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Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

This is about my wife. She has an associates degree in graphic design from a community college. She also has a BS and an MS in Geology but has obviously chosen a different career path. She earned the associates this past May and has been working as a Graphic Artist. The job requires zero creativity (she basically just does technical work in Illustrator). She wants a job that really lets her use her creative skills.

We live in Kansas City, so I know there will be some opportunities. She has a strong online portfolio. The biggest hurdle is likely her lack of a BA in the field. How big of a liability will this be? Any advice you guys can give her that might help her land the kind of job she's looking for?

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incoherent
Apr 24, 2004

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Being a well educated with multiple degrees will not help at all finding a creative gig. Those fields tend to follow "who you know, not what you know" style of placing. Being so far out of "creative hubs" like the coast, I would push her to get active in the local community and ferret out gigs and go from there.

caiman posted:

We live in Kansas City, so I know there will be some opportunities.

You're being overly optimistic.

root of all eval
Dec 28, 2002

caiman posted:

This is about my wife. She has an associates degree in graphic design from a community college. She also has a BS and an MS in Geology but has obviously chosen a different career path. She earned the associates this past May and has been working as a Graphic Artist. The job requires zero creativity (she basically just does technical work in Illustrator). She wants a job that really lets her use her creative skills.

We live in Kansas City, so I know there will be some opportunities. She has a strong online portfolio. The biggest hurdle is likely her lack of a BA in the field. How big of a liability will this be? Any advice you guys can give her that might help her land the kind of job she's looking for?

Yeah, no one gives 2 shits about an art degree, especially in truly creative fields. What type of works does her portfolio focus on? The reality is that corporate/marketing design is where the careers are. Basically the same mindless illustrator work, but you also get to sketch some logo thumbnails occasionally.

On a high level design isn't even an 'art' discipline, it's an engineering discipline.

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

BossRighteous posted:

What type of works does her portfolio focus on?

Illustration, type, page layout.

root of all eval
Dec 28, 2002

caiman posted:

Illustration, type, page layout.

So it isn't so much that she's unsatisfied with production work, she'd just like to have a more active hand in the initial creative? I'm trying to figure out what type of design roles she'd like to explore.

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

BossRighteous posted:

So it isn't so much that she's unsatisfied with production work, she'd just like to have a more active hand in the initial creative?

I think that's it exactly.

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root of all eval
Dec 28, 2002

Based on the city size and entry level experience I'd recommend focusing on a couple in depth branding overhaul case-studies. If you know any small businesses, try and work with them to create a free/cheap business system and a new logo. They don't have to use it, but it shows off a couple of things:

a thoughtful approach to planning and execution
an application of skill to a specific marketing goal
an ability to provide value beyond simple aesthetics
a launch pad for postmortem analysis and discussion
an array of production skills with the multiple cohesive works across different medias

This is a pretty common component in BA graduation show portfolios and can get a foot in the door in a ton of small-mid scale marketing and media firms. 2-3 really stellar ones from different business sectors would probably be a home run.

Also if she has digital media experience, incorporating that into an overall campaign would be great.

To be honest though I wouldn't get hopes up about being in a creative direction position without a fair bit of experience. Not to say it will be all production, but all the places I've worked have been a combination of seniority based promotions and cross-business promotions to get to the ranks that you'd get final say over themes and direction. On the same note, every place I've worked has put entry level people in creative roles on a per project basis just out of necessity when staffing is trim. I guess thats like any job though, with editorial oversights.

Good luck to her!

ALSO NOTE:
I graduated 5+ years ago so the landscape has probably changed a bit. I'm interested if others have differing opinions.

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