All content © 2008 Tom Futrell
I feel that any teacher’s philosophy must be malleable enough to exist within various environments. However, I feel that exposure to the visual and verbal language of graphic design is the foundation for development. Students should become experts in basic principles — shape, form, line, texture, value, and color. In courses like typography, students should acquire technical skills such as line spacing, letter spacing, word spacing and composition. I believe that exercises in this stage of design education should be repetitive and structured to focus on learning specific concepts as well as developing a strong design process.
My philosophy as an educator is to be instrumental in the practical and interpersonal areas of design education. Design education should produce students who are confident, collaborative and critically objective. I believe in cultivating students until they mature and believe in themselves. I strive to motivate and encourage while always offering an honest, critical assessment of a student’s work. While I believe there are core aspects required of a design education, on an individual level, I attempt to tailor my approach to the different ways in which students respond to feedback. My experience as a teaching assistant at the University of Washington has helped me develop skills in communicating positively and effectively to a diverse group of students in large lectures and small studio environments.
Furthermore, as a designer and educator, I believe that my own personal development will be an integral component of my ability to lead and instruct students. To that end, I will always desire, on some level, to remain a student: to question convention, build upon my knowledge, experiment with form, investigate contemporary and historical design and design issues, and continue to participate in the design dialogue. I seek this engagement in the design community not only that I may be personally enriched, but also that I may be a source of conversation, practice and research for my students.
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