Simon Collins - What Design Schools Get Wrong About the Real World Artwork

Design Education Talks

After the very first Design Education Forum by the New Art School in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast was created as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris E. Heretakis MA RCA. His rich background in art, design and education, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

At its core, Design Education Talks podcast functions as an open forum, fostering discussions that delve into the intricate facets of art and design education, unravelling the layers of creativity, and exploring the depths of design thinking in education.

This podcast stands as a testament to our commitment to addressing the pressing challenges facing contemporary art and design education. Each episode becomes a nexus of exploration, where innovative solutions are sought and shared. The collaborative nature of these discussions reflects a commitment to bridging the gap between theory and practice, academia and industry, and tradition and innovation.

One of the podcast's distinctive features is its role as a valuable resource for skill-building among the new generation of aspiring designers. The episodes serve as an intellectual toolbox, offering practical insights, strategies, and real-world experiences that contribute to the holistic development of creative professionals. Moreover, the podcast serves as a compass, providing clear directions for those interested in reshaping the models for teaching and learning in the dynamic field of design.

As we continue our journey through the Design Education Talks podcast, our aim remains resolute: to inspire, inform, and ignite a transformative dialogue that propels the evolution of art and design education. By fostering an environment of collaboration and innovation, we aspire to contribute to the positive growth and adaptation of educational practices, ensuring that they align seamlessly with the needs and aspirations of the ever-changing creative landscape.

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Design Education Talks

Simon Collins - What Design Schools Get Wrong About the Real World

Subscriber Episode • June 25, 2026 • Lefteris Heretakis

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Simon Collins occupies a rare position at the intersection of design education, industry, and cultural leadership. Having moved from senior creative roles at Nike, Polo, and Zegna into academic leadership as former Dean of Parsons School of Design, Collins brings an uncompromising clarity to what design education is actually for. His thinking resists both nostalgic craft romanticism and empty futurism, instead insisting that the core principles of design — curiosity, clarity, responsibility, and relevance — do not change. What must change, he argues, is how clearly we teach students to learn how to learn: to move through uncertainty, to ask better questions before proposing answers, and to understand design not as self-expression alone, but as an act of service within real systems, cultures, and constraints.

Now working across China and globally as Founder of House of Collins Consulting and Chief Creative Officer at the Design Innovation Institute Shanghai, Collins continues to challenge the false divide between education and industry. For him, commercial context is not the enemy of creativity but its proving ground, where ideas are tested, refined, and made consequential. His work with leading brands, governments, and universities reflects a consistent belief that design schools must prepare students not just to make compelling work, but to be useful, adaptable, and ethically grounded in a rapidly changing world. In an era obsessed with novelty and personal vision, Collins’ position is quietly radical: great designers are not those who dream the loudest, but those who listen carefully, think rigorously, and take responsibility for the impact of what they put into the world.

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting