Design Educator: Oliver Evans

Oliver Evans, president of Kendall College of Art and Design, spoke recently with MiBiz—while attending a meeting of the National Association for Schools of Art and Design, an accrediting body—about upgrading design education. Evans, who plans to retire in June 2012, has served Kendall in various leadership roles for 18 years. Kendall’s enrollment has more than doubled to 1,400 students since it merged with Ferris State University at the turn of the century. Kendall will expand operations into the renovated Federal Building in 2012.

The design profession seems to be expanding from form and function, materials and manufacturing, to finding ways that anything and everything can work better. How does Kendall College of Art and Design prepare students for a calling that large?

There is a movement away from highly specialized preparation in one area of design. The expectation in the profession is that people will work in collaboration across multiple areas of design. We still want still want students to specialize in one area, yet we also want to provide students with a broader, richer, more meaningful experience that touches on many design disciplines.

Has the shift in philosophy led to program changes?

Yes. This fall, we offered classes in a new program, a BFA in Collaborative Design, that was created by our faculty together with John Berry of Design West Michigan, a forum for designers.

How does the new program enhance what Kendall was already offering?

It focuses on Design Thinking as an important and often overlooked element of how people approach problem solving. Design is not so narrowly focused as making something pretty. It’s about asking fundamental questions about how users interact with a design. What are the real problems that need to be solved? How do you innovate to arrive at creative solutions? Classes in Collaborative Design were over-subscribed, which is a good initial reaction.

Why is cross-discipline collaboration so important?

It’s what’s expected in the professional world. Training across disciplines is also very important in an economy such as ours. It’s an education that allows you to move across a variety of disciplines. When a student is more narrowly trained, he runs the risk that the area he’s preparing for isn’t going to be in demand or isn’t going to be relevant.

Does this mean that design as a craft is any less important?

Craft—the actual creation of potential solutions—is just as important as before. Design brings to the table the creation of the rapid prototype. Develop a model fast enough to test it, modify it and find the very best solution.

What’s Kendall’s goal?

To continue to produce designers contributing in automotive, residential and other design fields. We strive to provide a very current education so graduates can go right to work. We also hope our alumni will have the vision to create what’s next in design.

What is the biggest challenge in design education now?

To anticipate what demands the professional world is placing on designers and provide it in the four years it takes to get a degree.

Why is design important?

The significance of design lies in its ability to understand the interaction of human beings with the world around them. It’s a very high calling when understood in the context design can have on the way people live. More than ever, design is being perceived as an economic engine. Design West Michigan, Kendall, FSU are working with the Upjohn Institute to study the economic significance of design to an area’s economy.

Will West Michigan need more designers in the future?

Yes, because the future of West Michigan is going to depend on innovative companies and innovative products. And designers are key to innovation.

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