Launching

Our Journeys: a Conversation

Take This Journey Survey (external link)

Your position as an artist or designer right now is a singular point in a long trajectory that includes both past and future events. Ask yourself a few questions about your past, and see if you can use those answers to project a way forward.

Did you have a gap between High School and Art School? What was going on then?
Did your family think attending art school might not be a great choice? How did you convince them otherwise?
Did you change what you thought your focus would be while in art school? What led to that?
Do you have a clear idea of what will be next on your journey?

What do Kendall Alumni Do?

You can see what over 200 KCAD Digital Art and Design Alumni are doing professionally on the DAD Hub Alumni page. It's broken down by the portfolio focus they graduated with and the professional category in which they gained employment.

What Employers Want

10 most in-demand Skills in 2022 (from Linkedin)

Soft Skills

Creativity
Persuasion
Collaboration
Adaptability
Emotional Intelligence

Hard Skills

Blockchain.
Video design.
Cloud Computing.
Web analytics.
AI (Artificial Intelligence).
UX Design.
Business development.
Affiliate marketing.
Online sales.

Social Media

Your journey, both professional and personal, is important to your potential future employers. They will use Linkedin, Google searches, and social media to learn as much about you as they can. Clean up any part of your online history that you may not want 'out there'.

90% of Employers Consider an Applicant’s Social Media Activity During Hiring Process

What Is A Professional?

Take this Professionalism Survey

Here are some things that successful artists and designers can usually agree on.

"Good enough" is never good enough.
Concept is as important as craft.
Craft is as important as concept.
Effective working processes create results quickly (time is money)
On-time delivery is the only option.
24-7 availability will make you popular.
Being positive beats being negative every time.
Every problem is a communication problem.
Understanding the business model (your's, your-client's and your company's) matters.
Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.

Getting Started As A Professional

Start Here

Complete the Career Planning Research process every 3 months.
Use the research to guide your career building.

Work the process

Search and apply to posted opportunities.
Look up publishers, studios, agencies and companies for which you are a good fit. Then, ask them for an informational interview/portfolio review.
Network on social media, on-line communities, in-organizations and in-person.
Network everywhere you go. Opportunities can come from unlikely sources.

Reach

When my son was 4 years old, swimming in lake Michigan, he said something striking. "Dad, the water got used to me!" "Well, that's something, that such a big lake could get used to such a small person", I answered. What he meant, of course, was that he got used to the temperature of the water.

And so it is, that we start our lives putting ourselves at the center of everything. As we mature , as people, and as professionals, we reach out and affect more than that which directly touches us. And the further out the things that we make reach, the more valued, and valuable they become.

Microsystem: Your creative self
Mesosystem: Your family, peers, teachers, home location, faith
Exosystem: Industries, consumed and produced media, employers, clients, and parents.
Macrosystem: Communities that we hope to move beyond reaction to action with ideas?

Discussion: What are some specific things that we create that lie within each of the bands?

~~Take This Reach Survey~~

Have You Thought About Your Purpose?

Take this Purpose Survey.

Ask yourself...

what did these four things mean for you when you were a High School Senior, a College Senior and what do you think they will mean for you ten years from now. Let this exercise provide context for every decision you make about your career moving forward.

Considerations

That at which you are good
That which you love
That which the world needs
That which you can get paid

What Zone Are You Operating In?

Take this Comfort Zone Survey.

Adopting an entrepreneurial spirit is good way to approach launching your career. It's not very different from launching a business. It requires assessment, strategy, organization, discipline and fortitude. The process is complex and can be wrought with rejection. Those who 'make it' really are entrepreneurs.

Above all else It means operating outside of your comfort zone!

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