Creative Industry
I consider myself quite privileged to be able to pursue a career within the creative industry. Creatives of course include designers, photographers, artists and such, but also fellows like application developers and authors.
The Creative Industry, as I'll call it, works quite differently. Hence, anyone who happens to be a part of it, works differently too.
If you stretch it far enough, one can consider any trade creative, but you're just fooling yourself. But there's a vast difference between 'creative' and 'problem-solving'. Most careers fall into the latter, if at all. You don't have to be creative to solve a problem (though if you are creative, you end up solving it better)
There's the common myth that the creatives never end up working as hard as everyone else. Being an art student myself, I get that quite often. "Anyone could've taken that picture" - classic. Well I'm going to step up and put our case forward.
Creating a piece of art requires far more effort than studying for an exam. Sure, studying for an exam is irritating, time consuming and includes a bit of painful procrastination. But really all there is to it is reading a book over a few times (maybe more if there's something to understand). Maths isn't creative, there's a set of methods to follow, pick one, progress, find next method, move forward, and of course while doing this make sure you follow all the rules. I'm not saying anyone can ace a Maths exam, that isn't true. What I will say is that the number of people who can is far more than the number of people who could create a piece of art.
When you're creating art, there are two obstacles that no-maths-examinee will ever face.
One, you have to do it like nobody else has done it (approached it, thought of it, shown it) before. Maths would be a lot more interesting if this was possible (I'm talking student level)
Two, there's no right answer. No solution to aim for. Where you go with it is completely up to you, you're on your own.
This is besides the fact that creating art is more time intensive, brain-powered and nerve-wracking than studying. We make it look easy, I know. That's because we love what we do (its the equivalent of your 'studying') so we don't complain about it as much.
There's also competition. Sure, in non-creative industries there is too right? You apply for a job. Selected from a pool of applicants. Well, guess what, in the creative industry you aren't applying for anything. There's no real pool of applicants, but you still have to be better than them. You're pretty much standing on your own out there.
What sets people apart in the non-creative industries is the points on their CV (in most cases).
In the creative industry, the unique element you bring to the table is yourself and your art. You could have assisted the greatest photographers in the world, received a Masters Degree from who-knows-where, but if your art is rubbish or you're not a people-person there's a chance you won't get anywhere.
The inspiration for this article came from the new design I finished for my home page. In this industry, there are no rules. In fact if anything is Times New Roman, size 12, double-spaced, get out. You really have to showcase yourself to the world. Do it however you want. But show that you have something more than talent. I think the changes I made are a step towards that. It isn't targeted towards my friends or acquaintances , its targeted to someone looking for a creative person to handle their next project. Seeing that layer below a portfolio becomes essential sometimes (and sometimes I fail at doing that). Being unconventional and thinking out of the box is of course part and parcel. Creating identity, that isn't necessarily, because that takes more than creativity, it takes a unique sort of person to do that.
There's just so much to say on this. But I'll end with this. Although I made it seem the creative industry is this cruel beast, well, it is. And that's why we're in it. Its challenging. Its different. And we love it just for that. Getting to spend your career in it is the most difficult thing in the world but also the most rewarding (to me, at least).
The End.
Azhar Chougle | www.azharc.com
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