AOD to position as South Asia’s design education centre

Friday, 27 February 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Interview with AODs newly-appointed Academic Advisory Chair, world-renowned design educator Jane Rapley (OBE) – Dean and Professor Emeritus of the celebrated Central Saint Martins University, UK AOD, the celebrated international design campus delivering globally recognised British design education to South Asia, has pioneered education, knowledge and initiatives (such as Sri Lanka Design Festival), that has elevated regional design to the international limelight. Taking another giant step further, AOD is now poised to become the South Asian centre for design education, appointing Jane Rapley OBE – Professor Emeritus Central Saint Martins UK, as its academic advisory chair. Rapley’s methods of education during her reign as the dean of UK’s Central Saint Martins University cemented the campus’ worldwide fame as one of the world’s top design educators and produced graduates of celebrity designer status like Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. This momentous contribution to British design has even been recognised by the Her Majesty the Queen’s honours and Jane Rapley is considered one of UK’s most revered authorities in design. Her decades’ worth experience in directing Central Saint Martins to its legendary status today, will now be utilised to develop AOD as a global design education centre in South Asia. Following are excerpts from an interview and talks held by Rapley during her most recent visit for Sri Lanka Design Festival and AOD international design campus in Colombo to undertake her new role. Rapley commented on the progressive movements that have to be taken by design education and the critical role of industries in educating designers for its needs and also on AOD’s unique position to become a regional leader in design education Q: There are many design educators in Sri Lanka and South Asia; why did you choose AOD from amongst them to develop as a South Asian design education hub? A: AOD is indeed a unique campus through which a unique contribution can be made with design to the rest of the world. I think what AOD does, impacts not only a small circle of designers, but it impacts Sri Lanka, South Asia and in turn the world too. This is a rare thing and it needs to be helped; and if I can be any part of that, I’d indeed be delighted to.

From what I observe, the essential drivers at the core of AOD are, firstly, to give young people opportunities; secondly, to help the industries in Sri Lanka in today’s globalised world; and thirdly and most importantly, to make the world a better place through design. As grandiose as this may sound, I think design does truly improve our lives and make a positive change for its quality. Young people should aspire to change the world and I think AOD delivers this exact opportunity to them through design. The way it’s developing now, AOD has a wholesome model that really works closely with technologically-advanced industries, traditional crafts, innovation, young talent and so on. In its own way, I think it does what design educators really should do by delivering what the industries need and sometimes even leading industry in the direction of the future. Design education is something that is very important in building industries today and even more so tomorrow; I believe, AOD is a place that can do a lot here and this is where I find my new role very exciting.

Q: Why is design education so important for countries and industries? A: Educating designers for industry is one of the smartest things you can do as a country. Because you don’t start with industry, you start with a person; all these developments and exciting things that are happening in the world for now, whether it is technology, design or something else, start with a person. And all these people start as students. So, you grow the students and their creative identity – not your brand’s or business’s creative identity but their own identity. This is because eventually, it is the uniqueness that they will have to offer the industry one day. To do this, they need to know themselves, and develop aesthetic judgements and practice those judgements because they will not get it right the first time. That’s what design education essentially brings about. Beyond that, students have to have practical and personal skills, to work in teams and interact with other people and increasingly, they have to learn how to work collaboratively with technology, tradition and so on. They need to have a balance between analytical intelligence and intuitive intelligence which is what helps creative ideas reach reality and move towards a closer association with a consumer. All this comes from design education. Q: Beyond the essentials that you just described, what are the other key aspects that design education has to deliver to produce a designer relevant for today? A: An important thing that design education should deliver is the opportunity for the student to understand the global world – it’s not easy. It’s not easy when you’re studying in London and certainly not when you’re here in Colombo. However, it is easier than ever before through digital technology, but this is not enough; they need to be in it and really feel it. When I say the global world, it is that the consumer today is different, with different values and wants and within this the consumer in China is different to the one in New York. It needs to familiarise its students with technology; designers of all people should not be afraid of technology and limit themselves to pencils and sketchbooks; because of the way the world develops now, they should love it, be excited about it and be exposed to it. Same with science, social and economic changes and the information economy because these will affect the consumers and their decisions. Design education needs to teach them ‘how to learn’ – it sounds obvious, doesn’t it? One thing that we have developed in the UK education system, and also from where I come from at Central Saint Martins, is that we don’t nurse them; we make them go and find out things for themselves, and help them stand on their own two feet, because they just have to know how to learn. This is because they have to go on learning for the rest of their careers, or risk becoming outdated when the next group of designers come out. The greatest gift we can give a design graduate is a realistic confidence in themselves. Lastly, design education also needs to help students understand where they fit in within the industry and where they don’t fit in, what they are good at and what they are not as well as what they enjoy doing, what develops them as creative people and what kind of work doesn’t. This knowledge only comes by really doing it and this requires a good relationship between educators and the industries around.

Q: What is, in your opinion, a ‘good relationship with industries’ for design education? A: Design education needs to know how the industries are developing – and I don’t mean just the directly design-related industries, but the adjacent industries too. Education needs to know what is happening within a raft of industries because it will affect their graduates as soon as they leave the nest. Education also needs to know what the industry thinks it wants, globally and locally. And here is where it gets quite interesting; education also needs to think whether it will lead industry rather than follow; design education needs to think and have the confidence to tell the industry what they will need in five or ten years’ time; that is very difficult because so much is changing so fast but it can be done. Education should challenge industry and industry should challenge education – it should be a mutual collaboration. Q: In this mutual collaboration, what do you think is the industry’s role and why? A: Industry has to invest on the people that they will take on in the future and take responsibility for their development; with sponsorships, scholarships, access to technology, live projects, internships, teaching by your staff, etc. I’d like to be a bit dictatorial now and say the following; British industry did not invest in their designers in the past, they did not value them and it’s not going so well now. A clever employer will be open to being the educator of their dream designer. It is indeed one of the best investments you can do for your company. You need to put the designer at the heart of what you do; because they, particularly the young ones, have the power to be the link between what you do and the outside world; they have the antennae for the future. Steve Jobs’s Apple wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for his designer Jonathan Ive, Burberry Angela Ahrendts didn’t do it by herself but with her designer Chris Bailey who is now Burberry’s Chief Executive – a designer becoming a chief executive officer? Yes. These are businesses that put design at the helm and made it big. So, I’d tell the industries this; take the risk, put design at the heart of what you do. (For more information on AOD International Design Campus, call 0115867772/3, visit 29, Lauries Road, Colombo 4 during 8am and 5pm on weekdays, email [email protected] or log on to www.aod.lk.)