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- It's Nice That
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- 5 November 2026
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FOOD’s Iain Tait: opportunities don’t live on job boards – they live in people’s heads
It’s a tough time for people starting out in the creative industry right now. Together with Creative Lives in Progress we asked 27 people to predict what starting a creative career will look like over the next three years.
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Starting a creative career has rarely felt harder. Junior roles are disappearing, budgets are tightening and AI is taking over much of the work that new starters once learned on. So we asked studio founders, recruiters, educators, organisations and emerging creatives themselves to predict what they think starting a creative career will look like over the next three years. What skills will matter most? How will the pipeline work? And what can people do to take advantage of new opportunities? Their answers will help shape how Creative Lives in Progress can best support emerging talent through this period and beyond.
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Iain Tait, Founder at Food
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“Double down on people. People and community. Technology is great BUT we will slowly wake up to the fact that it's STILL people that are most important.”
Iain Tait
This series has been put together in collaboration with It's Nice That's sister company Creative Lives in Progress; a creative careers resource, on a mission to transform the way emerging talent access, understand and connect with the industry. Find out more at creativelivesinprogress.com
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Creative Agencies and Studios
Caterina Bianchini, Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director at NARI Design
Joe Cooper, Head of Design at Represent
Dan Crowder, Founder and Managing Director at Craft
Simon Dixon, Co-Founder at DixonBaxi
Cat How, CEO and Founder at HOW+HOW
Jan Jenson, Chief Talent Officer at Residence
Joseph Lebus, Design Director, London Principal at Porto Rocha
Tadhg McCarthy, Co-Founder at Elsewhen
Max Ottignon, Co-Founder at Ragged Edge
Pali Palavathanan, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Templo
Lisa Smith, Global Chief Design Officer at Uncommon Creative Studio
Liz Stone, Co-Founder and Global Chief Creative Officer at OK COOL
Iain Tait, Founder at Food
Marcus Wendt, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at FIELD.IO
Education
Jay Anderson, Course Director, BA Graphic Design at Birmingham City University
Rachel Gannon, Associate Professor and Head of School of Design at Kingston School of Art, Kingston University
Dr Anna Kiernan, Associate Professor of Creativity and Literary Culture at University of Exeter
Professor Rebecca Wright, Deputy Vice Chancellor at Norwich University of the Arts
Derek Yates, Associate Professor and Head of Industry Integration & Curriculum Development at Ravensbourne University London
Organisations supporting entry level creatives
Oliver Benjamin, Director of Employment and Skills at A New Direction
Hilary Chittenden, Creative Learning Consultant
Paul Drake, Foundation Director at D&AD
Nik Gunn, Policy Adviser at Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre
Fran Plowright, Founder at Meet a Mentor
Isabel Sachs, Director at I LIKE NETWORKING
Emerging Creatives
Mina Pope, Design Intern at Studio Moross
Anas Houssein, Designer at the chase
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