Firm Owner Perspectives: Design school curriculum

For students, life in school and life after school often feel like two different worlds. There are exercises, activities, lectures and assignments completed for credit—and then there are projects created for clients in an industry setting. 

The goal of design schools is to equip students with the tools, knowledge and skills to thrive in the industry, but it’s not always easy for educators to know how best to prepare students for both the present and the future in a rapidly changing job market and design ecosystem. 

To explore this, we asked four design firm owners to share their perspectives on design school curriculum and what educators can do to more fully prepare students for life beyond the classroom.

Spencer Cathcart RGD, Creative Director at Puncture Design

I’ll keep it short and simple. If we’re talking about preparing students for actual jobs, educators should ensure they  balance “do whatever you want” projects with real briefs with real problems to solve. I want to see how students think through constraints, respond to challenges and work within someone else’s brand; not just create a passion project around skateboarding or coffee. That’s a great way to learn about them and see their personality, but it’s not the job.

Also, I would never, never, never, never, never ever ask a student to redesign an existing brand. It sets them up to fail more often than not.

Ben Hagon RGD, President at Intent

Volatility is the word of the year. People often consider volatility to be a bad thing, and often it can be, but it also presents opportunities for versatile and willing individuals. Ensure grads are flexible and ready to innovate. Learning about new technologies, reading as much as possible about the evolution underfoot, students (and educators) should be focused on  brainpower not aesthetics/software mastery. Grads must be prepared to speak eloquently, and so much more.

In short, in a world where artificial intelligence and robotics threaten our very existence, people are crying out for humanity, authenticity, connection and big picture thinking. All things generative technology can never replace. Graduates must focus on being a human not a technology operator (while knowing how to operate that technology) and they’ll be an asset in 2026 and beyond.

Oh, and encourage them to break their phone/social media addictions. That crap isn't helpful in any way.

Meggan Van Harten RGD, Co-CEO at Design de Plume

Design education should prioritize problem-solving over tools. Technology will continue to evolve, but the core challenges designers address (like accessibility, inclusion and clarity) remain constant. Graduates who can think critically, ask better questions and design with intention will be far more adaptable in industry. Embedding real-world scenarios, collaboration and systems thinking into curriculum helps students understand how design functions within organizations beyond implementation alone. Technical skills matter, but they should support, not define, a designer’s value.

Timothy Jones RGD, President & Creative Director at Banfield

Design educators can better prepare students by focusing not only on craft, but on influence and persuasion. Graduates need to learn how to clearly articulate ideas, build a compelling rationale and bring others along—particularly when working with non‑design folks. They should also be encouraged to shift from pure problem‑solving to problem‑finding. As AI and new tools give clients greater ability to execute solutions on their own, a designer’s value increasingly lies in knowing when to step back, question the brief and uncover the larger underlying challenge. Developing empathy and the ability to see issues through a client or business lens is essential for designers over the course of their careers.