Are Koreas design schools teaching designers the right skills?
Korea has 230 design schools — more than America. But 80% of those schools still require a drawing examination for admission. Of course there are some design problems that require drawing. But interface design solutions can’t be drawn. It doesn’t make any sense. In the ’70s, drawing skills were necessary in Korea, because product planners would go around the world and collect the most advanced products. They would give them to the engineers and ask them to disassemble them, then they would ask designers to modify the look a little bit. So at that time, a designer’s problem was deciding how it should look. You needed to know how to draw. But now, companies are trying to be first in the world with innovative products. So you can’t simply rely on drawing skills. A designer is not just a craftsman. He’s also a thinker.
