Learning as a creative professional

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Things Every Creative Person Should Know
Tanveer Alam | UX Specialist


The blogs, the teachers, the mentors, the seminars aren’t the answer.
They’re not there to tell you exactly what you need to know. If they’re good,
then they are there to give you some ideas, some guidelines, or some rules
to learn and subsequently break. This isn’t about the expert, it’s about you.
In creative pursuits especially…what’s going on inside you is where the
answers can be found. Hear what experts say, but don’t always listen to
them.



Clients cannot tell you what they need

Clients hire you because they have a problem. They need a great visual
representation of something, a solution. They think they know the best way
to photograph something, but they don’t really. That’s why they hire you.
Take their suggestions to heart, because they definitely know their brand,
product, their vision–perhaps even shoot a few versions of the images they
THINK they want to see first–but then go nuts with own vision. Add value.
Show them something they didn’t expect. Don’t be a monkey with a finger.
Remember why you got hired…that YOU are the badass image maker. If
you are good enough to get selected for the job, you should be good
enough to drive the photographic vision.



Don’t Aim For ‘Better’, Aim For ‘Different’

It’s funny how related “better” and “different” are. If you aim for ‘better’
that usually means you’re walking in the footsteps of someone else.
There will often be someone better than you, someone making those
footsteps you’re following… But if you target being different–thinking in
new ways, creating new things–then you are blazing your own trail. And
in blazing your own trail, making your own footprints, you are far more
likely to find yourself being ‘better’ without even trying. Better becomes
easy because it’s really just different. You can’t stand out from the
crowd by just being better. You have to be different.



Big challenges create the best work

If you get assignments that are pushing your vision, your skills, then
awesome. Kudos to you, keep getting those assignments. If you’re not
getting those assignments, then you need to be self-assigning that
challenging work. Give yourself tough deadlines and tougher creative
challenges. You do your best work where there is a challenge that is clearly
present and 10 feet taller than you think you can handle.



Aesthetic sensibilities actually matter

Go figure on this one… I’m constantly surprised as how much this is
overlooked. Read this and believe it: You must develop a keen
understanding of design, color, light, and composition. To just say “I know a
picture when I like it” isn’t going to get you anywhere. You need to know –
for your own sake as well as the sake of your clients who will ask you–
WHY a photo is a great photo. WHY is this one better than that one. If you
don’t have any visual vocabulary, opinion, or aesthetic sensibility you won’t
be able to explain these things. You won’t get the job. Or if you do get the
job, you won’t be able to explain why your designs are worth getting hired
again by the same client for the next campaign, story, or video. Trust me on
this. Develop a sense of visual taste.



Simple is good

Almost every photo that is bad has too much information. Outside of
technical basics, the number one reason that most photos fail is
because there is no clear subject. Often this is the case with design,
film, fashion, you name it. Remove clutter, remove distraction. Tell one
story, and tell it well.



Make mistakes, learn quickly

Simply put, you need to be able to learn from your mistakes. Avoiding
failure is not the goal. The goal is recovering from mistakes quickly. That
goes for ever element of your photography–creative, business, vision…you
name it. If you’re not willing to make mistakes, you’ll be paralyzed with
inaction. That is the devil. Get out there and do stuff. If it works, do more of
it. If it doesn’t work, change it. Quickly.



“Value” is Different From “Price.”

Don’t compete on price alone. That is certain death in any
creative field. Focus on delivering value and price yourself
accordingly. If you deliver great value with your designs —
better than expected, and better than your competition– and
you can illustrate that through any means, then you should be
more expensive. And remember that value comes in many
forms.



Real artists create

Do you just sit around and think of stuff you could create, photograph,
build, ship, or design, but never output anything? Then you’re a
poser. Take a new approach and make stuff. Maybe what comes out
of your studio isn’t perfect, but there should always stuff leaving the
door and hitting the web, the page, the billboard, the gallery, or the
street. If you are for real, you’ll be pumping out work on the regular.



