What do you wish you had been taught at school / college / university that you think would of helped you in your creative career?
Replies20
- Hi Pete,I think freelancing/self employed should be something that gets talked about more during all stages of education. It would be useful to know how to find work/clients, build a business, invoice and pricing.I also think a lot of places need to think outside the box too, in terms of where creative work is. During my time at University London was pretty much one of the only places that was hyped up, so you feel if you don't go to London and work for a design studio you won't be 'succesful' as a designer. When actually theres plenty of creative cities putting out great work, some people might just not know about this because it isn't shown.
- I wish I had been taught more on sustainability and how as a designer, I can infulence positive change :)
- My education didn't play a role in getting my first job in the advertising industry or any other after that in fact. My portfolio of work was the key factor, and I created it working a number of rubbish jobs to fund personal proejects, spec commercials and short film, then a creative director gave me my first opportunity.
- Things I'm still struggling with 1 year out of my degree- Finding employment, freelancing, business, pricing, invoicing, finding clients...
- @Abbie Hopper If they taught me that at school I would have probably changed career.
- Collaboration - merge department projects, being an interior architecture student I would have loved to have collaborated with graphics students as they're the designers I work with everyday in the studio.
- I really wish that schools prioritised creativity across all subjects, not only squeezing it into ‘arts / drama / music’ boxes. The subject hierarchy is very limiting, but there’s room to develop creativity across the board! This would open the potential for so many more students to nurture their creativity from a young age, and to know that it is not only restricted to subjects which are traditionally creative or artistic.Just some thoughts!
- Learning that success is your journey, to keep trying. Not the end result such as happiness, a specific goal. Because those meanings will change with time.
- Hi Pete,How to find a job after completing your degree.There was no help or support after. Some fail, some succeed.Cheers
- Hi Pete, I wish they taught us how to tap into our creativity more and think outside the box. Besides the regular academic curriculum, if only there were more creative options to choose from.And it would have been Utopian if following our creative passion naturally led us to our preferred calling and profession !Cheers:)
- Getting more advice on employment and steps to take to achieve this. I personally feel like I have completed a creative degree but know nothing about employment
- Egnlish language, definitely!I remember feeling humiliated, I was about twenty during my Erasmus experience in Iceland, students from all over the world and I was the only one who really struggled.I'm referring to the Italian school system. Apparently it's improved in that regard... but not so much.
- Business of Design and how to deal with clients.
- Hi Pete! That's a good question. Im very happy with the way my MA course was structured but as to the BA I'd say: more teaching on system thinking. For example how the same idea translates to a few other mediums. More pressure on learning digital tools. And a crucial point: learning how to present a project, how to talk about design. Having more briefs would also help. I feel like students have way too much time to work on a project. For many it is hard to switch to a fast pace agency settings. This could bridge the gap.
- great question. 1) how to deal with burn out :) 2) how to talk with clients. Cheers, N
- To learn how to interact with the people for whom you are creating a solution, and in this way when talking to them you know how to listen and you avoid convincing people. The premise that you are building is not always true, and you have to assume to change direction when necessary as soon as possible. Fail fast, fail cheap!
- Also things like hierarchy and where you fit in as a freelancer in your chosen role would've been useful. I've known a lot of freelancers to walk out of University thinking they'll be directing ads/films/shows only to be very dissapointed with how the industry and it's structure actually works.
- Business side of the creative business. Its great in unlocking how to generate ideas for the work but its like everyone leaves without knowing how to run a business which is quite stressful when you look to take that next step.
- How to gain new clients, build client relationships, how to keep clients. How clients behaviour in the real world, etc.
- Freelancing !! Things like invoices, pricing yourself etc
You must sign up or log in before you
add a comment.