5 Reasons Why You Should Study Design

2015-09-22

Careers in the Design sector are exploding as Designers are forming a part of virtually every industry segment today. Studying Design will allow you to develop your individual viewpoint and an understanding of how the values of society affect the design of the complete environment.

Careers in Design

Designers are forming a part of every industry segment today. They are contributing to the entire visual world around us; they are helping conceive and shape products and services; they are creating communications for companies of all shapes and sizes; they are improving workspaces and influencing how we use buildings; they are helping build better public services and work processes; they are creating the interfaces for all digital devices we use; they are of course creating the clothes we're wearing and the furniture we use.

A Design degree

As a Design student your practical hands-on studies will equip you with the necessary skills to think creatively and logically and to take advantage of emerging technologies. You will also be open to innovative ways of thinking and practising. Design programs prepare people to design applications for art and convert ideas into visual images. A Design degree will teach you to address contemporary issues in an independent and creative way, in order to participate in a most challenging and rewarding vocation.

Why Design - Future Prospects

Reason - #1: Growing Consumption: India's annual consumption of design services last year was estimated at Rs 3,400 crore and is expected to grow 400% in the next 4 years. Design has therefore emerged as a mainstream career option.
Reason - #2: Demand > Supply: This fast emerging sector has brought in a lot of opportunities that far outnumbers the supply of design professionals. India currently produces about 1,200 design professionals a year against a requirement of 7,000 to 8,000.
Reason - #3: Sunrise Sector: Design and creative industry in India represents a vibrant, varied and dynamic sector that is growing at a phenomenal speed. One of the very best things about the design world in general is that it's constantly evolving and redefining itself.
Reason - #4: Carve Your Speciality - Regardless of the field of design you work in, there is always scope to specialise within your area of expertise. For instance, some designers focus on a particular style by using specific materials, or a limited palette. Others will look at specific skills such as working with paper in 3D.
Reason - #5: Rewarding - The most obvious reason to be happy you're a designer is that you get paid for being creative.

Options to choose in Design

Career-wise four broad design-domains can be identified i.e.
1) Communication
2) Fashion
3) Interior and
4) Product Design
All these design streams require use of applied art in combination with applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and functionality of designed products or spaces. They are therefore attracting students from across Science, Commerce & Arts streams to look for a career in design. A number of options including architecture, landscape architecture, urban design or engineering are open to you.

Fashion: The Indian Fashion/Textile Industry is now valued at 300,000 crores and is projected to grow rapidly.
Careers in interiors have exploded as their services are needed everywhere whether it's the new corporate headquarters of Infosys, or areas such as restaurants, hospitals, hotels, airports, malls, retail spaces, exhibitions, reality show sets and so on.
Communication designers work towards creating effective communication in everything - from web pages to digital icons, annual reports to corporate logos, from maps and diagrams to album and book covers, from product packaging to digital interfaces and more.
Product design or Industrial design covers a much wider domain covering all mass-produced, daily life goods such as consumer durables, toys, FMCG, automobiles, helmets, furniture, kitchen or table-top products, phones and specialist products such as medical equipment. Besides automobile companies, consumer goods companies such as Titan, Philips, Bata, Bajaj, Whirlpool, Videocon, Electrolux, BPL, Godrej, Tata, Usha, Crompton, Tanishq etc, and private design firms employ product designers.

Beyond your degree

As a graduate of the Bachelor of Design you will have the creativity, flexibility, tenacity and technical skills essential for a career in design. This degree is a starting point for students who plan to pursue a career in Design as well as take their studies to the next level such as research and education.

Cracking design school entrance exams

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About the blogger: Shruti Singh is a consultant at MyExamPlan.com. She can be reached at shruti@myexamplan.com
Author: Shruti S