11 things they didn't teach you at design school

By Rob Carney 11 hours ago Career

Top creatives reveal what they wish they knew at college - and how you can get a headstart in your creative
career!
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However hard we studied, we've all got gaps in our design education. Damn You Art School is a website devoted to filling them

Design school is great. It gives you the opportunity to develop as a designer, illustrator, website builder or artist giving
you preparation for your career in the real world and the beginnings of a design portfolio. But it can't teach you
everything.
With that in mind, we've talked to some successful creative professionals and gleaned what they wished they knew
when they were at art college giving you a headstart on your course mates.

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Courses at institutions like The California College of the Arts can teach you a lot. But they can't teach you everything...

01. Your diploma won't get you a job

"Despite what your teachers or parents tell you, your diploma wont necessarily get you a job," says Toronto-based web
designer Janna Hagan. "Proving what kind of work you are capable of producing through your portfolio or
demonstrating passion and potential to an employer will more likely catch their eye; compared to a student who has
more formal education. Having a killer portfolio and personality will land you a job anywhere."
02. How to use Photoshop

Jeffrey Bowman wishes he'd been taught Photoshop at art school

Jeffrey Bowman is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer based in the mountains of Hemsedal, Norway. Formerly
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of Studio Output and a lecturer at Shillington College, Bowman has worked for numerous clients around the globe with
his edgy, youth-culture-driven style. And what does he know now that he wished he knew at art school?
"Software skills," he says. "This is probably the most important thing to really focus on when your at college or
university," he continues. "It's something you have to learn for yourself because at uni there was no real help and in
some cases you don't have access to a computer all the time, so getting your own is also vital.
"Being software-savvy is only going to help when you get out into industry, because the way the industry is, these kind
of skills will set you apart from the next person applying for an internship or junior job."
03. Real-world processes

Work experience trumps theoretical knowledge, says Jo Gulliver of Computer Arts magazine

Computer Arts magazine's art editor Jo Gulliver has now been responsible for the look and feel of the title for around
six years working with the world's top illustration talent, photographers and designers along the way. When she was
at college she knew she wanted to be involved in magazines, but before joining Future Publishing didn't know the exact
process of putting together a magazine to be printed and exported across the globe.
"I guess it would be good to research the industry you want to go into in-depth go do work experience but also
consider visiting printers, agencies, photo shoots and so on," is her top advice. "Make the most of your work experience
placement and ask to see all processes of the business. It will make you much more employable when you come to get
a job."
04. Commercial knowledge

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Daker would have liked some direction in how to make money from her skills

"The main thing I know now, that I never realised at college, is that there is a market for good quality drawing," says
Abigail Daker a freelance illustrator known for her stunning perspective cityscape pencil drawings.
"There was a lot of theorising about drawing on my course and plenty of discussion about the merits of drawing and its
place within the contemporary fine art world, but nothing about it as a commercial product and no advice about how to
tailor your artwork to be better suited to commercial projects." Daker's advice is to scope out the latter no matter
what your intended profession.
05. How to stay creative

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Ian Wharton thinks youngsters should be prepared for the possibility of losing their creative mojo in later life

Ian Wharton, creative director at Zolmo and the mastermind behind the design of some of Jamie Oliver's best-selling
recipe apps is an advocate of young talent and is regularly involved in judging, seminars and publications promoting
young creativity. So what does he know know that he wishes he knew at art school?
"How difficult, yet entirely necessary it is to hang onto the innate useful creative spirit of youth," he says. "[It's]
something I took for granted." And his advice? "Explore endlessly. Every facet of creativity that excites you dive in and
don't worry about right answers. You have the time, agility and resources to do so.
"When you leave, never stop learning and waste zero time making things you don't want to be known for."
06. How to find your niche

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The biggest gap in Jonathan Woodward's art college education was the business and marketing side

