Chris Clarke, Creative Director

Explore everything

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"If your school division offers any kind of commercial art program it's a really good idea to explore that and try that out, to see if you like it. I think it's the best thing to try out.

"And just enjoy all the different variety of courses that you're taking in school. Try to find the thing in your classes that is interesting."

Images from my workplace

Where I work

spacecadet design is a graphic design studio and advertising agency. We do a lot of promotions and communications for different types of companies. The majority of our projects involve website design and advertising for media.

We are a small company so there are only four of us who work in the office. We have one person who works outside our office.

Help people excel

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Our business is to help people excel. To help our clients excel in their business, help sell products for them, get a message out for them or create an image for them. And that means that we have to think differently than anyone else.

"And so we need to approach projects and creativity from a perspective of 'let's not just do what someone else has done; let's try to do something that nobody has done.' And that can be very difficult.

"You're not always successful, but you have to always push yourself to get to that point and be one of the best in the business."

One step ahead

spacecadet design is unique because we each bring different qualities and creative approaches to our work. We try to stand out and differentiate ourselves from other studios and put a lot into our client relationships.

It's a competitive marketplace so we've got to be one step ahead of everybody else. That's very important to us and to our clients.

Mac environment

Like most graphic design businesses out there, spacecadet design is a Macintosh-based ("Mac") computer environment. It's the industry standard operating system for all designers.

As a result, we have a number of Apple computer models including brand new machines and several vintage models. I carry a laptop for out of office work, client meetings and presentations.

Small studio

Our design studio consists of single, one-room office. We all work within a few feet of each other so it's fairly close quarters. When we first started out it worked out really well. Now things are getting busy and we're finding we need a bit more privacy so we're going to have to remedy that in some way.

I spend a lot of time on the road and meeting with clients so this isn't so much of an issue for me. But the other designers are always at the office so space is more of an issue for them.

Accomplishments

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"My greatest accomplishment is a beautiful baby boy. At the end of the day it really comes down to how happy you are, what you do and what you create.

"My company is fairly successful and has lots of recognition, but at the end of the day, I've got a got a wonderful family. That makes me most happy."

Rewards

I grew up in an environment where I learned to work hard and get rewarded at the end of the day. That has translated into both my professional life and my personal life.

Travel is one of the things that I like to do the most. When I get to travel I play and relax as hard as I work. I buy gadgets and technology too. I'm a little bit of a video game nut so I'll buy games and movies. I also love coffee table books and well-designed books on any number of subjects I've got a wide range of interests.

These days, I reward myself by doing work and maintenance on my house and becoming the typical dad around the house. That is my biggest reward.

Responsibility

Neither of my parents had a university education but both have had meaningful careers. My father was a RCMP officer for 26 years and then went to work for the Canadian Grain Commission and Securities Commission here in Winnipeg.

My mother was a stay-at-home mom and worked part time as a civilian member of the RCMP. My parents have been very passionate and committed to everything they've done. Through their actions and their lessons, I feel they provided me with a sense of responsibility and a desire to give something back to my community.

My parents have always been very supportive and I probably couldn't have created my company without their encouragement. Dad is retired now and so he helps out with our company bookkeeping. He enjoys it and it provides me with a day-to-day connection with my family.

Striking a balance

Balancing home and work life can be a challenge sometimes. My job requires long hours and, being a small business owner, many responsibilities are transferred to me. Now that I have 16 month old baby son and another baby on the way, I want to spend time with my family.

My time with my family is very important to me so I've got to strike a balance between home and work life. My wife and I both work in the same industry so we're able to relate to each other's professional lives. But it's also important that we're able to leave work at work.

Autocross

In recent years I have become a bit of a car fanatic and I actually race cars. In the summer time I race street cars in what's called autocross.

I have a lot of fun with that because it's something that isn't any part of my day-to-day life. It's very interesting and exciting to me.

