Is attending design school still worth the time, effort, and money it takes? And are the schools teaching the right things? Should the focus be on principles or practicalities? In this episode, the president of the New York School of Interior Design, David Sprouls, is joined by two of the school’s distinguished alumni, Penny Drue Baird and Drew McGukin, to talk about whether techniques or technology should prevail, why they only hire design school graduates, how schools can help diversify and expand the student body, and why nobody seems to know design history these days.
In this episode, our guests discuss:
- Why design schools are worth the time and money
- Are students actually learning what they need to know for the real world?
- How the curricula at NYSID has kept up with changing lifestyles and the increasing use of technology
- How to keep up with new technology while balancing traditional design tactics like sketching and hand drawing
- The most important skills Penny and Drew learned while at design school
- Why firms prefer hiring people who went to design school
- How the NYSID decides its curriculum and coursework
Additional resources:
- New York School of Interior Design
- Dessins LLC.
- Drew McGukin Interiors
- 10 Things You Should Know About Becoming an Interior Designer on MyMove
- 15 Interior Design Schools Worth Applying to on Architectural Digest
- Become An Interior Designer on ASID
- Meet Our New Scholarship Winner on Chairish
Connect with Chairish and our guests on Instagram:
- Chairish: @chairishco
- Michael Boodro: @michaelboodro
- NYSID: @nysid
- Penny Drue Baird: @pennydessins
- Drew McGukin: @drewmcgukin
- David Sprouls: @david.sprouls
Lead Photo: Design by Penny Drue Baird. Photo: Durston Saylor.