Last Thursday saw the final Presidents lecture and, for me, it was a pretty good way to end. The talk was an opportunity to hear the stories from those of various creative sectors and how they got to where they are today. It was a great insight into how people start off their careers and what inspires them, as well as being able to see how it is possible to grow from being “just another graduate”.
The night kicked off with a talk from Joel Gethin Lewis. He openly admitted to being a complete geek, which started him on his path to becoming an interactive designer. After gaining a yearlong placement at IBM at the age of 17, he went on to get a job at Dazed and Confused. Not the usual progression you might say, but this was his point. He said it’s better to know what you don’t want to do in life, rather than not knowing anything at all. He is now a successful designer who has owns his own company Yes Yes No.
Next up was Malcolm Venville, director and photographer. Malcolm is also a great example of how you can start anywhere. Some of his early photography work was taken outside the British Leyland factory he worked at as a teenager. He took captivating images of that ‘Friday Feeling’ as people poured through the gates to get home. He gained a place at University by passing off the work of his friend’s as his own and it all went from there. Luckily his passion for photography shone through and he went from strength to strength.
Last up was Sir John Hegarty, a worldwide-recognised creative director of BBH. He led us down the path to his success by showing us his first ever drawing, a simple piece of paper painted black at the tender age of four years old. Now he claims he was predicting the ‘black decade’ but at the time his teachers were very worried about him. Sir John showed us various other pieces of work from his career, concluding with the Reebok Classics campaign. He emphasised the importance of bringing the world you live in into your work. When taking a Q&A he was asked about the importance of a creative background was. He said as long as you are an interesting person and have good ideas; you can be very successful in the industry.
Even though I’m not in a design role at The Partners (I’m on the support/project management side), I still found it a really interesting talk. Coming from a range of backgrounds made me realise that anything is possible. It was great to hear from different creative disciplines and personalities. Whether it’s sitting on the doorstep of an agency demanding a job or using a friend’s drawings to get your foot in the door everyone starts somewhere. They may all seem rather over-simplified ideals, but if it helps plant the seed of thinking “I can do this!” then I think its pretty much worth it.
