Myth Busting: Common Misconceptions About Creative Careers
PUBLISHED BY MAKE BANK
There are several common misconceptions about what it is like to part of the creative workforce. Lacklustre career resources in schools and glossy social media feeds can often paint an unrealistic picture and make it easier for misinformation about the industry to spread.
While chatting to designers, artists and makers, we have debunked some of the most common myths about our industry…
The Starving Artist
The creative industries bring in an impressive 84 million to the UK economy each year. Despite this, young people are still led to believe that it’s impossible to earn a decent living while working in a creative job role.
“I remember when I told my dad that I wanted to go to art school, he said ‘Do you want to work in Macdonalds?’”, illustrator and play-thing maker Cara Rooney recalls. “He wasn’t the most supportive at the beginning but seeing me go through art college has changed his perception. He has grown to appreciate the creative industries for what they are.”
Sadly, this experience isn’t uncommon. “My family worried about me being able to make a living from art so encouraged me to study something that would have a better chance of leading directly to a career,” says brand identity designer Meg Harrop. “I remember a lot of adults repeating the ‘starving artist’ message to me when I was young.”
This misconception is damaging as it is particularly discouraging for young creatives who come from low-income households. If you don’t have a cushion of family wealth to protect, you are less likely to take a chance on entering an industry that has been (wrongfully) branded as fruitless.
Illustrations by Cara Rooney
Overnight Success
Even if it looks as though someone’s career has taken off overnight, the reality is often a much steadier incline. “There is a huge sense of frustration when you leave university as you feel as though you should have landed an awesome job within the first year,” says Beth Bate, Director of the DCA. “When you speak to people in the industry, it tends to take a lot of time plugging away to build a career.”
“People might look at our stuff and think we are doing better than we are and that is the problem with social media.”
- Patrick Gildersleeves
It has taken years for Lucy Cheung and Patrick Gildersleeves to build their friendly fashion brand, YUK FUN, and they are still working hard at it. “We started YUK FUN in 2014 and it is only now that I don’t have another job and Lucy still works part-time,” Patrick explains. “Money is building up but it is not completely flowing. People might look at our stuff and think we are doing better than we are and that is the problem with social media - you don’t see everything.”
Mural artist Daren Todd agrees, saying “I remember feeling like I had to instantly become the number one illustrator as soon as I started - but, realistically, these things take time. You need to get comfortable with taking small steps and celebrate the incremental changes which happen along the way. Things can be tough enough without putting extra pressure on yourself to ‘make it’.”
Artists Work Alone
Freelance creatives by definition work on their own but that doesn’t mean they don’t rely on other people to do what they do. “The lone artist locked away in the studio producing brilliant work only to emerge every now and then is a complete myth,” textile artist Ekta Kaul explains.
Being able to build connections is a key skill for any creative. “I have come to realise that being a photographer is only 50% to do with your imagery and the work that you produce. The other part is being a good human being,” explains Susan Castillo. “It’s about being personable and good to communicate with. In this industry, you have to connect with a lot of people and you have got to be able to understand where they are coming from. It is important that there is a human side to the industry.”
The Industry Is Intimidating
“The design industry can seem intimidating and exclusive, but I've found people to be very friendly,” says surface pattern designer Kangan Arora. “One of the biggest problems is that it is not very diverse and there is so much work to be done on that front. My peers and I are building our own network rather than trying to fit into existing ones.”
Co-founder of Agents for Change Ciara Phelan concurs that, while the industry still has work to do, the people in it are a welcoming bunch. “Personally, I think this industry is a warm, open and generally positive space to be,” says Ciara. “My favourite thing about my job is the people I get to meet.”
Designs by YUK FUN
Designers Have Degrees
“People don't hire you because of your degree, they hire you because your work is of value to them or they simply love working with you,” assures collage artist Aelfleda Clackson. The idea that you need a degree to work in design is yet another damaging myth. This one is discouraging to those who, due to personal circumstances, have chosen not to or haven’t been afforded the opportunity to study at university.
In reality, there are plenty of people out there who have built thriving creative businesses without creative degrees. “I used to feel self-conscious about the fact I hadn’t taken a graphic design degree and worried that somehow I wasn’t a ‘proper’ designer,” recalls Nancy Poller, founder of Aligned Design Co. “Over the years, I have learnt that it is not crucial to have a degree in the subject you work in.”
One Definition Of Success
It can often feel like there is a prescribed definition of success that can make us chase followers and money without stopping to think about what it is that will truly fulfil us.
This encourages us to compare our careers to that of others, based solely on what we see on social media. Ebi Sinteh from The Good Life Stores is keen to dissuade any aspiring creative from falling into this trap. “When you see a success story, you don’t always see what is behind the scenes of that success,” Ebi says. “Try not to compare yourself to others. You often see the highs but you don’t know what the lows could have been.”
“Try not to compare yourself to others. You often see the highs but you don’t know what the lows could have been.”
- Ebi Sinteh
These notions of success can also make us feel like we need to compete to be more successful than others. However, it is always better to choose community over competition. “I don’t want to win if that means somebody else has to lose. Competition puts pressure on an individual to repeat their successes, and it makes others think they will never achieve the same,” artist Tommy Perman explains. “Success for me is when I have a few unbroken hours where I can sit and play with something. Anything that I do is striving toward that as an aim.”
To quickly recap: you can earn a decent living while working in the creative industries; overnight success stories are not realistic, there is no such thing as a solo freelancer, creatives are generally nice, not all designers have degrees and there is more than one definition of success. To sum up even more quickly: don’t be scared and do give yourself a break.
Thank you so much to all the makers who have shared their stories with us and helped us debunk these myths. You have shown that you can have a thriving career while pursuing your passion and have lots of fun while doing so.
This article was originally written for Make Bank, a social project fighting against creative poverty.