Part 1 There are an abundance of design courses to choose from in Ireland but most are of questionable standard and are delivered by people with irrelevant qualifications and limited industry experience. While the vast majority of landscape orientated design courses are fine for hobbyist and the DIYer, when they’re marketed as delivering industry standard qualifications, they do little more than cause frustration for enrollees, reduce the overall standard of design quality in the industry and undermine public perception and expectation. With so many questions hanging over the future of our economy, school leavers, up-skillers and career changers can ill afford to waste time and money taking courses that lead to nowhere. To save potential design students the heartache and financial loss of selecting the wrong course, I’ve put together a general guide, which outlines some of the things you should consider when choosing between course options.
What do you see yourself designing in five years time? I’m often asked what the difference is between a landscape architect and a garden designer and how knowing the difference should affect course selection. Generally speaking, a landscape architect is someone who works on large, complex schemes, often in the public realm and frequently as part of a team in an office environment. Becoming a landscape architect is a lengthy process involving several years of academic study, industry experience and formalised professional development. A garden designer typically works on smaller, privately owned spaces, is self employed and has a more hands-on approach to work. A garden designer can expect to spend two to three years studying for an undergraduate qualification but may also proceed to post graduate level. Although there is no specific, formalized professional development process for garden designers in Ireland, most will tell you that once you start your education it never finishes. While both professions are underpinned by the same principals and employ the same technical information, software and similar approaches to design, they differ vastly in terms of working environment. When advising students on making a course selection, I typically ask them where they see themselves employed upon graduation. If they see themselves as self employed, working under your own steam, directly with private clients and contractors, I direct them towards garden orientated courses. If, on the other hand, they like the idea of working on a large scale, within a team and in a more office-like environment I steer them in the direction of landscape architecture. It must be noted that while there are clear distinctions between the two professions, in recent years they have become far more fluid, with many professionals switching from one to the other. I originally studied horticulture, then garden design, then landscape architecture, before returning to garden design! The boundaries between landscape and garden are breaking down and rightly so. When is a design course not a design course? Having decided on the particular design route, it should be far easier to differentiate between options: but be warned, allcourses are not equal. Just because a course features the word design in its title, does not automatically mean you will be able to successfully work as a professional designer or find suitable employment as part of a design team upon graduation. For example, a horticulture course that includes a design module will not provide sufficient instruction for establishing yourself as a practicing designer, just as a good design course will not provide sufficient horticultural knowledge to facilitate you becoming a professional gardener. If you’re determined to make your living from design, ensure the course is design focused and that this is reflected in content, allocated teaching time and college resources.
