I have begun teachng a new course at Hult International School of Business. Hult is developing a minor concentration in design across six campuses around the world. My understanding when they contacted me was that they wanted a primer on design thinking, similar to what I’ve been teaching at San Francisco State University. But as we discussed and explored it became apparent that they were looking for something different – a primer on graphic design.
This isn’t what I do, nor do I think it is entirely relevant for business student – it takes a student in a design school four or more years in a structured studio environment to learn professional design skills. A business student taking one or possibly two classes with graphic design assignments in a forward facing classroom, let alone on Zoom, could barely expect to come proficient enough to do much more than brush up their personal communications – which is a laudible goal, but not in my opinion enough to warrant a full semester in an elite institution. Hult students needed something better.
