CONNECT WITH PROFESSIONALS (CREATIVE DIRECTOR)

Lins Wilson came in today to give us a talk about her role as a creative director and some of the things that she faces throughout her career. She also studied Visual Communication just like me and it was nice to see that someone who has come from my course proceed onto doing more artwork after the degree and turning it into a career.

She reassured us that we don't need to know everything now, she said for years after uni she didn't know what she wanted to do. She advised us to stick with the thing that you love to do.

She said it can be difficult to earn a living from just performing, as she was a musician. At the time she was working a 9-5 job that she didn't enjoy yet paid decently, but she had opportunities to go to gigs that she loved however it was hard to sustain a living from that. So she met a crossroad and had to choose one over the other and in the end she chose to be apart of the band. I though that was really powerful, the fact that she took a big risk and still followed through really inspired me.

Networking is really key as this is the way to get jobs most of the time especially for freelancers. Lins said that she has only applied for 3 jobs in the past 12 years, most of the time she will get a job through contact.

Presence on social media is also important as the industry is becoming more social media based to keep yourself relevant and up to date you have to have a for of social platform to promote yourself as a creative. Also present more of the work that you want to do on these platforms so that you don't get more contact about projects you're not too keen on.

Face to face contact is more influential that an email, go to events of people you want to work for and talk to the curators, get more insight on what they are about and be enthusiastic, it will give them a good impression of you and are more likely to hire you or at least remember who you are.