A finalist in BBC Wildlife's Artist of the Year 2011/2012, Jonathan Woodward's beautiful, textured animal illustrations
have led him to commissions from the likes of Penguin, Transworld Publishing and Random House. What did he wish he
knew?
"I'm probably the same as most other illustrators in that the biggest gap in my art college education was the business
and marketing side of things. I've had to learn all of this as I've gone along.
"One of the most important lessons I've learned is to find a niche rather than trying to be all things to all people. It was
only when I really focussed on combining my two main passions for nature and illustration, specialising in being a
wildlife illustrator, that things started to move forwards and the right type of commissions started come in."
07. How not to be precious

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Wignall wishes he'd been warned that instantly clicking with the client is not the norm

James Wignall is an animator and motion graphics artist working in London. One of the UK's best emerging talents, this
was recognised by him receiving an ADC Young Guns award in 2012. What does he wish he knew? "Not too be too
precious with your designs," he smiles.
"Inevitably the client will want changes, and inevitably you'll think they are for the worst. Your job is to do the best you
can for your client, not for your portfolio. There are occasions that you and the client will be on the same wavelength
and you'll end up with a project that will take pride of place on your website and you can pay the rent that month, but
these jobs are few and far between.
"Behind every amazing project you've seen on a designer's website, there's probably 10 more that you don't see that
pay the bills. Once you've given it all and appeased your client, boss or bill payer, you can always rework it to a state
that you're happy and call it a 'directors cut'!"
08. How to take a step back

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Radim Malinic feels design education encourages you to be good at one thing only

Freelance art director, illustrator and graphic designer Radim Malinic has been responsible for some stunning
campaigns in recent times.
"I guess the education purposefully does not give you the real insight of the day-to-day working practise," he says. "It
encourages you to be good at one thing only. When you get out into the sharp-toothed world of client work, it's easy to
get consumed by focusing on small detail in your designs and not worrying about any other essential parts of the
commission.
"Whether you are a freelancer or part of a bigger team with extra beady eyes of account managers or creative
directors, it is about projecting your voice through the project. By taking a little bit of extra time and stepping back for
short moment to oversee what has been done, you can not only scrutinise all aspects and find any errors, you can also
discover potential ways of making the project go further.
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"Clients can have a limited vision and creative teams can play it safe to keep them happy. Great work just does not
happen by accident, it is the 'ever present' hunger to create fresh work which makes it succeed."
09. The need for humility

A little bit of humility will go a long way in your design career, says James Wignall

"My background isn't your traditional route to the art and design world as I'm a Bachelor of Science rather than of the
Arts," says James Wignall. He continues: "But the following can be applied to either. The first thing you should learn
when going into the work place is a little humility seriously it goes a long way!
"A number of people from my course assumed that because they achieved a 1st class honours they were God's gift to
the industry. Wrong! There is always somebody who's better than you and employers have no time for that kind of
arrogant attitude. A work place needs people who are easy to work with, collaborate and bounce ideas back and forth
with."
10. That it's not all self-indulgent

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Real-world design work is not as self-indulgent as college projects, says Jo Gulliver

"At college most of the projects are pretty self-indulgent," says Jo Gulliver. "You don't really experience what it's like
working for a client. It would have been good to get some live client work while I was at college just small projects but
working for someone would give you an insight into how the industry works.
"It would also have been useful as a learning experience on how to manage a project pricing it, time management and
so on. These are real-world things that you often discover when you're in the real-world not before!"
11. How to choose your career carefully

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Thinking about what kind of job you want after design school is vital, says Jonathan Woodward

"My main advice for art college students today would be to really think about the type of work they want to be doing,"
says Jonathan Woodward. "To think about the type of commissions they really want rather than what they think they
should be doing and then create a career and portfolio that reflects this.
"If you show the type of work in your folio that you don't want, you can be sure that is the type of work you'll get," he
adds. It's an interesting point make sure only your best and most relevant work (if you're going for an interview) is in
your portfolio.

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