Design aspirations of a Non Designer

[idiotix]

Hi,

Glad i found this forum, i hope atleast a few people might find time to respond to this. Thanking you folks in advance!

I have a masters in communication management from what is considered India's premier school in that domain. The program was essentially a cross between a management degree and a specialised program in advertising industry, with a specialisation in brand planning. I am a mid-career professional with about 12 years of work experience - spent in communication agencies and newspaper companies.

My 6 years in newspapers involved product development portfolio with a strong market research component. The experience includes redesign of two newspapers, and the design of one more. Albeit from the management and marketing perspective and not from a design perspective. Additionally i was also the head of marketing for 3 different titles.

My last 4 years were spent in managing a small team of cross functional professionals delivering communication design for enterprise clients. During this stint I have created concepts, written "copy", improvised graphic design through critique and comment, and this is in addition to managing the team, client engagement and being responsible for P&L.

At the ripe old age of 34 i am looking for a mid career shift in my area of work, (for reasons too elaborate to explain here), and i am looking to shift towards design as a professional practice.

I am looking for programs which are aimed at professionals like me, who do not have previous training in art and design. Arguably i could start with an undergraduate program but i found a few programs which are open to people without previous training in art and design. Notably RISD, Art Centre and CalArts' 3 yr MFA program. Other programs i am considering applying to are:

1. Carnegie Mellon - CPID program

2. Pratt Institute - MFA in Graphic Design

3. UT, Austin - MFA in Design

4. North Carolina State College of Design - 3 Yr Master of Graphic Design.

I am curious to know the opinion of some of the learned members here as to the wisdom of this choice. Other than it being "difficult" are there any considerations which i shd make before i start to apply to these programs.

And if I can apply, any further recommendations on what other schools are open to candidates like me. The ranking of the school is secondary as much as the opportunity to learn and grow.

Apologies for the loooooong mail...

Thank you

[losemygrip]

In my opinion you are going to have a very difficult time in any of those programs, even if you are admitted (you stand the best chance at Pratt, and maybe CalArts). Your training is not really in art, but in the business of advertising. Graphic design--as taught in art departments--is still largely an art (visual) discipline. Give it a shot. If you have a superb design portfolio, you might get in. But once you get there, not only will you have to deal with the different pedagogical approaches in the U.S., you'll also have to deal with (basically) a new discipline.