It’s strange the way the universe works sometimes. A few weeks ago I had an email from Patricia (of LIA fame) asking me to write this article. But a few weeks prior to that, I’d just finished a rebrand for the Sydney audio based agency Eardrum, who had delivered the first talk of the conference when I was at Creative LIAisons in 2012.

 

 

This got me jogging down memory lane and thinking about how I've been able to use my learnings from the industry to start my own Melbourne based design studio Colossal Creatures, which is now two years old. They grow up so quick!

I largely believe it comes down to three guiding principles. Get uncomfortable, work hard and don’t be a dick! Simple right!?

If you’ve found yourself coasting comfortably day in day out, it’s time to give yourself a shake-up. That’s right. Get up, jump around like a lunatic, and when people next to you ask what the hell you’re doing, you say “I’m making us all uncomfortable”.

Uncomfortableness (don’t think that’s a real word), comes in many different forms. It could mean doing more exercise, running a bit further, tackling that hill, reading more, drawing more, talking more. Or it could mean, presenting your own work, venturing out of your skill set, going for an interview, doing a side project, or taking on more responsibility in your current role.

I remember my first client presentation. It was 5 clients and me. I almost peed myself! I remember hearing my voice shaking as I spoke. But through doing them time and time again, they became second nature. I’m thankful I kept at it, because now running my own business, talking to, and presenting work to clients is a daily occurrence.

Another thing you need to become comfortable with is saying NO. Now, I'm not talking about telling your CDs to stick it, but rather being mindful of the type of work you what to be doing, or conversely, sometimes it’s easier to establish that by looking at what you don’t want to be doing. So to my next point, in these last few years I’ve learned just how important it is to prioritize how you choose to spend your “creative” time on other people’s projects, and therefore understanding that it’s (more than) OK to say no to working on your mum’s friend’s second cousin’s online business she has no money to invest in. It’s good to remember you’ll be hired based on the work you’re showing to the world. So think about the type of work you want to be doing in the future and build your folio around that. And if you have personal projects you think are really strong like illustrations, photography or if you write short stories, stick them in there. While they may not be directly linked to a role you’re interviewing for, they show your creative thinking, other skills that you possess, and of course, your personality.

Personally, while I've done a bunch of campaign work over the years, I decided that what I enjoy the most, and where my strength lies is in branding and illustration, that’s why I set up a studio where I can focus on that.