Flexibility

(TEXT FROM SOUNDBITE)

"One of the benefits of owning the company is that if I really need to I can make changes and make things happen. I can make arrangements if I need to go somewhere or take any time off and know that I've got a team behind me that can fill in the gaps where needed, although I don't like to impose that on them too much.

When you're dealing with clients it's much more difficult to get away because we've got so many projects on the go."

Client focus

I often work 10 to 12 hours a day and six to eight hours on weekends. If I'm not careful to schedule time away from my work, it can turn into a 60 hour work week. Most of these hours involve interaction with clients.

I'm continually having meetings, either on the phone or in person. If I'm not on the phone or in meetings, I'm handling 50-60 emails a day from a particular set of clients.

Pace and deadlines

My day can be very fast paced and high stress. Frequently, I've got clients who need projects or advertising done very, very quickly so I'll get multiple phone calls from multiple different clients looking for the work "right now".

Juggling the pace and pressure of multiple deadlines can be stressful at times. In addition to our work, I prepare and conduct presentations. There are always several things going on at once.

Coping with stress

Owning a company can be very stressful. I've got to deal with everything, from project deadlines and client concerns to staff payroll.

To deal with the stress I like to get away and go for a drive, even if it's only for a few minutes. I'll get in the car and get a Slurpee while I'm between two meetings. Downtime is very important and I cope by getting out of the office.

Breaking from routine

We try to make sure that our job is not a constant routine. Sometimes we're so busy all the time that we've got no choice but to get the work done, but we will break away and enjoy ourselves even if it's for a short time.

We'll get everyone out for lunches or we'll go mini-golfing or other fun things. I try to make sure everyone is happy so we can enjoy what we are doing.

Creativity

Creativity and creative skills are essentially everything in my job. It's about exploring new ideas and taking a fresh spin on the things you're already good at. The best thing about the job is finding creative solutions and making your client stand out from the crowd.

This job has forced me to do many things I've never done before and discover how many new things I didn't even know would interest me.

Meaningful work

As a graphic designer I want to create a nicer looking world for people to enjoy. I'm not looking to saturate everything with design but improve the look of things and make people happy.

I'm also very interested in promoting Canadian design and designers. That's very important to me and I've traveled to different parts of the world in order to do that and to share our talents with other countries in the world.

Business sense

Business skills are very important in my job. Unfortunately, graphic designers are not typically trained in business even though most designers I know are dealing with business issues everyday. Many times we learn these skills on the job.

I've learned a lot of that along the way. But a lot of it is my own initiative, reading and research. Maintaining a company that is profitable requires a lot of work. We don't have a lot of large clients and many of our clients are very cost conscious, so that translates into work that's not as lucrative as it could be or should be.

And so we have to be really good at business as well as design and creativity to survive.

Networking

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Networking is important as a business owner. I need to create a network of people who will understand what I do and I can connect with, who can put me in touch with other people who may need my skills. It's important to go out to business meetings and dinners and all of that kind of thing and when I'm out there, try to meet new people.

I'm looking to develop new relationships with people and sometimes just find out more about what's out there. Sometimes you meet people that you're never going to do business with; however, they can be very, very interesting people to help you and actually give you ideas or thoughts along the way. Meeting people is very, very important in my business."

Skills

Communication Skills

- active listening
- excellent written and oral communication
- ability to articulate abstract and creative concepts
- presentation and public speaking

Technical Skills

- advanced techniques in art and design
- concept development and creative thinking
- advanced computer and software knowledge
- website programming and construction
- reading, researching and documentation
- internet and wireless use

People Skills

- social networking
- persuasiveness and confidence
- being outgoing and friendly

Business Skills

- small business management
- securing funding and financing
- budgeting, accounting and payroll
- publicity, marketing and industry trend analysis

Career choices

I think I chose this career when I was drawing pictures as a child and just followed the path that got me here. Once I hit high school I started learning about this industry and that got me interested.

