I have been teaching on and off since 2014 at various capacities from being a teaching assistant at a university, critic at a final review through to where I have now as a Lecturer on MA Graphic Communication Design. I often think about why I teach and last week with my interaction with my students it became quite clear to me.
I am working with 3rd year BA students on the development of the identity for the CSM Showcase. We had a meeting recently to discuss the progress and I really enjoyed listening to all their eccentric ideas. It reminded me what I like about graphic design–the exploration of ideas across multiple mediums–and I left that meeting inspired.
Beyond the students, I find that being at CSM and exposed to the variety of practitioners at the school, all with various ideas about what design is helpful for me to see how my teaching fits into the context of my design practice. We invite people to give lectures and workshops to our students, all of which have a nuanced approach to design, this has made me reflect on my own design practice and how I could do client projects differently than I normally do through the development different methods.
I’m hoping that PgCert will expand on some of the things I’ve been learning by being at CSM, expanding on what it means to be a teacher and designer.