t he-50.

org

http://www.the-50.org/

#The50 Things Every Creative Should Know

About
#the50 is the first fully-Tweetable primer for graduating creatives. My n ame is Jamie Wieck an d I decided to write #Th e50 Th in g s Every Creative Sh ould Kn ow ( #the50) wh en I realised I was n ot th e first, n or th e last studen t to fear th e leap between art colleg e an d th e creative in dustry. In spired by my own , an d my frien ds (sometimes rocky) experien ces with in th e creative in dustry, #the50 addresses th e most common con cern s h eld by g raduatin g creatives an d aims to bridg e th e g ap between art colleg e an d th e profession al world. Each piece of advice h as been written with in 140 ch aracters an d features a con sisten t h ash -tag , makin g th em easy to sh are across Twitter. Followin g its previous publication on my website, #the50 n ow h as a perman en t h ome at the50.org I h ope its advice proves useful for man y years to come.

You are not the first

Th ere are very few firsts th ese days. Coun tless oth ers h ave started studios, freelan ced an d requested in tern sh ips. It can be don e. #the50

There is always someone better

Reg ardless of h ow g ood you are, th ere will always be someon e better. Its surprisin g ly easy to waste time worryin g about th is.

#the50

Success is not a finite resource

Colleg e fosters a zero-sum men tality: th at someon e h as to fail for you to succeed. In truth , an oth ers success doesn t limit yours. #the50

You cannot score without a goal

If you don t kn ow wh at you wan t, th en h ow can you pursue it? Havin g a g oal defin es an en d poin t, an d subsequen tly, a place to start. #the50

Starting anything requires energy

It takes more en erg y to start th an it does to stop. Th is is true for ph ysics, your career, an d th at idea you n eed to work on . #the50

The path to work is easier than you think

To g et in to th e in dustry you n eed just th ree th in g s: g reat work, en erg y an d a n ice person ality. Man y forg et th e last attribute. #the50

Have a positive self-image

Your self-perception is your most importan t asset. See yourself as th e person you wan t to be an d oth ers will see th is too. #the50

Create a clean and simple website

An on lin e portfolio is th e alph a an d omeg a of your career. With a wealth of web services, th eres n o excuse for n ot h avin g a website. #the50

Curate your work

Never stop editin g your portfolio. Th ree stron g pieces are better th an ten weak on es n obody looks for quan tity, just quality. #the50

10

Listen to your instincts

If your work doesn t excite you, th en it won t excite an yon e else. Its h ard to fake passion for mediocre work scrap it. #the50

11

Make your work easy to see

People are lazy. If you wan t th em to look at your work, make it easy. Most of th e time employers simply wan t to see a JPG or PDF. #the50

12

Hand-write addresses
Clien ts, prospective employers an d poten tial clien ts g ravitate to letters with h an dwritten addresses. Th e person al touch g oes far. #the50

13

Time is precious:

Time is precious: get to the point

Avoid profuse h umour or g immicks wh en con tactin g studios for work, th eyve seen it all before. Get to th e poin t, th eyll be th an kful. #the50

14

Never take an unpaid internship

Th is is n ot a n ecessary evil a studio th at doesn t pay th eir in tern s (at least th e min imum wag e) is a studio n ot worth workin g for. #the50

15

Do as many internships as you can stand

In tern sh ips are a fin an cial burden , but th ey are vital. Th ey let you scope out th e in dustry an d fin d th e roles th at suit you best. #the50

16

Dont waste your internship

A studios work can dip, as can its en erg y. Ig n ore th is an d be in dispen sable, th e on us is on you to fin d someth in g th at n eeds doin g . #the50

17

Make friends with a printer

A g ood relation sh ip with a prin ter is in valuable th ey will h elp you save mon ey an d th e en viron men t. #the50

18

Find your local D.I.Y. store and pound shop

D.I.Y. an d poun d sh ops are g reat resources of ch eap, ready-made artifacts ripe for

of ch eap, ready-made artifacts ripe for tin kerin g , re-decoration an d recon textualisation . #the50

19

Be patient
Its n ot un usual to complete several in tern sh ips an d n ot fin d a g ood fit. Try applyin g to a studio you h adn t con sidered. #the50

20

Ask questions
Assume n oth in g . Ask question s, even if you th in k you kn ow th e an swers. Youll be surprised at h ow little you kn ow. #the50

21

Ask for opportunities

It will feel ch eeky, but ask for th in g s. Ask to be in cluded in exh ibition s, mag azin es, pitch es if you don t ask, you can t g et. #the50

22

Seek criticism, not praise

You learn n oth in g by bein g told h ow g reat you are. Even if you th in k your works perfect seek criticism, you can always ig n ore it. #the50

23

Make friends, not enemies

Th e creative in dustry is a small world: its a n etwork wh ere everyon e kn ows everyon e else. Remember th is before pissin g someon e off. #the50

24

News travels fast

A g ood in tern will fin d th eir reputation precedes th em. Jobs are n early always offered on th is word-of-mouth eviden ce. #the50

25

Dont get drunk at professional events

Th eres a differen ce between bein g merry an d paralytic. Th e latter costs you your dig n ity, your reputation an d possibly your job. #the50

26

Network
Th eres some truth in its n ot wh at you kn ow, its wh o you kn ow. Talk to people, sen d emails; at th e very least sig n up to Twitter. #the50

