At the time, when I was researching courses and universities, Graphic Design was the most hands-on course in the country, and it was one of the last HND courses to convert to a degree, which I believed would give me my best start for a career as a designer.
I was most attracted to Loughborough because all the tutors were actual practicing Graphic Designers and that really appealed to me. For example one of my tutors, Ola, designed the Walkers Crisps pack. Impressive hey!
One of my favourite University moments was I designed a project for Harley Davidson and was grilled in front of the entire class by a lecturer about it. I thought it had gone badly but at the end Peter Webster (the lecturer) smiled and said, “well done, you’ve passed”. It was simply a test to put me in a real-life situation, which believe me, I’ve been in 1000 times since and without that extra push would probably never have been prepared for.
Overall, the quality of the teaching was exceptional. It was really hands-on, possibly even informal at times, but it really worked. I know for sure it was responsible for delivering some really great designers that have gone on to have phenomenal careers.