Design School Uses Technology to Encourage ‘Artrepreneurial’ Success

This year’s graduates from the Rhode Island School of Design got a gift along with their diplomas: They received “artrepreneur” kits to help them with their own business ventures.

The kits consisted of custom-made business cards, licenses to an online training program on financial literacy, and credit-card readers that connect to mobile devices—all at no cost to the recent graduates.

The starter kits are part of the design school’s efforts to prepare its students for financial and entrepreneurial success after graduation, said Rajesh Bellani, the college’s associate provost for student affairs. While he does not expect all graduates to make use of the products, he believes they are useful tools to have available.

Many of the school’s graduates are self-employed and sell their own products, said Danielle Mancuso, a spokeswoman for the design school. The credit-card readers, which were released in May by the company Square, are meant to make informal transactions easier.

John Verdery, who graduated from RISD in June with a degree in illustration, said he saw the value of credit-card readers for some artists, such as street vendors, who sell their work without a fixed brick-and-mortar location. He recently used the reader, which is compatible with iPhones, iPads, and Android smartphones, to sell promotional T-shirts for his own start-up venture, a sneaker company called Electrolites Footwear.

This was the first year the college gave out the kits. The idea arose from a conversation between John Maeda, RISD’s president, and Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Square, who also helped start Twitter. “John is really a firm believer in providing our students with business tools for the 21st century,” said Ms. Mancuso.