How to Become an Art Director

Modern day advertising has become more complex and smarter. Today’s ads require both writers and artists to handle the responsibilities of a project. Art directors are those professionals who coordinate all these efforts, oversee the entire advertising project and ensure that the entire work is completed as per the provided guidelines and budget. These professionals are well versed with both managerial tasks and the artistic aspect the ad being created. Art directors are responsible for creating ads that do not only catch the consumer’s attention but also bring considerable profit. Below, we discuss about the job duties, educational qualification and training and the career prospects of this profession.

Job Responsibilities
The profession of an art director happens to be one of the most profitable careers in the field of graphic arts and design. However, the career also entails challenges. The key challenge is to complete the ad project keeping in the mind budget and other specific requirements of clients while at the same time making the ad as attention-grabbing as possible.

Art directors work with a wide variety of clients who belong to multiple industries and businesses. When they start work on a new project, they sit with the client to understand their business goals. After comprehending the specific requirements of clients, they come up with innovative ideas to make the advertising projects successful and generate profits for business owners. To create the ad and complete the project efficiently, they work closely with copywriters, illustrators and graphic designers. They coordinate and supervise the entire project to create ads and print materials with a unique concept. They are responsible for creating ads that fulfill the business goals of clients and generate profits.

These professional create attractive and eye catching ads both for print and online media. They make extensive use of computer to complete their projects. At first, they create a layout for the ad project. Once the client approves the design and look of the ad, the work begins. The art director then uses all the resources in the department to complete the advertising project within the given deadline.

Educational Qualification & Training
To become an art director, candidates need to possess an associate or a bachelor’s degree in graphics design or other relevant field of creative arts. At the initial stage of their career, most of the art directors start working as a graphics designer. Advertising agencies offer multiple entry level job positions in this field. With growing experience and creative arts skill set, candidates will be promoted to the upper level job position of art director.

Job Skills
To remain competitive in the field of art direction and become successful, candidates also need to possess some essential job skills. These skills include excellent communication (both oral and written), organizational skills, people skills, creativity, artistic skills, multi-tasking, an ability to see the larger picture and the capability to work odd hours.

Annual Salary
The average annual salary earned by art directors is $76,980. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, art directors earned a median annual wage of around $63,740 in the year 2004. Those who are employed in advertising or public relations earn a higher average salary of $80,170 annually. With increasing experience and getting promoted to senior level positions, creative arts directors can earn an annual income as high as $108,090.

Mastering the Art of Team Building

Today, employers are focusing more and more on garnering the benefits of employee team building. According to researches, over 80 per cent of employers emphasize on team work, in some way or the other. Even for jobseekers, it has become utmost important to have excellent team building skills to enhance productivity and work efficiency in the workplace. It is a proven fact that employees working as a team generate more productivity and better solutions, as compared to employees where there are no team building skills.

Given below are some important tips on how to work in a team and how to develop team building skills to achieve success.

Fostering open communication
How do we create best work teams? A best team is created through fostering open communication. It means that every member who is in the team has the freedom to express their personal views and opinions. The decision making process carries more significance when it is not based on dictatorship. When we work in a team, we should always be ready to everyone’s opinions. The best team is that where people have the liberty to talk freely and respect one another’s viewpoints and thoughts.

Building trust
Trust is the building stone of all best teams. Where there is no trust among one another, there is no team. Every member of the work team should trust another member of the team. It is trust that binds together people who work as a team. If you wish to build a team that generates productivity, start building trust within the team.

Reviewing Progress
When a work team has started working towards a common goal, it is also essential to review the progress. There should be regular reviewing and check ups to find out how the team is performing. By doing a regular review, the team can also focus on where the lack in their spirit or task and remove the obstacles that prevent them from being successful.

Encouraging co-operation, not competition
Another important factor that guarantees the success of a team is collaboration or co-operation. Co-workers may compete to get the next promotion. However, this competition should never replace the collaboration that occurs among team members. Remember, you will have enough time highlight your personal achievements. But, if the collaboration is not there, you can never have the best work team.

Celebrating diversities
In the workplace, you will come across with a variety of people, hailing from multiple backgrounds, castes and communities. It is this diversity of people that will lead to coming up with new thoughts and ideas. Therefore, do not look at the diversity of people in a negative way. Instead, be ready to celebrate the differences and work like a best team.

Clarifying responsibilities to the team
Inefficiency in a team is caused mainly due to the fact that most of members in the team do not completely understand their responsibilities. It is extremely important for every member of the team to understand their roles clearly. Another important thing to remember here is that when a project is given, each member should held themselves equally responsible for the completing the task efficiently.

Offbeat Ways to Pay for College

Students and parents really have a tough time when it comes to paying for college. You may have tried different ways and methods to find money for college. You may have also tried for different types of college student scholarship programs. Many times students exhaust the means that are available to them. Under these circumstances where you have exhausted the obvious means, you need to think some ways which are out of the box. Given below are some out-of-the-box ideas that can really help you find money for your college tuition. Have a look.

Attend a College that offers a Co-op Program
It is a good idea to go to a co-op college if are looking for ways to pay for college. These schools provide students full time work as part of their curriculum. They offer co-op semesters which needs to be completed by students in order to graduate. Therefore, students who work full time for the semester can save money to pay for the next semester’s bill.

Attend a College that offers Free Tuition
Well, you might just not be aware that there are colleges that offer tuition for their students. A tuition free college education can really help students who are worried about how to pay for college. One excellent example for tuition-free colleges is the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. Similarly, there are other colleges that offer education at reduced costs. Students need to do some research and find such colleges where they can continue their education without worrying about the college tuition fees.

