Roland Is God

Roland Young is a faculty member of the ArtCenter College Of Design in Pasadena, CA. One of his students has been sneaking in a camera and making a secret (although not so secret anymore) documentary about Prof. Young’s critiques, all of which can be seen on the site Roland is God.

This guy is brutal. I’ve pictured myself not only in that class, but also in a setting where he critiques what I do now. I’m pretty certain either way it wouldn’t be pretty. But, I’m certain that if a student could stick out that class, there’s a lot that could be learned. If nothing else, a student would learn how to take criticism. After this guy, anyone in your career would probably be a piece of cake.

This guy motivates me too. In one of the clips he shouts at a student, “It’s so average! Why do you want to be average?” I know I don’t want to be average. I want to create designs that communicate better. I want to write code that works faster and better across platforms and browsers. I want ideas that smell fresher and are more interesting. So, therefore, I’m putting a little Roland Young inside my head to keep me in check. I’ll tell you how it goes.

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Published:
11.23.05 / 9am
Category:
Creativity, Design, Greatest Hits