Crap.

I am being incredibly indecisive right now.

Recently, I was accepted into the bachelors degree program for Graphic Design at my school (after 5 weeks of anticipating rejection. there was much rejoicing )

But now....I am presented with the opportunity to go into Packaging Design.

Before getting the acceptance letter to Graphic, I was expressing a ilttle regret in not applying to Packaging Design.

The BEST designers are in Packaging. There's been a tendency for the strongest designers to be Packaging Design. (It says something, doesn't it?)

I'm only halfway through my Intro to Packaging class....but ever since the first project, i have been ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE with packaging. The stuff just came so naturally to me.

Okay, to most (including myself)..."Packaging Design" sounds a little..weird. Doesn't it? A bachelors degree in "making boxes".

I've learned it's a lot more than that

Packaging focuses a lot on branding...the way something looks, and making it unique to that product's copmany, making PEOPLE recognize a brand simply by looking at how the product is presented.

Packaging is almost like sculpture too. Or origami. Or a mix of both, haha. Except, its put in the marketing world. Come on, I'm sure you've bought something before jsut cuz it looked really neat on the shelf It dives a bit into the way people think, and what determines a purchase or not, psychologically..etc etc.

Packaging is so much more hands on than graphic design. That's a good and bad thing...haha. It'll be harder.

A Packaging Design major is basicaly guaranteed a job straight of school.

They'll be paid more at entry-level than a graphic designer.

It's damn fun, and I love doing it.

What I'm worried about a bit is the fact that it's so specialized.

I imagined doing things like magazine layouts, covers, posters...
And if I go into packaging, I won't be doing any of that..in school.

I still have the freedom to do anything graphic design related once I'm out job hunting. But I won't have any further "training" than what I've got with my associates degree in Communication Design.

Thats another thing too! I'll have an associates degree in Communication Design, which, essentially IS graphic design. Graphic seems like it will just continue what I'm doing already.

I'm just a little fearful of not being as well rounded as I'd like to be if I decided to focus on one thing and major in Packaging.

Plus...i want to go heavy into web design, in particular. Won't get to touch that in Packaging at all. I would in graphic...I think it's just onen class though.
Then again...I've taught myself everything I know about web thus far...and I can continue to do that...

WAHHH what to do....In a nutshell it comes down to these two choices:
1) Being Well Rounded
Being in a well rounded program that touches on many aspects of graphic design

2) Specializing
Picking one road and going full force into it, aiming to be amazing in that area of design.

and BOTH have the all the same base knowledge (everything we learn in the first 2 years of design school)