Your tutors aren't always right
Your tutors aren't always right
Don't become a carbon copy of your tutor. Do question if what they're telling you is the truth, or their opinion
Written by Dave Greasley on 23.07.2020
Don't become a carbon copy of your tutor. Do question if what they're telling you is the truth, or their opinion
Written by Dave Greasley on 23.07.2020
Unfortunately, we see this quite a lot
All too often we see mini-me’s popping out of University, imitating the styles or beliefs of their tutors.
Your tutors are there to give you guidance, encourage your growth and to share their knowledge/experiences. It’s your job to know which of these to take as gospel and which to take with a pinch of salt.
Whilst you’re studying, try to keep your sounding board as wide as possible. So if you’ve done a piece of work, ask your friends for some honest feedback, ask a local business owner, get on Insta & DM a design studio you like. Just avoid having all your feedback come through the same person. Who knows, your tutor may dismiss your style as childish or sloppy, a studio may see it as progressive or quirky.
The two issues we see regularly
- I remember thinking my tutor knew it all, but soon realising his viewpoint was skewed. Looking back, he’d been out of the design world for so long I honestly don’t think he was aware of the changes in style & movements. I never got amazing grades and I don’t think that was because I was a bad designer, it was probably more that I didn’t care about doing my work in his way.
- The other issue we see, usually around June time when everyone inundates us with portfolios, is that there’ll always be a bunch of students that have very similar styles. They use the same fonts, or colour palettes, or layout styles and from this we can usually tell who their tutor was.
Use your time at Uni to explore loads of different styles. You don’t have to leave with a polished portfolio full of similar work. Try everything, that’s what Uni is for. ...In fact, we’ve been doing this 12 years & still haven’t found a style we’re settled on.
Written by Dave Greasley on 23.07.2020
Follow the studio on Instagram and Twitter
Written by Dave Greasley on 23.07.2020
Follow the studio on Instagram and Twitter
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Want a question answered?
Email us advice@sidebyside.co.uk
Want a question answered?
Email us advice@sidebyside.co.uk
Over the last few years we've become a little jaded with the whole design industry. As we've grown as a business – and more importanly, people – we've seen the importance of helping others, and giving back. We've learnt a hell of a lot during our careers, mostly from fixing fuck-ups, and we want to share this knowledge.
We can see the pitfalls of this industry (we've lived it) and now we're in a position where we can help, rather than just moan about it. We've listened to many a student and young designer asking the same questions, so we know there's a scarcity of answers out there. No inspirational quotes. Just gritty, honest, insights.
Gain Knowledge. Give Knowledge.
Over the last few years we've become a little jaded with the whole design industry. As we've grown as a business – and more importanly, people – we've seen the importance of helping others, and giving back. We've learnt a hell of a lot during our careers, mostly from fixing fuck-ups, and we want to share this knowledge.
We can see the pitfalls of this industry (we've lived it) and now we're in a position where we can help, rather than just moan about it. We've listened to many a student and young designer asking the same questions, so we know there's a scarcity of answers out there. No inspirational quotes. Just gritty, honest, insights.
Gain Knowledge. Give Knowledge.
