The Golden Trinity of SCAD
Once you see it in action, you can’t unsee it. Some call it the Divine Ratio, the Golden Triangle, the Magical Rule of Thirds.
This rule of threes is everywhere in great art and design: photography, graphic design, social media. Anyone who’s studied visual design knows that when an image is composed in thirds, the appeal to the viewer can be irresistible. This same notion of threes is found in music, architecture, even nature. There’s just something about triangles and triplets: They create and expand energy.
In fashion, you’re advised to wear three pieces: a top, a bottom, and statement piece. In interior design, the most appealing spaces almost always have three prominent colors and three textures. Even the best furniture arrangements come in threes. A film has three acts, and the grandest epics almost always come in the form of trilogies. And fairytales! Can you imagine “Goldilocks and the Two Bears?” Or “The Four Little Pigs?”
The most memorable taglines use the rule of thirds, too. America’s Declaration of Independence speaks of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” When Apple unveiled the iPad 2, the tablet was pitched as “thinner, lighter, faster.” Not to mention that our unofficial SCAD motto has its very own alliterative triplet of hand, head, and heart. More on that below.
The rule of threes is integrated into a SCAD education, too, because everything one creates — from films to fashion collections to business plans — requires three ingredients to be a hit. Wherever you study, whatever adventure you’re embarking on this fall, orient your mind toward these three steps of thoughtful making.
1. Seed your ideas with sunlight.
To grow a thing, plant a thing. You cannot summon a flower from the earth with willpower. You must diligently research and seed the mind with the best ideas from those who’ve come before you. Study, Google, take the surveys, conduct the interviews, check out the books, read the history. Develop good research techniques. Start with a question — perhaps one that’s never been asked before. Judge the scope of the project, and determine how to discern what trails of information will be most useful to you.
Research was integral to creating SCAD. In 1978, I needed a vivid word-picture to describe our new approach to art and design education. I went digging into our modest little library, looking for inspiration, and I came across this powerful passage by critic and artist John Ruskin in The Two Paths (1859): “Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together.”
When I read these words, my heart leapt! SCAD steeps students in the primacy of ideas. That’s the head. SCAD equips students with professional skills. That’s the hand. And the heart, because SCAD engages the whole student in a joyful, positive environment. This Ruskin quote immediately became a part of every SCAD admission presentation for prospective students, helping us clarify how SCAD approaches education.
2. Add something to the conversation.
Now that you’ve done the research, it’s time to apply that knowledge to create work that is original and relevant. Here at SCAD, we expect originality that makes the world better, healthier, more beautiful. We want our alumni’s work to improve the lives of others through goodness, truth, and beauty.
When I first created our first SCAD curriculum (a whopping eight degree programs, compared to more than 100 today), I diligently read every college catalog I could get my hands on, and called on scholars and educators around the U.S. for their insights. What might a new arts college look like? Once I learned what everybody else was doing, I knew it was time to add my own original ideas to the mix.
How would SCAD set itself apart? Our answer: a bold, intentional focus on creative careers. We wouldn’t merely teach art and design in a vacuum, as a pleasant avocation. We would create a curriculum focused on essential vocations and a university designed throughout with careers in mind, teaching students how to market themselves, sell their work, speak with clients, and more. If there’s one reason that SCAD has continued to earn №1 rankings and achieve a 99 percent employment rate for our alumni, it’s due to faithful adherence to the professional focus of our mission.
3. Time your moves.
Do the research, add your own original insights, and make sure your idea is perfectly timed. Timing is everything. This means more than meeting deadlines — although deadlines are essential. What I mean is, the when. The best ideas strike a chord. Call it what you will: The mood of the age, the spirit in the air, the zeitgeist. Aristotle calls it Kairos, the art of presenting the best ideas at the most opportune moments.
Here, a story to illustrate my point. SCAD operates a stunningly gorgeous and inspiring campus in Lacoste, France. On a recent return trip from SCAD Lacoste, my colleagues and I were on the train heading north to Paris. Our stop — Charles de Gaulle Airport — was coming up, and when TGV doors open, you have to be ready to jump. Those European trains don’t mess around!
The train slowed, and I did a quick headcount. “Everybody ready?” I said. The doors whooshed open, and we leapt: all of us and all of our luggage, which was considerable. We jumped from the train, one by one, like paratroopers, and landed safely on the platform. And then we looked around. Something didn’t look right. We weren’t at the airport. We were at Disneyland Paris.
We turned to one another, breathless, realizing our mistake. As much as I wanted to say bonjour to all the SCAD alumni working at Euro Disney, we had a plane to catch. And so, just as the doors closed, we leapt back on the train, in the nick of time. All our thoughtful research about train schedules and flight times, all our creative energy spent getting ourselves on the train, none of it mattered without timing.
The next time you’re stuck on a big assignment, ask yourself: Have I done the research? Is my idea original? Is it timely? No matter what your discipline is, keep this rule of threes in mind. Greatness does not spring forth from the head of Zeus unbidden, but it can be coaxed with those three magic words.
Research. Originality. Timing. The golden trinity of SCAD!
