End of an era - Teaching on the FdA Design for Graphic Communication at LCC

Well what can I say 2002 - 2014 has gone by in a flash? When I started working on the new course FdA Design for Graphic Communication at LCC I can tell you I wondered what sort of course it would turn out to be. 40 of the 41-student cohort didn't even want to be there. "I wanted to study on the GMD" and "I want to do the BA" is what I heard almost every week during the 1st year. How do you turn around the disengaged? How do you make a course a success? How do you get the College to believe in the course? How do you get employers to understand what our students can do and how great they can be?

From 2004 onwards with the additions to the teaching team of Catherine Smith, Neil Barnett, Darren Raven and David Sims things began to change for the better. Much better. In fact the FdA became the course of choice over the BA GMD for many of our students. We achieved the best destination record of any course at UAL. In the last 12 years the course went from "Do as I say" Dave Dabner to "What can you do with your ideas?” Darren Raven. That is progress.

Hundreds of students have hopefully benefitted from their interaction with the teaching team and myself. If in years to come these wonderful, talented and hopeful people hear these words in their head when times are tough "The Force will be with you always" then I will have done my job.

Thanks to everyone who made this journey so enjoyable and stay positive because that will keep you strong.

Big shout going out to Ben Rider, Andrew Ioakim, Kevin Nwaneri, Ben Vaughan, Anna Magombe, Obie Campbell, Levi Freeman, Charlie Behrens, Anthony Rifferson, Andrew Brown, Daniel Connal, Luca Paulina, Isobel Williams, Tim Janes, Adam Grant, Joseph Hughes, Daniel Samson, Nathan Medford, Simon Clowes, Amy Manning, Ella Mackinnon, Mark Caballero, Jenny Brown, Richard Villa, Kyle Gall, Ingmar Potenza, Bart Jacq, Gosia Sikon, Inez Davidson, Shodor Uddin and everyone else who studied on the course but there are too many of you to name here.

The FdA Design for Graphic Communication closes after the final degree show 20 - 27 June in The Nursery Gallery at the London College of Communication SE1 6SB. Farewell, you went long before your time.

Karl