Why Pinterest is lazy (according to CSM Fashion)

To be clear: 1Granary did not say researching on the internet is not valid.

1. Nobody at CSM said you can't do research on the internet.

The internet is an amazing tool.

• There's so much you can learn from blogs and YouTube tutorials;
• You can read some of 1Granary's best articles on their website FOR FREE;
• You can find new designers and artists on Instagram, and connect with them;
• And you can start your research on Pinterest - for example: if you wanna find out a specific embroidery style you saw somewhere in the past, but you don't know what it's called, or where it came from, you can look up embroidery and keep digging until you find something similar, then check the related pins, and little by little get more specific on your research.

Also, without the internet, you probably wouldn't even know about CSM.

2. Who said Pinterest is lazy, and why.

1Granary did not say Pinterest is lazy.

This is an extract from their interview with Christopher Kane, a famous Fashion designer and CSM alumn; he's quoting Louise Wilson, who was the course leader for the MA Fashion CSM until she passed in 2014.

(If you wanna get into the MA and you don't know who Louise Wilson was, please google it - AFTER YOU'RE DONE READING. Don't multitask.)

Now, why is it lazy?

Suppose I wanna work in the music industry.

Let's say I'm telling everyone it's my passion, and it's not even like I wanna be a superstar - cause you know, I'm humble, don't need a lot of money to live blablabla. But like, I wanna write lyrics, or compose songs, or do vocals for other people…

So I send in my Spotify playlist. Kinda stupid, no?

But that's what people are doing with Pinterest!

Pinning a bunch of pictures does NOT equal design work, no matter how great these pictures are. It doesn't matter how much you organise your so-called "mood boards". If you do nothing with them, you're not designing!

Best case scenario, you'll be sending someone else's design to a manufacturer who'll be happy to do a cheap copy of it.

But most likely, you're doing nothing. Not even reading the captions to find out who the author is, much less clicking the picture to read the full article or tutorial.

3. How to do research for CSM.

So how do you grab the attention of the people behind one of the most prestigious design courses in the world?

Something unique, yes.

Make it personal, yes.

High quality, of course.

But how you're gonna do that? That is your work!

The guidelines are on the CSM website, under Entry Requirements.

And the rest is on you.

If you're feeling confused, overwhelmed, annoyed, prejudiced… that's a sign you still have a lot to consider before applying.

And I'm not saying that to discourage you.

Actually, if you read it this far, congratulations: you're one HUGE step ahead of everyone who sent me an e-mail saying they love my blog and my YouTube channel, then ask me very basic stuff I've already written about.

Well done.