switching from design to advertising
- Started
- Last post
- 10 Responses
- vavaboom
I have been out of school for three years now and have always worked for small design firms, both in my internships and my professional career.
I what i think to be a solid design portfolio for someone at my level. I am looking to go into advertising and met with a recruiter yesterday but she pretty much said i will have to go in as a junior, which means a pay cut of course. Does a good design portfolio not count towards experience in the ad world? Just seems kinda weird to me.....she is looking at helping me get in at a smaller ad agency that is more design focused (ie not one of the big 5) that way i will most likely be able to be mid-level still.
anyone else made the switch from design to advertising? what was your experience?
- spendogg0
The big thing about advertising is you need to start humble and develop a process that fits with the people you are working with - If you have been out of school for only three years, starting as a jr. art direcor or something will help you delvelop quickly.
Advertising is a lot like politics, you will find talented people that want to help you grow and you will find talentless hacks that survive off of stealing your ideas and throwing you under the bus.
Get into a place you respect and lay low, learn, and just do great work - for a while you may feel underappreciated and overworked - don't let it get to you. If you stay true to yourself and the work, you will go far.
Good luck!
nice portfolio BTW.
- vavaboom0
thanks for the advice!
it just sucks because ive worked so hard to do well so far and then now ill have to kinda start over at square one.
but im patient. and i know i will do well in advertising.
- Bluejam0
design is about making things look nice.
advertising is about telling big fat lies.
- gruntt0
and the mix of those 2 are nice looking lies.
- tkmeister0
3 yrs isn't that many yrs of experience in my opinion. depends how hard you work on and off your job.
i swithed from architecture to advertising.
it's all about how you position yourself.
- Mimio0
Once you get in there, find a good team of peers. Agencies tend to promote teams. So if you're an AD, find atleast one talented copywriter, maybe a production specialist, and a good project manager. Also, try and evolve so that the account people have to approach you as a team.
- robotron3k0
i find advertising much more conceptual and strategic, along the lines of storytelling. hence, the better you are at telling a story, the better you might be in advertising. a design background will also give you an advantage over other ad people as well... hence, making something look good is one thing, giving it a message can be the challenge...
oh yeah, advertising pays pretty good too, which is also it's downside of it being so attractive...
- Buckyball20
I went through a similar struggle. And the same applied. After 5 years of design I would have to come in as a Junior AD, get my pay cut, etc. But it really came down to the work. I found myself liking identity and interactive design too much to leave it behind. Unless I did freelance of course.
Advertising does pay more in the long run though. So if you're not hurting for $$ it might be worth it to tread water for a couple of years to establish yourself with the hope of advancing.
- vavaboom0
yeah ive pretty much decided no matter what the paycut is (as long as its still liveable) im going to do it. i just become very jaded towards small design firms and I really want to get out of this scene and try something new.
- blastofv0
I'm in an ad agency now trying to push good design, and depending on the client (and the internal appreciation for the details of great design work), I often find myself frustrated.
You may find yourself longing for the small design firms again soon... unless you're into the TV side of things, which is a whole different world (but you won't be leading those projects until you've been successful in an agency for a few years)