The Creative Mentor Part 7: Colleague Interview Series

Part 7 I interviewed creative professionals for their perspective.

This was a direct ask from the audience!
I reached out to a varied group of people based on my most commonly asked questions, and commonly sought jobs to get their side of the story

UX Designer Eric Irving

I interview a User Experience Designer, and my friend Eric. We learn about how he got into a field that did not exist when we were in college, and he shares his art school journey with us. Eric is also the AIGA Chicago Mentorship Program Chairperson and the reason why I am like this. He’s very generous in talking about mental health through his successes and struggles through his career. No matter who you are, Eric has some great advice for everyone. 

Eric’s Advice:

  • Go to events that need designers, but are unexpected places for designers to be. Everyone will want to talk to you.

  • There’s always a better gig, or contract, don’t be afraid to look for them.

  • No creative should be paid less than $32k a year, NO MATTER WHAT

Eric’s Resources

  • AIGA: The American Institute of Graphic Arts is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity.

  • Interaction Foundation: leading organization specializing in User Interface education.

  • Eric’s Portfolio

Character Designer on Tuca & Bertie Amanda Lake

I interview the Character design supervisor on Tuca and Berti, and my LONG time friend Amanda. We discuss art school and finding ‘our people’ and how to break into a field where it seems like ‘you have to know someone’ Amanda has a lot of great advice for students and career seekers and I felt like I learned a lot from her in our hour.

Amanda’s Advice:

  • Find your people, and get involved in activities relevant to what your interests are.

  • Move to where the work is, if you’re interested in animations, move to Los Angeles.

  • There are a million jobs out there for creatives, we all don’t always know what they are but there’s space for everyone.

  • Your skills are more transferable than you think. Reach out to studios or places you’re interested in working. You never know what they’ll have.

Amanda’s Resources:

Women in Design, Toxic Work Environments

In my limited interview series this week I talk to the women in the industry I speak with every day. Jessica a Digital Graphic Designer, Stephanie a Content Specialist and Quality Assurance Specialist, and Carissa Director of Creative Services. We talk about the Bad Place job we met in and the HR nightmare it was. It's important to reflect on how jobs have treated their workers and how as a worker you cary that through to all your other jobs. We talk about that, and tips on getting through it if and when it happens. 

Advice from these ladies:

  • If you’re scared to ask your boss a question, it’s time to leave that job.

  • If your boss is making you uncomfortable, you need to advocate your boundary.

  • If your boss has an ulterior motive, you need to work on an exit strategy.

  • You were hired for your expertise, protect that ferociously.

  • Fine your people at work, they can make a bad environment safer.

  • Your boundaries are worth keeping at work, make sure they’re respected.

  • There is ALWAYS a better job than the toxic one.

If you’re dealing with harassment at work there is action you can take. Check out Project When for resources.

Freelance Photographer Zoe Rain

I interview Freelance Photographer and Videographer Zoe Rain. We talk about the world off freelance creative work, how she managed her contracts with brands like Nike and tour photography with clients like Macklemore. We talk about keeping our creative joy, and how to figure out how to write business proposals and freelance contracts.

Zoe’s Advice

  • Ask for what you want and what you need when taking a job.

  • People who are asking for a discount will treat you like a discount.

  • Follow your gut when taking work. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t take it.

  • You don’t have to do all the work yourself. Ask for help, hire people you need.

  • When one creative is doing well, we all do well.

Zoe’s Resources

Interview with a Senior Digital Art Director Danielle Zuberbuhler

I interview a Sr. Art Director, and my old boss Danielle. We discuss what Art Directors look for in candidates when they apply for jobs, how teams have managed through work from home in the pandemic, and general philosophies on how to keep creative flowing when you have an on demand creative job. She also had a lot of great book recommendations as well as job search hacks. 

Danielle’s Advice:

  • Make your resume as ‘scannable’ as possible.

  • Make your website flow from one project to the next. Make it as quick and easy to navigate as possible.

  • Experience doesn’t mean shit. If you’re a good worker, resourceful, and willing that’s worth it’s weight in gold.

  • Give your mind a chance to rest. You absolutely need to recharge to continue being creative.

  • Doodle, read, rest, what ever you need to do, through the day to take care of your mental health working from home

  • So long as you’re checking in during the day, work from home how ever you see fit to get your work done on time.

Danielle’s Resources:

The Network

This whole month was not possible with out the kindness of the creatives around me. I never considered myself one for networking. It always felt forced to go out and intentionally network. What I took away from this month was that I grew up around a lot of excellent creatives, and I have met a lot of incredibly talented and knowledgeable people by just being open to connecting with them wile I explored working in the creative industry. With out a lot of the people who volunteered to speak with me this month, I would not be where I am today. The best I can ever hope for you, my reader, is that you wake up one day and realize you’ve built the same network around you, maybe even unintentionally. I’m so happy to share all of these people and their stories with you this month.

Lauren VersinoComment