Art & Design

What are Art & Design careers all about?

Do you think that doing an art degree will leave you a penniless artist, bitterly digesting the news that Anish Kapoor has sold yet more of his work for millions? Or that careers in graphic design just involve swinging from side-to-side on your office chair whilst messing about with Photoshop? Careers in art and design might involve working for peanuts, but equally they can be very financially rewarding.

It isn’t an easy ride; working in art and design will require a great deal of hard work. You might even go through periods when it’s hard to get any work at all; so you may need to do some stopgap jobs whilst you pursue your true passion on the side. But if you’re business savvy and have creative flair, there is nothing to say you won’t succeed. Look at Cath Kidston: her creativity and aesthetic taste tapped into a consumer demand for vintage homeware, creating a multi-million pound business from quirky/nauseating (delete where appropriate), flowery patterns.

Careers in art and design are all about creating things which are appealing to the eye; fine art is created purely for its aesthetic appeal, whilst design tends to revolve around a product. Working in art and design, you need to have an essential mix of practical skills and great aesthetic taste. A keen eye for detail is paramount, as is developing your own personal style.

There are a huge range of different job opportunities in art and design: web design, prop and set design, photography, architecture, animation, art conservation, product design, landscape design, working in galleries, fashion design…the list goes on! Neither does it have to be solitary work. Although working independently as a freelancer is common, many artists join collectives and designers join design agencies. If you are going to strike it out on your own though, you can’t rely on artistic talent alone. Your work might be Tate Modern-worthy but, without business and networking skills, it will collect dust in your studio. The same goes for pretty much any career in art and design. It’s going to be an exciting and creative career, but it’s also pretty challenging.

Better swap that artist’s beret for balls of steel!