A career in 3D design with Raffles Design Institute

By Raffles Design Institute

RafflesDesign Institute was established in 1990 as an educational institution dedicated to the professional design disciplines of Fashion, Interior, Multimedia, Product Design, Jewellery Design and Visual Communication (Graphic Design). With a curriculum designed to include state-of-the-art technology applications and exposure to work with industry professionals, the Institute strives to develop creative professionals and entrepreneurs through its regularly reviewed set of courses. As a result, students at RafflesDesign Institute are constantly at the forefront of design education and training despite the state of flux that defines the design industry and its trends.

One of the departments available is the ‘Department of 3D Design’. It was set up as a response to an ever increasing and developing market in contemporary design practice and design education in Singapore. Here, students can now take Jewellery Design at Advanced Diploma levels. It is also intended that Furniture, Glass and Ceramics designing are offered as additional areas of study by 2006. In this multi-disciplinary design environment, innovation and creativity remains the main area of priority.

Spearheaded by Julie Ross, its Programme Director, and flanked by an international team of lecturers and practitioners, students are immersed in an international learning environment that is rich in creativity. By sharing their years of experience as well as their enthusiasm for creativity, professional ethics and practices in the industry, the experienced teaching staff of RafflesDesign Institute is no doubt qualified in imparting a wealth of technical knowledge to budding designers.

Ross, who graduated from the Edinburgh College of Art in 1989, packs a punch in her achievements which include her own Architectural Glass Design practice in Scotland before moving to Singapore in 1996 to head 3D studies of a design school (specifically areas of glass, ceramic, sculpture and jewellery). In 2001, she moved to Nairobi, Kenya – to pursue her Masters’ in Glass. During this period of time, she was a part-time Lecturer in the Department of Product Design at the University of Nairobi. On her return to Singapore, she pursued her career as an independent Glass maker and Consultant and also as a part-time Lecturer at National University of Singapore (NUS) Centre for the Arts. In October 2003, she joined Raffles Design Institute in Singapore as the Programme Director for Product Design, which was the predecessor of the Department of 3D Design.

In Raffles Design Institute, students enjoy their studies and have fun. As a creative learning environment where students are encouraged to be investigative and inquisitive at all times, many have excelled in their chosen professions. With first class teaching, it is thus no wonder that the school has had its fair share of award winning students.