Spruce, J., evans, M., 2012.

Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living: Industry expectations of junior designers

The expectations placed upon product design graduates are vast. The fast pace demanded by the design industry can come as a shock to graduates as they enter into the early stages of their professional design career. Gone are the university days of moving deadlines and extended periods working upon just one project. The contemporary product design industry asks a lot from junior designers and for those graduates lucky enough to secure their first design job, the transition between education and industry can be a shock to the system The expectations of the product design industry are often discussed in the context of a lack of satisfaction with the skills and knowledge of recent graduates. The over-supply of poor quality graduates is cited by design industry professionals as undermining the sustainable future of the industry. Yet there seems to be little engagement by industry professions into the actual content and nature of product design curricula. Recent initiatives by the UK based Design Skills Advisory Panel (2007 & 2008) have sought to address this lack of dialogue and interaction. This paper explores industry expectations of junior designers. Specifically our research i) consults with product design businesses to identify their expectations of product design graduates (junior designers) and ii) compares industry expectations with the curricula of a number of UK higher education product design providers. Analysis of a survey questionnaire conducted with UK based product design businesses is structured under four themes: a) how well university prepared graduates for entry into the industry, b) how junior designers surprised design businesses, c) what essential knowledge, skills and understanding was not covered by university curricula, and d) what cannot be taught at university and can only be learned upon the job. The thematic findings of the survey are compared with university curricula and conclusions drawn. There is evidence that there is a difference between industry expectations and academic curricula. The authors provide insight into key areas of both synergy and disconnect between industry demands and educational curricula.