We’re Study Partner, a teaching alliance and idea lab co-founded in 2007 by Jen Thomas and Shawn Petersen. We believe that design is for everyone and that design education can play a critical role to benefit individuals and communities.

  

Follow Us:

Twitter @sdypart

 

Say Hey.

teaching@sdypart.com

   

Our teaching philosophy + unique methodology =

exceptional results for students & schools.

 

We believe that everyone has the potential to be a graphic designer if given the right tools, community and learning environment. We also believe that design learning is most successful when experiential.

 

You will usually find our students standing instead of sitting and in discussions that are loud, clear and lively. They might be learning about typography with blindfolds on, or imitating the voice of Dustin Hoffman to describe the personality of a typeface. You may see them sticking color-coded pieces of paper to items pinned on a wall, sewing a poster on a sewing machine, scrutinizing junk mail, or around town photographing design crimes.

 

We call our methodology “design culture immersion”. It includes inspirational presentations, a supportive learning environment, challenging projects, exposure to the work of the “old masters” and trendsetters of graphic design, presentations on the nuts and bolts of design + typography and online tools so students can facilitate discussions with their peers to create their own design communities.

 

We are not two, we are one

Traditional models of education typically rely on one instructor per course. The Study Partner model believes that students receive a significant educational benefit from having two designers present at all class sessions. This is especially beneficial in accelerated courses, such as CE learning environments.

 

Idea Lab

Our idea lab is the place where we imagine and work on projects to facilitate design education. We are interested in investigating the ways people learn about design and developing tools that rethink traditional models of design education. Our ideas may end up as tools we use in the classroom or products, publications and mobile teaching experiences that reach a broader audience.

 

We are always interested in opportunities to teach new classes + workshops and assist in course development. We are particularly interested in courses that deal with typography, conceptual thinking and experiential interaction.

 

Please contact us at teaching@sdypart.com to inquire about current availability.