Summary: The Rope Connect is a podcast about finding our rope. Completing a few design courses has provided us a basis of understanding design in practice, yet we still feel unprepared. Projects completed at school are often based on self-sufficient learning and lack actual collaboration across different groups of people, like developers or graphic artists. These project specifications are vague and ill-defined. This type of setup benefits the designer who wishes to join a creative agency, but not one who wants to work in a startup or larger professional environment. From internship experiences and communicating with other professional designers, we have found that industry projects are well defined and constrained based on the needs of the business. They involve collaboration with many people, from project managers to business analysts. So, while school work provides the basis for work within an agency environment, it doesn't seem to line up with the kinds of experiences that occur at other types of businesses. Our first podcast is staged as a dialogue between two perspectives, professional and academic, on design. Christian Beck is a senior interaction designer at Aprimo, Inc. Colin Gray is a third year doctoral student at Indiana University. We discuss their day-to-day activities, what students should take away from a design program, what professionals seek from junior designers, and how prior experience speaks to both perspectives. We're just getting started with this discussion, and we hope that you enjoy following our journey.
