right now.   ID firms like IDEO have set a bit of a “collaboration” precedent that naive office princples feel should automatically work for any sort of design problem…it just doesn’t.  The phrase “lone genius” is misleading though as it seems to project one individual above his or her peers. I would rather see a phrae like “lone thinker” or something used… because not everything done in solitude is genius by any means. Thanks again.

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