27

Dress smart, look business like

Take your work seriously? Th en take your appearan ce seriously. Clien ts are more likely to deal with people wh o look like th ey care. #the50

28

Never work for free

Workin g for free n ot on ly devalues th e profession , but it makes you look weak. Even a n ice clien t will take advan tag e of th is. #the50

29

Negotiate
If you really h ave to work for n oth in g , n eg otiate. Clien ts an d studios h ave access to man y resources th at can be viewed as paymen t. #the50

30

Read contracts
Never sig n a con tract before readin g it. Subsequen tly, don t beg in an y job with out a con tract you may h ave to write on e yourself. #the50

31

Make your invoice stand out

Busin esses are delug ed with in voices. Make yours stan d out with colour or sh ape an d its likely to rise to th e top of th e pay pile. #the50

32

Theres no such thing as a bad job

Always push yourself to do your best. Log ically, th eres n o way you can be dissatisfied with h avin g don e your best. #the50

33

Theres no such thing as a bad client

Th e on us is on you to make a clien t relation sh ip work, n ot th e oth er way aroun d. If its n ot workin g out, fire th em as a favour. #the50

34

Embrace limitations
Limitation s are in valuable for creatin g successful work: th ey g ive you someth in g to push ag ain st. From th is ten sion comes brillian ce. #the50

35

The environment

The environment is not a limitation

Th e en viron men tal impact of your work isn t a fash ion able con sideration as a creative, its your most importan t con sideration . #the50

36

Boring problems lead to boring solutions

Always in terrog ate your brief: re-defin e th e question . No two briefs sh ould be th e same; a un ique problem leads to a un ique solution . #the50

37

New ideas are always stupid

New ideas are con ceived with n o con text an d n o measures of success th is falsely makes th em feel silly, awkward or even impossible. #the50

38

Do not underestimate selfinitiated work

Clien ts g et in touch because of selfin itiated work. Iron ically, busin ess is excited by ideas un touch ed by th e con cern s of busin ess. #the50

39

Justify your decisions

Clien ts fear arbitrary decision s th ey wan t problem solvin g . Have a reason for everyth in g , even if th is is postration alised. #the50

40

Show sketches, not polished ideas

Clien ts often mistake roug h dig ital work for th e fin al desig n . Sh ow sketch es for as lon g as you can , it makes th em feel in volved. #the50

41

Work with the client, not against them

You may th in k youre rig h t, but look at th e clien ts solution alon g with yours. Occasion ally youll be surprised. #the50

42

Dont always take no for an answer

Fig h t for superior solution s. Demon strate your th in kin g to your clien t, take th em th roug h it its h ard to arg ue with log ic. #the50

43

Pick your battles

Th e creative in dustry is often in furiatin g , but n ot every arg umen t is an arg umen t th at n eeds to be h ad. Th is takes time to learn . #the50

44

If youre going to fail, fail well

Bein g ambitious mean s you h ave to take on th in g s you th in k you can t do. Failures are un fortun ate, but th ey are sometimes n ecessary. #the50

45

Be an auteur
Reg ardless of wh o youre workin g with , speak up if someth in g s n ot rig h t. Take it upon yourself to be th e barometer of

quality. #the50

46

Take responsibility for failure

If a jobs g oin g wron g take respon sibility. It feels coun ter-in tuitive, but respon sibility mean s you can do someth in g about it. #the50

47

Share your ideas

Youve n oth in g to g ain from h oldin g on to your ideas; th ey may feel precious, but th e more you sh are, th e more n ew ideas youll h ave. #the50

48

Get out of the studio

Good desig n is crafted from un derstan din g th e relation sh ips between th in g s. Th ese con n ection s can t be foun d wh en locked in a studio. #the50

49

Awards are nice, but not vital

Awards look g ood on th e sh elf, but clien ts seldom pick up th e ph on e because of th em. Solid work en courag es th at. #the50

50

Dont take yourself too seriously

Take your work seriously, take th e busin ess of your craft seriously, but don t take yourself seriously. People wh o do are laug h ed at. #the50

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#the100
#the50 becomin g #the100. With over 1,000,000 visits an d coun tin g , #the50 h as struck a ch ord with both studen ts an d establish ed creatives across th e world, in spirin g man y to submit th eir own advice for #the100 an expan sion of #the50. #the100 will see 50 n ew poin ts added to th e orig in al #the50, with advice con tributed by some of th e most respected creatives workin g in th e world today. For more in formation on #the100 sig n up to #the100s mailin g list below or follow its prog ress on Twitter @_th e100:

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#the50 at D&AD New Blood

#the50 at D&AD New Blood 2011. Durin g th e summer of 2011, #the50 h osted a very special pan el at D&AD New Blood 2011, brin g in g establish ed creatives from all disciplin es to talk to studen ts on e-toon e on all aspects of life-after-colleg e. Th e pan el in cluded An n a Fidalg o (Crispin Fin n ), Rich ard Hog g , Sarah Jan e Coleman (In kymole), Luke Pearson , Jamie Wieck, Guy Moorh ouse, Math ew Wilson (With Associates), Mich ael Bojkowski (ok in terrupt), Mia Frostn er (Europa), Emily Alston (Emily Forg ot), Mag g ie Li, Jack Cun n in g h am, Joh n n y Kelly, Steven Bateman an d Justin Hobson (Fen n er Paper) To keep up-to-date with furth er even ts from #the50 follow #the50s sister stream, @_th e100 on Twitter.