Here’s the latest collection of student, junior and creative grad tips.
Scroll back through the blog to see some of the others.
Tip 51 // Be interested in people.
Advertising very often gets lost in it’s own little bubble.
It’s an industry that loves to talk about and celebrate itself.
And that can lead to work being made to impress other agencies, or awards juries, rather than the people it should…
The public.
So make sure to stay connected to the real world.
What’s happening out there? What are people talking about or interested in? What’s popular? What’s unpopular? Politics, culture, news, art, economics, life.
Let those things feed your ideas.
Tip 52 // Never take it personally.
Rejection’s the name of the game for a creative.
99.99999999999999999…etc…% of the ideas you’ve had won’t get made. But it feels 100% worse when it’s you being rejected, from job applications or placements.
It’s brutal, and you have to find a way to deal with it.
Try to step outside of yourself. Look at your portfolio and applications as if they belong to someone else.
What would you call out? What could be better? What gaps, problems or improvements would you feedback?
Be incredibly harsh, even on the work you like.
Then start fixing and improving.
Tip 53 // Keep Looking Forward.
It’s unlikely you’ll ever create an idea that’s made exactly as you first wrote it.
You can let that destroy and weaken the work. To give up.
Or you can use it to make it better.
Ultimately, nothing is perfect from the off, even if you think it is. Use every comment or amend as a way to springboard to something better.
There’s always an improved, or greater, idea around the corner. Even if it’s something completely different.
Stay focus on what’s next, what’s better, not angry about what’s gone before.
Tip 54 // Be a magpie.
Creativity is about seeing familiar things through fresh eyes to create the new.
Old ads, films, books, art, the news, culture will all help springboard you to ideas.
So keep a part of your brain switched on and analytical all the time. Filing away interesting things.
When I go to the cinema, it’s not just a night out I’m also watching the editing, cinematography, dialogue, sound, story-telling… that’s true with the TV, art galleries and everything else out in the world.
All of this stuff sits in your subconscious, popping back out when you need it.
Tip 55 // Get proper criticism.
Getting feedback is incredibly important.
Whether on the book you’re trying to get a job with or in an agency on briefs.
But not everyone is comfortable at giving feedback. A lot of people will not want to be harsh or appear rude.
So you get given empty comments that won’t help you improve. Like ‘that’s nice’ or ‘keep going’.
If you think that’s happening then push them for more.
It can be hard to hear negative comments but without them you won’t know what to improve.
