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Art students are built different

Issue 103: Lessons from art school that apply to Engineering, Product, and Design

Jul 31

Art students are like New Yorkers. When two art students (current or former) speak to each other, a shared connection instantly occurs. It doesn't matter if you went to RISD or community college. There is a symbiotic bond with the global curriculum of art classes. I earned my BFA in Studio Art, somehow stumbled into tech, and learned product, design, and engineering. Along my journey, I encountered many people in tech who went to art school, and am amazed at the same experiences we share. Our VP of Engineering at Webflow earned her MFA in art and I love talking to her about our mutual love for design engineering.

Cover: Canvas with a portrait painting with paint brushes near it

Art students are built different. Before outrage occurs, students of sociology, math, philosophy, computer science, et. al, are also built different. Let’s dedicate focus to the weird kids in the art studio. Diversity of perspective is crucial for teams and in no way am I endorsing "hire only art students." Today we'll take a look at some of the attributes and experiences one gained from art school, and whether you attended or not, you can apply them to your daily work.

1. The rigor of critique

Critique is the crucible for art students, and they are long. The crits I attended in art school were three hours long—the length of our twice-a-week studio sessions. There was time to go deep, challenge, and get into the details of everything. They were not easy, full stop. What the rigor of crit taught me is I can now take 38 pieces of feedback on a design and take action from it—all without taking it personally. A good crit focuses on the work, never the person.

On the other side, crit helps frame feedback. Giving good feedback is a necessary skill to set people up for success. Crit helps you be constructive instead of saying "I don't like this."

2. Mastery and technique

Rigor isn't only about critique. Technique and learning how to execute is critical. If you ask most art school students, there is a good chance they took the same foundational courses—drawing (for years), foundational design, and figure drawing. Sometimes you're drawing monochromatic for a year. You don't even get to use color! You practice this, a lot. The same should be applied to how you apply the technique to your designs.

Having strong techniques helps you develop concepts rapidly. If you have the muscle memory to execute without having to think about how you become very powerful and effective. After you master the techniques can come a great understanding of how to express your ideas and abstract them. The popular abstract artists you know were trained in the technique of the old masters.

3. The studio environment and community

The art studio was my place of worship like a gothic cathedral during school. The studio environment was one of the most fruitful enjoyments to learn, not only in school but in my life. It's something I haven't been able to replicate fully since I graduated.

What makes the studio environment so beneficial is the community of artists around. Someone is a quick tap on the shoulder to give feedback on your project. Ideas and collaborations would often spark through conversations and jams on ideas. Even the deepest introverts need a studio environment to challenge and grow. In art school, I would only do work in the studio or computer lab. Back then we didn't have laptops or worked from home and you had to physically be there.

Have a studio mindset when you work.

4. Making imagination and exploration tangible

"Exploring possibilities" is way harder than it sounds. Design is the ability to look forward to the future and bring it to the present. This requires the ability to imagine what forces of nature will shape that future and find existing materials to bring it to life.

I feel very lucky that my art curriculum was multidisciplinary, meaning we were required to take all the foundational courses before going deep into our area of specialization (I did painting). Before I could spend all year in painting classes, I had to take wood design, jewelry and metalsmithing, sculpture, computer art, ceramics, and so much more. One of the core materials I explored in art school was code, which became a spark for my move into software and application design without realizing it.

5. The study of culture

Not everything in art school was about visuals and medium. Some of the most formidable experiences were art history and art criticism. I was very fortunate to have an incredible Dr. William Folkestad as an art history professor. What I learned in art history was not only about the art made, but what was going on in the world that caused the movements. I learned more about Mahayana Buddhism in my History of Asian Art than I ever knew in my life. It also made me ask critical questions such as, "Why did we take a year to learn about ancient/medieval, renaissance, and European art, while African and Oceanic Art was optional?"

Additional insights

I posted a tweet asking people about their experiences and wanted to share a few takeaways:

"In every way. No limits to imagination. No barriers to working with my hands. No win/lose mentality because when you make art you are #generative ..but luckily I stumbled into the business early and realized they could be blended." —@julieanixter
“I’m a front-end engineer with a BA who has worked as a designer for 6 years and 5 years engineer. Art has taught me you need to make mistakes to learn. Practice makes perfect. I am much more into user testing and PoC than my peers. Also, engineering is more creative than people think.” —@ConstantinC
"Hunger for critique, a mind palace of historical references, belief in the integrity of my own creative voice, and knowledge on *how* to move both hearts and minds." —@mollyfmielke
"You learn how to take criticism like a pro. Art school was ROUGH." —@jschwartzdesign
“Double-majored engineering and digital media arts, have worked as hardware and software engineer, product, now run a biotech startup: Art education taught me to critique, evaluating a solution on the basis of whether it solves the problem, using a mix of tools to achieve a goal“—@_drz
"...Identifying what feedback is subjective vs essential" —@jina
"Desire to ask meaningful questions and work intentionally."—@seancblanton

Here’s to all the art kids out there. Looking back, I am so grateful for my classmates, professors, and studio that fostered so much learning and creativity for me. Whether you experienced art classes or not, I hope this inspires you to have an art student mindset in what you create or build.