Negotiate Your Financial Aid
College student financial aid programs are offered both by the federal government agencies and colleges themselves. In most of the college-based financial aid programs, some parts can be negotiated. It would be a good idea to get in touch with the financial aid counselor as seek some expert advice. Since these counselors deal with such issues on an everyday basis, they can really come with some useful tips and recommendations. Just remember to be honest about the packages that you have got from other schools. Negotiation can be done for increasing merit money.

Attend a Lower-tier School
Great faculties can be found even at smaller schools. It is only that the schools have not yet gained recognition. Such schools that want to improve their caliber look for students who can help them earn reputation. These schools are looking for talented students. If you really want to become a star of the school, you can choose to go to such schools.

Employer Tuition Assistance
Sectors like the retail and technology offer tuition remission as part of the employee perk. There are numerous companies that have the tuition remission benefits for their employees. So, if you are unable to pay for school and worried about it, you can always benefit from this.

Consumer Scientist Career Profile

The main role of consumer scientists is to serve as a link between consumers and manufacturers. Consumer scientists are responsible for conducting researches on tastes and the requirements of consumers. On the basis of the result of these researches, consumer scientists counsel manufactures on how to improve the quality and design of consumer products and increase the popularity of the brand. To become a consumer scientist, you need to be well informed of where to start, how to get trained and what career prospects await you in this field.

Job Responsibilities
Consumer scientists have to play a crucial role in the understanding the consumer behavior and provide useful insights to manufacturers. For example, those working in the food industry may use the consumer behavior to know their preferences and design new dishes to attract consumers in large numbers. Apart from conducting researches on consumer behavior, these scientists may also be involved in a variety of other tasks.

Consumer scientists also work for the marketing division and conduct market research to provide their valuable insights to marketing professionals. They help marketing professionals perform essential tasks like packaging, advertising, product campaigning etc. Quality assurance is another key area that consumer scientists work in. Their responsibility is to ensure that all products meet the quality standards and legal requirements are fulfilled appropriately.

Other key areas where consumer scientists have an important role to play include consumer advice, catering, public relations and providing advice on healthy living. The job responsibilities of consumer scientists may vary a little from one industry or organization to the other. Researching, writing reports and conducting experiments will always be the major responsibilities for these professionals.

Educational Qualification & Training
To become a consumer scientist and have a successful career, candidates should possess a degree in marketing or consumer science. Students must make sure that they get enrolled in an accredited degree program. Courses that students need to take include subjects like public relations, marketing, advertising, writing, business management and economics. Writing courses will be very helpful, as consumer scientists will need to write reports on a regular basis. A typical training program in consumer science will include consumer studies, food science and technology, consumer product management, food and consumer management, psychology, marketing etc.

Job Skills
Besides possessing a degree in consumer science or marketing, candidates also need to possess some essential skills to make the most of their careers. These include good verbal and written and communication skills, excellent research skills, people skills, presentation skills, analytical skills, leadership skills, decision making ability, problem solving skills and IT skills among others.

Employment Opportunities
There is no dearth of opportunities for candidates who have a relevant degree and working experience. Jobs can be landed in industries like food manufacture, retail, public relations and marketing agencies, education, journalism, catering, research bodies and advisory organizations among others.

Annual Salary
The salary of a consumer scientist may vary depending on the type of the employer or industry and years of working experience. In the initial phase of your career, you can earn an annual salary ranging between £17,000 and £22,500 a year. Management positions can fetch a higher annual salary of up to £50,000 or beyond.

Taking Control of Your Personal Branding

Personal branding is a crucial part of your career success. Many of us may think that creating a personal brand is wearing an Armani suit or being attired in a coat. First of all, it is important to know what branding of a personality actually means. You make your brand by doing what you do with consistence and effectiveness. To create your brand, you first need to understand where you should start from. Given below are some essential steps that make you aware of how you can create your personal brand.

Making a Self Evaluation
It means you need to figure out where you currently stand. To answer this question, you need to ask yourself a couple of important questions. You need to find out whether your co-workers feel comfortable with you. Find out whether people approach you for their personal issues and problems. Most importantly, know what people seek you for. What is that value that employers most appreciate in you. The next important thing is to know your personal values.

Defining Your Target
Remember it is already there. All you need to do is shape it. From the place you start, you need to figure out where your strengths can lead you. The strengths you have identified should take you to a place you have desired. Emotions also have an important role to play in this entire process and they are also a part of your professionalism. That means professionals can never be devoid of emotions. In fact, your emotions can prove to be the carrier of your brand message. After you have done with your self analysis, you are required to mould your skills in the most effective way.

Mapping out the Plan
You can never be successful with mapping a plan for making your personal brand. How do you create that plan of action? For this you need to list your important emotion displays, values and skills. Make a list of your current dominant emotional displays and a separate list for your desired displays. Next, identify the skills and strengths that you want to include in your personal brand. The point is to figure out the distance between your current state and your goal.

Checking Yourself
Evaluation, as discussed above, is the part and parcel of your plan of action. Regular feedback is essential while you polish your personal branding. Ask the questions mentioned above and then incorporate the responses that you get into your action plan.

It is about creating your personal brand. Even if you wear an Armani suit and do not have your personal brand, you are never going to be productive. You will be productive only when you refine your brand and use it for your corporate success.