“You may need to step down in order to segue”

Creative Career Conundrums is a weekly advice column from If You Could Jobs. Each week their selected panel of professionals from the creative industry answers your burning career questions to help you navigate the creative journey.

This week’s question:

I have worked in the creative industries for over ten years in the non-creative side and I’ve decided it’s time to follow my dreams. I am a huge fan of all things graphic design and would love to start from there. I don’t have the time to do a three-year course at uni though. The end goal would be to become an art director in about ten years. Is that doable? Am I delusional?

I am in my mid-30s and want to learn graphic design. Where do I begin?

Katie Cadwell, co-founder of branding studio Lucky Dip and The NDA Podcast:

You are far from delusional. You have all the makings of a great creative in waiting – experience in real studios, understanding of briefs, knowledge of clients, and lots of exposure to creative work. I’d say ten years is absolutely achievable. Honestly, you could get there before that if you’re passionate about making the change.

You don’t need a degree to be a designer. The current landscape is really exciting for learning. There are new tools and endless resources that make creativity accessible. You need to get started on two key skills.

• The fundamentals of your craft. You need to understand the basics. Ideas, type, colour, layout – the foundations of design.
  
  Shillington is a great part-time course. They’ll help you learn these principles through real briefs. You’ll be in a cohort of peers, have a chance to work together, meet industry experts – it’s a crash course that gives you a recognisable qualification. Many Shillington grads have gone on to have illustrious careers.
  
  If you want to stay clear of courses, The Futur on YouTube has some series about the principles of design. Add some books to your cart — Graphic Design: The New Basics and Graphic Design School, both walk through all the core elements of creativity. The History of Graphic Design will give you some wider context of how the industry has evolved and the titans that shaped it.

• The tools. I can’t begin to list how many resources and courses there are to pick up the programmes. It can be easily overwhelming, so choose one like the Adobe suite or Figma and start there. Each programme supplies its own set of tutorials, which are free. Skillshare is another great place to find more comprehensive guides. Google has some UX design certificates that hold weight in the industry.
  
  It takes time to feel confident in the programmes, and most juniors learn a lot on the job. So you just need to feel comfortable enough to get started.

I’m sure you’re aware you may need to step down in order to segue, but with your experience, the trajectory from junior to art director should be much faster. The key difference between you and a fresh graduate is your network. Use your connections to your advantage. Pick everyone’s brain. Tell people you’re changing lanes.

When they realise you have the combination of creative and commercial knowledge, you’ll get snapped up.

In answering your creative career conundrums we realise that some issues need expert support, so we’ve collated a list of additional resources that can support you across things that might arise at work.

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