Expanding your skills I studied Advertising and Brand Design at UWTSD. After graduating in 2016, I dived straight into an internship that took me to a global agency based in Amsterdam - 180 Kingsday. I’m still there today, working as an Art Director for clients such as Under Armour, PepsiCo, DHL and Qatar Airways. Since leaving uni, the learning hasn’t stopped. I’d like to think I’ve got better at my job, and all the other adult stuff that comes after graduating (with the exception of ironing!). Here are a few things that have helped me improve.
Building your brand
Make, make, make
Absorb everything
While I’m in the business of building brands on a daily basis, as a creative professional, it’s important that I don’t forget about my own. I’m not suggesting you need big marketing budgets or a hefty brand book to follow, but you should be aware that everything we put out into the world adds to our personal brand and how people see us. Social media posts, attending events, fashion, writing articles - they all help potential or current employers to get a better understanding of you.
The beauty of being a creative is we get to make whatever we dream up - but sometimes work can be really slow! So when I’m not getting the satisfaction of creating in work, I try to find it elsewhere by pursuing my own side projects in writing and designing. And this isn’t time wasted - throw your mini projects online or in your portfolio to show a different side of your skills. During my time in COVID-19 quarantine, I built a pop-up bar out of cardboard and an ironing board. Thus, The Quarantina was born, and now my whole agency wants to join!
As creatives, we have to pull on all our knowledge and experience to create great work.
Having a focus
Mentors are essential
I find keeping motivation for work is easier when I focus on what I want from it. Every few months I ask myself a few questions, like, am I happy with the work I’m making right now? What work do I want to make in the near future? Where do I want to be in the next few months? How am I growing? After my roommate has asked me if I’m done talking to myself, I can concentrate on what’s happening now, rather than thinking too far in advance.
However prepared you think you are, you’re probably not. And it didn’t take me long to realise that. The workplace is a far cry from the comforts of uni. Things are fast, projects are real, processes are new and deadlines are crucial. I needed to learn quick, so I searched for a few mentors that I shadowed, asking dumb questions and watching their every move. Rather than putting me down as a stalker, those people were key in establishing me in the agency and securing my first job. To find a mentor of your own, look for people that are better than you and ask them to be your mentor.
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The more info we soak up, the more ingredients our brains have to work with, which gives us a better possibility of thinking up great ideas. A lot of the time I make ads for a target audience that doesn’t include me, so if I want to make effective work I have to be open to understanding and learning about what other people enjoy or do. Being constantly curious makes my job easier, and more fun. And it doesn’t have to be ‘work’: playing video games, whiskey tasting and people watching are all research that has helped me be better at my job.