Jack Burns - Creative Technologies Professionalism

Learning how to network within the creative industries is vital. Getting work within this sector will totally rely on the network of potential clients that you build up so it is absolutely crucial that you get your name out there and show people what you can do. There are many key ways to start networking with people in the creative industries which I will list below: Linked In Building a solid network of connections on Linked In can be a fantastic way to get your foot in the door and start talking to people in your sector. Connect with like-minded people and you will be notified when they upload or share media, not only does this allow you to give your thoughts on their projects but it also allows you to see the quality of work people are doing and helps you make sure you are sticking to trends. Connecting also allows you to see other peoples connections, many of which will be relevant to you. Starting up conversations with these people allows you to ask questions and get you...

Freelancing is a fantastic way to offer your services while working for and managing yourself. Seems like the perfect job right? Before we can answer this question we must take a deeper look into what it actually means to be a freelancer and the responsibilities that come with the title. The Cambridge dictionary defines the term Freelancer as: "someone who does particular pieces of work for different organizations, rather than working all the time for a single organization." Working for yourself can be very liberating. You get to decide when you work and what you work on. Working on projects that you care about can really boost your work mentality and motivate you to work harder. However, j umping from job to job may seem scary, and it totally is. Work is never guaranteed, so when one project is finished you may have to search for some time just to find another job to pay the bills. Work may fall through during a project or you may encounter errors that you simply cannot...

To answer this question we first need to identify what it means to be professional. The Oxford dictionary defines being professional as:  "Worthy of or appropriate to a professional person; competent, skilful, or assured." Becoming professional within the creative industries isn't just about what kind of work you produce and how good it is, it spans from how your dress to how you communicate.  Professionalism is a collective group of attributes that define you and the work you produce.  Gaining a clients trust within the creative industry is a must but it can be a tough nut to crack. Seeming professional isn't as simple as going clean shaven and wearing a suit, it stems from a collective group of personal and technical skills. The Code of Professional Conduct lists all of the agreements and standards that professionals should follow. A ttributes to becoming more professional include but are not strictly limited to: Appearance: You don't want to show up ...

Portfolios are a fantastic way of showing other people that you can design and create the products that you sell yourself on. Starting off can be quite daunting and you may not have enough work, if any, to show for yourself. However, there are a number of good resources out there to get you started on creating a good portfolio. Throughout this piece, I will be referring to my own personal portfolio site and justifying the content and layout within it. Staring at a blank canvas can be scary at first, so here are some tips on how to start planning the structure of your portfolio: Homepage Structure Quick introduction My personal portfolio website. Users coming to your page need to know who you are and what you are all about. However, in this section, it should be a quick introduction that won't bore the user into clicking off of your site. Keep it short, sweet and relevant. Looking at my own portfolio site you can see that I have introduced myself in a friendly manner an...