Fresh out of college, I was hired as a junior art director at an ad agency in Chicago. The catch? I had no formal design training. I hadn’t even interned as an art director.
Up until meeting the recruiter for the first time, I hadn’t really even considered the art director path.
As a student, I had a knack for video editing and was decent at After Effects. My advertising program called a few of us “content creators”. I loved coming up with conceptual ideas and partnering with my art director or copywriter friends. But learning design fundamentals and refining my visual eye were not part of my curriculum.
Regardless, this recruiter recommended the art director path. The agency took a chance on me.
You can imagine the imposter syndrome I felt in the first weeks and months of my new job as a junior art director. I definitely didn’t see in myself the potential that my employer saw in me.
I felt clueless. And needed to catch up.
I also quickly learned of the industry’s culture of gatekeeping. Not everyone was keen on sharing their secrets.
Yet, amidst the competitive atmosphere a few generous coworkers began to share tips and resources. I slowly gained the confidence to ask for help, ask more questions and peak over the shoulders of more senior creatives and designers as they crafted pixels into compelling ads.
Keyboard shortcuts.
A design tip here or there.
Websites for cinematic reference images.
Mockups.
Templates.
Gold mines of inspiration.
My Notes app became my best friend. Every little technique, every shared resource—I jotted them all down. Those generous creatives inadvertently lit the spark for what later became “The Toolbox”, but for now, just a massive Notes list of links.
Eventually, new interns and junior creatives joined the agency and started looking to me for help. I almost felt guilty sharing links, as if I needed to ask for permission from my source to share their secrets.
Secrets!
A publicly available link to a website—why were we being so precious?
This was the power of gate keeping working through me, an influence that has plagued the advertising industry for years.
I shared anyway. It was liberating. Not just for the younger creatives who learned of new resources previously guarded by more experienced professionals; but also for me. It felt good to share. It felt freeing to open the gates and unleash all the secrets!
Eventually, I packaged up my list of resources into a PDF titled, The Art Director Toolbox. A PDF was easier for me to share. I didn’t realize just how sharable it would end up being though. Within weeks, I was getting messages from colleges around the country, students and professors thanking me or asking for permission to forward it around their classes.
From there, the PDF continued to evolve. The community of young creatives sharing resources with each other also grew. I’ve shortened the name (this isn’t a toolbox for art directors only). And now, here we are!
The Toolbox is now a living breathing website with a growing database of creative resources. It still serves the purpose of being a single destination that I can send friends and coworkers who are looking for tips. But now, even more accessible.
So, what’s the takeaway here? Share. The benefits of sharing aren’t one directional. You’ll find that, as you share more, your network of humans-who-have-your-back will grow. You won’t be creating competition for yourself, you’ll be gaining allies. I’ve also received so many extra resources and tips from others. It comes full circle.
Most importantly, I hope you share because it’ll create a more open, warm and accessible industry. Who doesn’t want that!