Career Plan

Creative Director...

In the nearer future, I aspire to become a Creative Director. This is because I am a very innovative person and love to design crazy and fun stuff that would appear quite good to a production.

• Creative directors are responsible for what advertisements look like. They are involved in creating a campaign that has an instant, positive impact on the consumer in order to promote the product or brand being advertised.
  A Creative director's tasks and duties may include:
  • working from a brief with a copywriter, generating ideas to present to the client
  • working on designs to produce an effective advertising campaign
  • commissioning specialists, such as artists and photographers, to work on projects
  • managing projects and working within a budget
  • editing the final results for presentation to the client.
  
  

  Creative directors normally work between 9am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. However, extra hours are often required so they must be flexible. They spend most of their time working indoors, in offices or studios, although travel to meet clients is also likely. Dress code expectations vary between agencies, but are often quite informal. 

  
  
  I feel as though I am a flexible person as I could always sacrifice my spare time for doing important things as I already do so by staying behind after school to get my work done and at home as well. 

  
  
  Salaries may range from around £15,000 to £25,000 a year for new advertising Creative directors, to over £100,000 for successful creative directors in leading agencies. The pay that creative directors earn, encourages me and motivates me to aim for the best and definitely makes me determined to work for a leading agency. 

  
  
  An creative director should:

  • be highly creative
  • have a thorough understanding of photography, typography and printing
  • have excellent interpersonal and communication skills
  • work well as part of a team, with a range of people
  • have an interest in social and cultural trends and fashions.

  
  
  Most creative directors work for advertising agencies, although some are freelance. There are just over 1,000 agencies in the UK (Feb 2008), of which more than half are based in London. Other centres for advertising include Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle and Manchester. This shows that I have more chance of getting into the industry, which again motivates me to try and get there. 

  
  
  There are no set qualifications to become an creative director, but entrants usually have a degree. Art and design degree courses are available at universities and art colleges throughout the UK. Many students first take a foundation course in art and design. They are usually expected to have a portfolio of their art and design work.

  
  
  Training is normally in-house, under the supervision of more experienced colleagues. Some agencies may require entrants to take the IPA foundation certificate, which is designed to give an overview of advertising and the specific roles within the industry.

  
  
  Movement between agencies is common. Experienced creative directors may choose to specialise in one area of advertising. It is possible to progress to senior art director or creative director, while some art directors set up their own agencies. Others decide to use their skills in other creative fields, such as design or film production.