How to… think creatively about your career

Whether you’re considering life as a freelancer or looking to land your dream job, thinking outside the box, while daunting, can be the perfect way to stand out from the crowd.

Since launching Intern magazine back in 2013, I’ve seen some astounding examples of this approach. Each one combines their creators’ passions with their practice and when those two forces collide, you’re really on to something.

It might seem obvious, but few actually get round to putting themselves out there. As such, if you do, there’s a great chance that the project will turn heads and justify the time, money and work that has gone into it.

Stand out to get in

In the summer of 2011, four friends were working together in a small restaurant in New Jersey. Two were about to start their final year as design students when they landed upon an idea. Rather than joining the queues for unpaid internships in New York, what if they ran their own summer internship? Bound together by a mutual love for surfing, they started to plan a road trip, one that would also give them vital experience in the design industry.

Their plan was a mobile graphic design studio, in a converted school bus. Logan, one of the four, even designed the bus’ functional roof rack as his final year project. Soon after graduating the guys - along with one other friend - hit the road in ‘The Cool Bus’.

Inside the Cool Bus, by Logan Meckley

Understandably, there was still a lot of hard work involved in landing jobs around the country, but by keeping a blog of their travels, they got some great online press and were able to book clients before rolling into town. Other times, they would win work by meeting people and telling them their story.

After their summer on the bus came to an end, one of the crew, Paul, landed his first job interview. It was with a magazine based in New York called The Wild. Applying for the position of Junior Designer, his story, much to his surprise and elation, saw him appointed Art Director.

Turn heroes into collaborators

Status is daunting when you’re embarking on a new career. Other people seem to have it and for you, it just acts as an invisible barrier. Breaking down those boundaries doesn’t have to be scary though as another graphic design final year student proved.

Daniel Cooper has always been a keen traveller and back in 2012 he became intrigued by nomadic work practices. He decided to use his graduation project to test the theory that a designer can truly work globally in this day and age.

The Nomadic Designer's Route, by Daniel Cooper

Having pitched his idea to an agency, Daniel got flights from London to Reykjavík to Istanbul paid for, then worked his way back through Europe on the Interrail system. He contacted designers and studios he admired in each city and sold on his proposal of “I’ll give you two days, you give me one back”.

By approaching his heroes with a different proposition, they quite quickly became his collaborators and mentors. How you project yourself plays a huge part in any creative career and doing so confidently can be a game changer.

No risk, no reward

Both these examples might seem daunting financially. In reality, neither cost more than £500 a month (per person). When you consider that an unpaid internship in London costs a single person up to £926 a month, it can represent a saving in some cases.

By applying this kind of creativity and personal perspective to a self-initiated project of your own, you can define your career path and spend less time doing work that doesn’t excite or fulfil you. As far as investments go, I’d argue that this is certainly one worth considering. 

If you’re an artist and/or familiar with Arts Council funding applications, a project of this type would certainly fall into the personal development category. You could combine it with a variety of outputs, perhaps running workshops, putting on exhibitions or creating collaborative work with the practitioners you meet along the way.

If you’re a student or recent graduate and considering internships, I have a suggestion. Make a list of all of the things that you would want from an ideal internship. Things like pay, industry experience, working with people you admire and making real work. Take that list and see if you can build a project proposal around it that also taps into your personal interests.

Make it yours, make it different and use it to break down those walls around you. Meet and work with the people you want to, explore ideas that mean something to you and excite you. Most of all, be confident in your creativity.

Alec is founder and Editor-in-chief of Intern magazine. When not working on the magazine, he writes, runs workshops and makes magazines for others.
www.intern-mag.com
Tw @AlecDudson
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Read more about The Cool Bus in Issue Two of Intern. Get 20% off with the code ARTSPRO via the online shop.