Publication: Timely new tome tells you What They Didn't Teach You in Design School

Date
11 March 2014

“When I was a junior junior at Pentagram in 1977, Alan Fletcher used to walk around his team, and without saying anything help himself to one of his assistant’s cigarettes, in front of them. No one said anything. After a while of this he came to my desk again. As his hand reached down to my cigarettes, I chirped up: ‘Either pay me money so I can buy more fags or f*** off and buy you own.’ A small smile crossed his mouth and ever since then we’ve got on very well together.”

So begins Professor Phil Cleaver’s book What They Didn’t Teach You In Design School, a timely new title that aims to bridge that difficult gap between the end of university and the start of a career in the design industry. Of course anecdotes like this are tremendous fun and add some nice colour, but Phil’s book is far more practically-minded than this opening gambit suggests, with chapters dedicated not only to practical skills but also interview and portfolio tips and the nitty gritty of things like invoicing and good email etiquette.

We have heard time and again about the need for an initiative like this, but in the wrong hands it could come across as really patronising. Luckily Phil’s style is nicely direct and he has the walk to back up the talk, having worked with the likes of Anthony Froshaug, Michael Wolff, Wim Crouwel and of course Fletcher.

The design too is stylish but not fussy, an important consideration when imparting such useful information.

Above

Phil Cleaver: What They Didn’t Teach You in Design School (Published by Ilex Press)

Above

Phil Cleaver: What They Didn’t Teach You in Design School (Published by Ilex Press)

Above

Phil Cleaver: What They Didn’t Teach You in Design School (Published by Ilex Press)

Above

Phil Cleaver: What They Didn’t Teach You in Design School (Published by Ilex Press)

Above

Phil Cleaver: What They Didn’t Teach You in Design School (Published by Ilex Press)

Share Article

Further Info

About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.