Student Enthusiasm

Author: Brian Miller (Luxgraphicus)

Several times each week I spend several hours teaching design to students at either the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT), or the Australian Business Academy (ABA).

Anyone knowing the pay rates of teachers would know that more could be made sitting in front of a computer putting together client designs. So why bother?

Working in small business can be an isolating experience. Who’s there to bounce ideas off? Where does inspiration come from?

Remembering to keep a little perspective is often difficult too. Why did I get into this industry in the first place? Why did I choose to run my own business and not work in someone else’s?

And what about keeping up to date with technology and the latest trends, or just recalling the basic fundamentals of your craft which you learnt years ago and tend to forget when caught up in the day to day of business?

I’ve left out passion and excitement! How do you lift yourself each time you need to come up with something special or innovative for your client? Renewing that old spark of enthusiasm is vital in a creative business.

The CIT and ABA pay for my professional development in all these areas!

I get as much, or more, from my students as I can ever give them.

Their passion and enthusiasm for learning and for design in particular give me perspective on where I am and how lucky I am to work the way I do. The contact with new, fresh and exciting ideas and opinions provides a constant stream of ideas and inspiration.

I am always presented with new technology and the need to refresh my knowledge of the latest software applications. Students show the possibilities of online communication way beyond my own limited perceptions of its capabilities. And I am constantly re-learning the fundamentals of design, either to present it to classes or when discussing and analysing students work.

Speaking of which, where else would you have the opportunity to provide principle based analysis and criticism on 40 different pieces of design work in the space of a single morning? Over the past eight years I’ve analysed and discussed thousands of items of work. Such breadth and depth I would never encounter in an entire career of design practice in the general industry.

Student enthusiasm. You’ve gotta love it!