Design

A friend of mine and I have been having various discussions on design, university/academia and practice/"the real world".

He opines that the longer a time one spends on design, the better a designer he will be as will the design itself be.

I disagree. I don't believe there is a corelation between the two.

When asked about the long tenure that architecture academia is, he opines that it is absolutely necessary (at the time I was frustratedly under the opinion that it was absolute rubbish because the two worlds are so vastly different and calls of different coping mechanisms and skills) as it does take up to six years to learn how to design. I don't strongly disagree on this point, as I do think it does take time to cultivate one's "eye". Eye for detail, craft, proportion, etc. (albeit my opinion that I think aesthetic is sometimes too highly overrated).

If I ever had a chance to lead a introductory design course or class, I guess what I'd do to "teach design" is to have a series of short yet intensive design solution exercises. Not buildings, but simple product design exercises. Because a lot of design I believe comes not just from being able to execute a convincing and thorough scheme from a single concept, instead it is also a lot about being able to problem-solve creatively and quickly; and also to realise the design in the form of materials and details. Ideally the final project for that class would involve an actual client per student, and they'd have to design something that the client wants or needs according to his terms (not the tutor's or the student's).