What do you want to be when you grow up?

Creative Futures Week - Key Note, Angus Montgomery.

So today was the first day of creative futures, a week of guest speakers from all creative backgrounds, who come in a talk about; what they did, what they do, what we could/should do. An incredible week, if done properly. . .

After the usual introduction speech and a less than usual speech about the life and times of William Shakespeare, stepped up Angus Montgomery, editor of Design Week, a magazine focused on design education. He introduced himself as a journalist, not a designer and expressed his envy of being in a room full of creatives. For me, it's not until someone reminds you that not every has a form of creative skill and it's definitely something that I occassionally take for granted.
Although his lecture was primarily focused on design (obviously) it was quite relevant to those who want to break into the creative industry in some way. He quoted many different people ranging from illustrators to editors and all had a similar thing to say; industry needs fresh talent, importance of marketing yourself (With a link to Shakespeare, who was mentioned at the start). But the one that stuck out for me was by Greg Quinton, he said to: Get off the internet (don't look at what everyone else is looking at), grow through collaborations in whatever way possible, and love what you do. The last one made me think of a quote i'd heard recently, Do what you love, and you'll love what you do. Something that's incredibly important to me, and something that is surely a must to everyone in some way. This will also crop up in a later post about another guest speaker we heard.

Angus also mentioned studio fees, a current problem for up and coming creatives due to the possibilities of universities charging £9000 per year for education. He asked the question to the same people as before, would you pay? and the overwhelming response was YES! Of course I think this is a very easy answer when you've already graduated and have a career within the industry! I don't think it's as simple as "ofcourse I want to do what I do so i'll pay whatever I need to".
In studio we're asked whether we think being creative can be taught, and the majority answer with no, simply because we all agree that we were never taught to have the ideas we have, we simply need a little guidance now and then of whether we're doing the right thing and what we can do to make it better. Is that worth getting into a ridiculous amount of debt for? It's definitely debatable! For me personally, Uni has helped me sort out what it is that I want, taught me that there are others who think like me, appreciate the same things I do, and how to execute the ideas that I have. Going to University doesn't make you an artist and there are plenty of examples of people who didn't study what they do and yet they suceed none the less.

He then finished off with some examples of the best uses of design that he's seen in the past few years, below are some of my favourites from his pick.

 Alan Clarke, Olympic posters.
http://www.alanclarkedesign.com/

I like how Clarke manages to use a minimalist technique of poster design and manages to show movement that instantly draws attention.

PearsonLloyd Design Ltd. A&E redesign.

http://www.pearsonlloyd.com/

PearsonLloyd recognised a flaw in the health system and set out to solve it, I love it when design can be used beyond aesthetic reasons. This design not only looks good, but also meets the needs of the public, who in this case, needed something that would  clearly show them what was happening around them.

So, overall, Angus Montgomery opened the week with a talk that definitely made me think. It made me think about how design can be useful for illustration, how grateful I should be that I have something i'm passionate about (and hopefully good at), and how important it is to not only remain passionate, but to show it when going for those jobs. He pointed out how important it is to stand out above the rest when trying to break it to the industry, not only portfolio wise but also in the way that you present yourself. 

A very thought provoking lecture!

Next up is: Building an audience; making a living from comics by John Allison.