This article presents discussion of art and design education in interviews conducted with 31 UK design stakeholders. To provide a coherent path through the data, quotes from interviewees are presented under the following themes: Choosing art and design; A natural talent for designing?; Developing the designer; Personal development. The author suggests that the views presented here relate to larger debates currently taking place in the field of art and design education. A particular thread running through the discussion is the intensely personal relationship that those following an art and design path have with their subject. This level of personal investment makes art and design more than just another educational or career option. Art and design education must therefore continue to develop pedagogical models which respond to the need for individual learning based on a development of personal creativity.