#bs300-1

BS300-1

My Elevator Pitch

Reading through this, I am glad that I don’t study design.

I think everyone in some way or another (to varying degrees) takes pride in working alone, to be able to wear a badge saying “without help, I still did it”. 

I myself am guilty of this, but I also have been able to see how important networking is to people within the art field. Exhibition openings, parties, galas. All places to be. I think it can be a bit scary, but I have heard that connecting with these people can be extremely beneficial to ones career trajectory.

I would like to focus my network that I wish to have, people who I can meet along my journey. I would love to meet more curators, gallerists and art writers. I should probably research who they are first however... I respect a lot of artists but I surround them in so much mystique that I find socializing with them somewhat intimidating, as if I am not worthy. This is obviously something to be worked on.

I can see how a lack of a network may be holding me back. I wonder what sort of opportunities I would be submerged in if I allowed myself to comfortably engage in networking. I have seen the benefits in others, I need to allow that for myself too.

WOWEE. This text was beautifully written. I found it fascinating, a bit humbling, somewhat terrifying but still warm. I think reading someone speaking of ‘the critic’ made me painfully aware of my own (made all too glaringly obvious by the lateness of me updating my blog).

The voice in your head, the rationalizing that stops you from your first step. The voice of your parents telling you that it’s best not to try, the voice that you project onto others within your own mind that keeps you from beginning. I think I need to perhaps address mine. I think that reading this brought forth the sort of awareness I have long ignored.

I work hard in some areas of my life and I feel as though my ‘critic’ stops me from working in others because ‘I’m just too tired”. I don’t know how true that is. I often find myself projecting that critic outwards. “How are you Nick? How was your weekend?”, “I’m just so tired, I worked all weekend”. This is not true, I project excuses out onto my peers in order to justify my inaction towards certain necessary tasks.

This reading really hit home for me. I want to be a strong ‘man’ in my approach to more aspects of my life. I see as I’m writing this that starting really is the hardest moment. Excuses in my head can be overpowering but I am the awareness of the voice, not the voice.

Glei, J. “Maximize your Potential: Grow Your Expertise, Take the Bold Risks and Build an Incredible Career.” 

Ive always been interested in figuring out what role my ‘career’ will play in my life, how will it make me feel and how will I DEAL with the stress it brings onto me. I think that I have been pleasantly surprised that how a career plays into your life can be largely defined by mindset and value structures.

What I really took from this reading was that last point. Your career should not be seen and defined by this idea of it being a ladder, but rather your career is each individual rung of that ladder. The ladder itself is your ‘mission’ in life, your careers are simply was of accomplishing that mission. 

Something that allows me to float between work spaces and enjoy the spaces that I take up is the mindset I approach them with. If you don’t see a career as a chore but rather as a learning opportunity then you will gain value and meaning from it. I believe this is what Glei speaks of when answering what sort of skills young people should develop when going into a job.

The idea of luck as a skill fascinates me, I take from the reading that luck is fairly equivocal to character openness. I think if you are open within a workspace you allow yourself into newer territories WITH the fear, maybe even despite it. As you let ‘luck’ take you from new space to new space you may find that you really do not enjoy certain things, I think this is good as you are establishing a broader idea of what sort of activities to avoid in the future.

Nothing is set in stone but here is a skeleton of how i think the next couple of months and years will go. After i have completed my degree i am excited to be based in Cape Town for a good 4 months where i would like to do a couple of internships. I am not comfortable enough to work as a freelancer as i feel like i need some basic mentorship before i do that just so that i can learn the ins and outs from people who have experienced what it is like to be a graduate junior designer.

My goal would be to inter at about 3 different small companies and maybe one big one.

This would be purely educational as i plan in travelling in the middle of the year and working abroad. I see the internships as my prep work before i go abroad so that i have a higher chance of getting work while i am travelling as i have shown the initiative of having experience behind my name and as this is usually a prerequisite on a job application i see it as vital.

I would ultimately like to intern at Bewilder TV, Maker'ss co, Daniel Ting Chong and possibly Saatchi and Saatchi and Puma. For now, it seems like i am tending towards clothing brands and in store concept creation as a visual communication such as And other stories, Nike, Uniqlo, All Saints or smaller boutique stores in Cape Town, Australia or the Netherlands.

I think the lean towards the fashion industry is because i have been in the industry for so many years already which works in my favour. So i would say my strengths lie her because i have worked with so many different creative directors and their visions. My strengths would also include my passion for learning and working hard. I am a diligent, energetic and motivated individual.