Design education has to practice what it preaches

I was pleased with Hilary Cottam’s response to my letter (DW 23 May): ‘Putting pupils in touch with the realities of design – including the fiercely competitive jobs market’ is what I want to hear. I still believe good design, in its broadest sense, can improve all aspects of our lives.

But I’m still concerned that the number of design graduates coming out of college far outweighs the the number of jobs available. A seemingly ever-increasing number of young people won’t be able to follow the career they have studied for. Some over-supply is perhaps no bad thing, but when does this get out of hand, when there are a hundred designers for every job? Does anyone even know how many designers we produce each year?

Isn’t it time for us to apply some good design thinking to the design education system?

Melvin Rutter

melvin@pooleandrutter.co.uk