Why aren’t there more superstars in design firms?
As we have discussed this issue with our peers and other leaders in the design professions, one thing is clear. Unlike the world of professional sports, no system currently exists to identify and track the most talented students as they travel along their career trajectories. A simple Internet search reveals that Albert Pujois of the St. Louis Cardinals was Baseball’s 2001Rookie of the Year, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan was the NBA Rookie of the Year and Atlanta’s Michael Vick was the NFL’s Number One Draft Pick. Stats like this are available back to the early 1950s. Yet, who were the top ten graduates from each design school in the country last year? Five years ago? Ten years ago? Where did they start their careers? Where are they now? Compiling this information would take hundreds of hours— if privacy laws even made it available. What does the world of professional sports have that the design professions don’t which institutionalizes this type of knowledge? Several things. Let’s look at
