About the Book

Life as a design student is filled with questions. Rochester Institute of Technology Associate Professor of Design Mitch Goldstein has many answers, shared in clear, clever, and sage advice that is helpful for students at any level of their education, as well as anyone thinking about attending design school and wondering what it’s really all about.

For design students and art professionals, Goldstein is a brilliant resource for real-world thoughts about design school and creative practice. Drawing on 16 years of teaching design and his popular “Dear Design Student” Twitter project, Goldstein explores all aspects of how to get the most out of the school experience, and beyond as a creative professional.

From collaboration and critiques to practice and process, this is an inspiring roadmap for design students as well as a valuable guide for design professors to help them understand how to shape curriculum from a student’s perspective and better the collaborative experience.

Praise for How to Be a Design Student (and How to Teach Them)

“One of the things I regret most in life is that I didn’t have Mitch Goldstein as a teacher. With the benefit of his wisdom, wit, and warmth, there’s no telling what I would have been able to accomplish. The good news is that — thanks to this book — all of us can gain from his insight and the joy of knowing that there’s still plenty left to do.”
— Michael Bierut, Designer and educator

“Throw away all your assumptions and dive into this book. Even if you’re not sure about design school — or any creative or craft-focused major — this is a must-read. This book has me wishing I could go to college all over again. A must-have playbook for prospective and current design students and teachers.”
— Jaime Derringer, Founder, Design-Milk.com

“This must-read list of actualized considerations will prepare the student, challenge the educator and enlighten the parent in us all. Ready your mind to hear from a seasoned and perpetually curious design educator with the tone of a caring, introspective and observant mentor that has your best interest at heart.”
— David Jon Walker, MFA candidate, Yale School of Art

“It’s true, there is skill to the practice of being a student, but it is often forgotten amid concerns of getting a job and other goals of post-graduation. How to Be A Design Student is an invitation to learn how to fuel your creative practice as a design student and keep it fueled as a working professional.”
— Meena Khalili, Faculty, University of South Carolina

“With his signature wisdom and wit, Mitch Goldstein offers a generous examination of design education from both the students’ and teachers’ points of view. His insights go a long way to remove apprehension and ease misunderstandings in design education.”
— Nancy Skolos and Thomas Wedell, Faculty, Rhode Island School of Design

“With around thirty years of college experience from my time as a student, lecturer, professor, and administrator, I know a thing or two about art and design school and could write my own book, but dammit Mitch did it better and beat me to it, packing decades of knowledge into this nice, heartfelt, magnificent book.”
— Jason Tselentis, Author and Faculty, Winthrop University

“This book is as though Mitch has hydro dipped sheets of paper in his own voice. If you’ve met Mitch before, whether as a professor, perpetual student, or collaborative peer, it will be as though you can hear him speaking to you from the pages. If you’ve not had the pleasure of meeting him yet, you will through this book. I wish I had read this book before I went to design school as it illuminates creative education in a way that can be built upon forever instead of as a period of time that is meant to end.”
— Michael Burpoe, Designer and RIT alum

“Since coming upon them years ago, I’ve been a dedicated follower and sharer of Mitch Goldstein’s advices, cautions, counsels, musings and, of course, Venn diagrams about studying and teaching graphic design. Mitch’s observations nimbly navigate the sweet spot where idealism and practicality intersect with honesty, insight, and wit. Too often he verbalizes inchoate thoughts and vague intuitions I’ve had about design pedagogy and performance. And as regularly I’m envious I didn’t think of it first. Fortunately for us, he did and has gathered his acumen in one place. In a crowded field of books promising students fresh, insider knowledge and failing, Mitch has managed to deliver something new and true.”
— Kenneth Fitzgerald, Author and Faculty, Old Dominion University