You Are Not the First

There are very few ‘firsts’ these days. Countless others have started
studios,
Doing jobs, freelanced and requested internships. It can be done.



There is always someone better

Regardless of how good you are, there will always be someone better.
It’s surprisingly easy to waste time worrying about this.



You cannot score without a goal

If you don’t know what you want, then how can you pursue it?
Having a goal defines an end point, and subsequently, a place to start.



The path to work is easier than you think
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To get into the industry you need just three things: great work,
energy and a nice personality. Many forget the last attribute.



Starting Anything Requires Energy

It takes more energy to start than it does to stop.
This is true for physics, your career, and that idea you need to work on.



Time is Precious, Get to the Point

Avoid plentiful humour or gimmicks when contacting studios for work,
they’ve seen it all before. Get to the point, they’ll be thankful.



Have a Positive Self-Image

Your self-perception is your most important asset.
See yourself as the person you want to be and others will see this too.



Create a Clean and Simple Website

An online portfolio is the alpha and omega of your career.
With a wealth of web services, there’s no excuse for not having a website.



Accurate your work

Never stop editing your portfolio. Three strong pieces are better
than ten weak ones – nobody looks for quantity, just quality.



Ask Questions

Assume nothing. Ask questions, even if you think you know the
answers.
You’ll be surprised at how little you know.



Listen to your instincts

If your work doesn’t excite you, then it won’t excite anyone else.
It’s hard to fake passion for mediocre work – scrap it.



Ask for opportunities

It will feel cheeky, but ask for things. Ask to be included in exhibitions,
magazines, pitches – if you don’t ask, you can’t get.



Seek Criticism, Not Praise

You learn nothing by being told how great you are.
Even if you think your work’s perfect – seek criticism, you can always
ignore it.



Make Friends, Not Enemies

The creative industry is a small world: it’s a network where everyone knows
everyone else. Remember this before pissing someone off.



Dress Smart, Look Business Like

Take your work seriously? Then take your appearance seriously.
Clients are more likely to deal with people who look like they care



Never Work For Free

Working for free not only devalues the profession,
but it makes you look weak. Even a ‘nice’ client will take advantage of this.



There’s No Such Thing as a Bad Job

Always push yourself to do your best. Logically,
there’s no way you can be dissatisfied with ‘having done your best’



The environment is not a limitation

The environmental impact of your work isn’t a fashionable consideration
— as a creative, it’s your most important consideration.



Boring problems lead to boring solutions

Always interrogate your brief: re-define the question.
No two briefs should be the same; a unique problem leads to a unique
solution.



New Ideas Are Always ‘Stupid’

New ideas are conceived with no context and no measures of success –
this falsely makes them feel silly, awkward or even impossible.



Show Sketches, Not Polished Ideas

Clients often mistake ‘rough’ digital work for the final design.
Show sketches for as long as you can, it makes them feel involved.



Work With Clients, Not Against Them

You may think you’re right, but look at the client’s solution
along with yours. Occasionally you’ll be surprised.



Don’t Always Take No For an Answer

Fight for superior solutions. Demonstrate your thinking to your client,
take them through it – it’s hard to argue with logic.



Pick Your Battles

The creative industry is often irritating, but not every argument
is an argument that needs to be had. This takes time to learn.



Take Responsibility For Failure

If a job’s going wrong take responsibility. It feels counter-intuitive,
but responsibility means you can do something about it.



Share Your Ideas

You’ve nothing to gain from holding on to your ideas; they may feel
precious, but the more you share, the more new ideas you’ll have.



Get out of the studio

Good design is crafted from understanding the relationships between
things.
These connections can’t be found when locked in a studio.



Awards Are Nice, But Not Vital

Awards look good on the shelf, but clients seldom pick up
the phone because of them. Solid work encourages that.



Don’t take yourself too seriously

Take your work seriously, take the business of your craft seriously,
but don’t take yourself seriously. People who do are laughed at.

Tanveer Alam | Senior web designer

Learning as a creative professional

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