my own ad school

Carbonmade is an online portfolio site where designers, writers and artists can upload their work for free (or sign up for the pro plan, which lets you upload a whole lot more).

I’m really glad I discovered this site because:

a) it’s a great source of inspiration: it’s not to copy or imitate others, but if you browse through a few projects, it can definitely get your creative flow moving.

b) it can give you sense of direction: you’ll find a variety of creatives in different phases of their professional careers - some have just started out, while others have already produced work for well-known companies. By looking at their work, it can give you the drive to step up and find what was missing in your portfolio, or it can help you set goals for yourself (for example, learning another program or skill).

c) it gives you a sense of who you’ll be competing with out there. By looking at what others have done, it can help you figure out what you need to do and what you need to show to make yourself stand out to clients.

and finally,

d) it can further fuel your drive to succeed as a creative. Even though there’s a large pool of talented creatives out there, it doesn’t mean finding work to add to your portfolio is rare. Ok, it is competetive, but there’s always going to be projects up for grabs, especially with the rise of entrepreneurs creating new businesses every day. So if it’s a bit of hope that you’re looking, you can find some here.

After catching the advertising bug, it’s given me this mad obsession about learning anything and everything I can about advertising. And one of the things I was dying to know: how can I make a living working in advertising? (aka what are some of the job titles one can have working in the advertising industry?)

mybigfuture lists 6 different positions where you can read each one and see if any fits your skills and personality. The information here is great because it tells you what you would be doing in that position and which characteristics would be ideal for the job. The only thing is that the six they’ve listed there aren’t as specific. For example, under “Creative”, it won’t describe what it’s like being an Art Director or a Copywriter.

For a better description on specific disciplines such as Account Planning, Art Direction and Copywriting, websites of portfolio schools can help you out with that. Here’s summary of what I gathered from a few of the p-schools I checked out:

Art Direction

• For those who are “intrigued by colors , typography and technology” and who work with a visual mind. (VCU Adcenter)
• You’ll come up with a visual image for various types of media (posters, billboards, commercials, etc.) to persuade consumers to buy a product or service. (Miami Ad School)
• You’ll “oversee every detail that timpacts the visual presentation of your work - from photography and illustration to typograph, production, and talent.” (Portfolio Center)

Copywriting

• You’re a “wizard of wit” and a “book-reading, story-making, note-passing, joke-telling, encyclopedia of useless trivia and crazy ideas” (Miami Ad School)
• Copywriters are great writers that can “communicate marketing ideas effectively” (Portfolio Center)
• “You use words like artists use pictures … You think big and have the ability to take that big thought and make it simple” (VCU Adcenter)

Account Planning

• You’re the type that relies on your intuition and you’re a great people person. Gut feelings are important with this job and you have to “instinctively ‘know things’”. You also help the creative team in coming up with that big idea of persuading the customers to buy that one brand over the rest of them. (Miami Ad School)

For a brief moment, I was on the fence between art direction and copywriting. Writing has always been a passion of mine, but I’m also intrigued with colours and typography. But after giving it some thought, I asked myself which I’d enjoy doing more of, and my answer was writing. Writing has both been my escape and my solution to almost everything in my life and I can’t picture myself pursuing a career without it. (Hmmm, that kinda sounded a little cheesy…)

Ok, here’s my final answer on why I’d choose copywriting over art direction: the writing is what I almost-always pay more attention to when I see an ad, watch a tv commercial, or listen to the radio. If it had great writing, I’d always go “Man, I wish I thought of that!” or “Whoever came up with that is a genius!” and so on, and so on. Yea, the art direction grabs my attention too, but I’ve always had this habit of paying more attention to the words of an ad.

Now that I’ve found which shoe fits, I hope that this entry can somewhat help you find/choose a shoe. And for those of you who are already in the industry, feel free to let me know how you made the decision of which career in advertising you chose to get into.

This article in Young Go Getter was exactly how I felt during the past few years of my undergrad. I was taking courses on history, political science, english, french, and anything else that I thought might interest me. During this time, I absolutely had NO idea what I would be doing after graduation. Almost every two to three weeks or so, I’d go through some sort of phase - the “journalist” phase, the “financial advisor” phase, the “interior designer” phase - and so on, and so on. I did so much research on practically every career listed in those career guides that my friends and I could consider myself an unofficial guidance counsellor.

But just when I was a few months away from going back to school, it hit me. Advertising. A few of my friends have already suggested this (I knew that I always wanted to do something business-related with a creative aspect to it), but I didn’t pay much attention nor did I take the time to research the industry. Why? Because growing up, advertising wasn’t really mentioned. Not by my parents, not my teachers, not by anyone around me. (Maybe it’s because it’s a tough industry to get into. Maybe it’s because there’s not as much jobs around.) So when I finally looked into this whole ad biz, it hit me. This definitely sounds cliché, but it definitely felt right choosing to pursue this. I’ve even amazed my friends that this wasn’t like those other phases of mine.

Interested in advertising? Here are some of the sites I checked out at the start:

ihaveanidea.org - It’s Advertising’s Intellectual Archive. When you get the time, read through the forums. Many have asked questions about the industry, how to get started in advertising, information on schools, etc. Also make sure to check out the Articles, Creatives, and Ask Jancy sections.

Agency websites - Google Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Weiden + Kennedy, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett (just to name a few). See what they’re all about, and look at the work they’ve done. Do they inspire you?

Read:

• Pick Me: Breaking into Advertising and Staying There by Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin - they’ll tell you how it really is and if you’re still interested in pursuing a career in advertising after reading this book, you’re off to a good start. You’ll know the harsh realities of the industry, how tough it is to get in, and you’ll have a guide on just where to begin.
• Hey Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan - It answers the question how do you create great ads?

This is just my suggestion for a starting point. Whichever site you visit, you’ll most likely stumble upon links to other sites with related content. Go ahead and explore!