I didn't actually know anyone in the industry so I read a lot of interviews about people doing this kind of work. Eventually, I studied with teachers who were doing this work professionally so I learned more about the industry that way.

Art school

My High School education program included some commercial art, which is how I discovered a little bit more about this industry. From high school I went to the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and took their four year program.

As you go through the program you focus more and more tightly on a specific area of art and design. That's how you choose what want to go into and that's what I did.

There are some really good art schools here in Manitoba, both the Red River College and University of Manitoba have excellent design programs. Back in 1989 when I was a student, they just didn't have programs at that level.

Freelancing

I did freelance work right after college. I was mostly working for advertising agencies here in Winnipeg as well as in Toronto.

Through this experience I learned more and more business skills because I was essentially a one-man business.
Eventually I started to get in-house jobs as a graphic designer. That's where I learned to hone my skills, express my ideas and work with clients.

Sometimes only a few years are needed before you start your own company. Many people start their own companies very shortly after graduating from college or university. I had about four years of experience behind me before I started my company.

Early days

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"When we started I didn't have a computer. It cost me 14,000 $ for my first computer. I had to take out a big loan to do it. But I recognized that was the only way I was going to be successful at my business.

"I had gone through training and for almost three years we didn't touch computers at all. Suddenly we were expected to learn it all. There were no courses to teach us how to do it. We just had to learn it on our own. That tenacity has really helped fuel this company."

Wide-ranging personality

To be successful in this job you need a personality that is fairly wide-ranging. The most successful people are creative, out-going and excited about learning and having new experiences.

I used to be very introverted person. But I learned to be more out-going through this work.

Industry growth

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"The future of the graphic design industry looks very bright. We've seen a huge growth in this industry in the last five or six years. People are much more aware of what we do and what our job actually entails, which has been really good.

"There's been a huge influx of young people who are very interested in this line of business. Hopefully this all translates into better work and stronger people and strengthening the industry in the process."

Life and work goals

What I want most in life is to continue to enjoy what I do and have the freedom to be creative as well as spending with family and friends.

I would also like to create a positive working environment for a team of people who create wonderful and effective projects for our clients and build an even larger company.

Business skills

I would like to improve my business skills. That's definitely an area I learned on the job. I think I do a good job right now but I know I have a lot more to learn.

I'm also interested in other things like psychology and how that influences how people work and interact.

What we look for

Graphic arts employers are looking for people who are creative and technically proficient at their chosen field. Of course, creativity is the most important thing but you've got an added edge if you can back that up with technical skills.

On a more general level, you should be exploring everything about the world around you to develop your sensibility and your ability to generate ideas. You never know where your inspiration will come from so you have to take something from everything around you. Creativity requires constant ideas so you have to have many different sources of inspiration in order to be successful.

More time

One of the things I would change about this industry if I could is to build more time into what we do. A lot of people assume that it's possible to turn around really creative projects in an afternoon.

The reality is that it's very difficult to create anything truly brilliant in a short amount of time. The way to create great and lasting design is to build time into creative projects.

Job market info

The links below take you to federal and regional government information on employment, education, salary ranges and long range prospects for this career.

As co-owner and co-founder of the company, the official title for Chris' occupation is Advertising Agency - President and its NOC* code is 0013. However, the majority of his time is spent working as the Creative Director, NOC 0611.

Manitoba Job Futures (Advertising Director - NOC 0611)

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (Senior Manager - NOC 0013)

Who Hires? - Manitoba Labour Market Information (NOC 0611) 

Who Hires? - Manitoba Labour Market Information (NOC 0013) 

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the ‘National Occupational Classification' code or 'NOC'.

Education

High School

Useful High School Subjects:*

- Visual Arts
- Graphic Design
- Computer-related courses
- English (Communication)
- Accounting
- Marketing
- Math

*Source: JobFutures.ca

MindSet - New Media Master Classes
MindSet has partnered with the new media industry in Manitoba to develop over 100 young people. High school students submit samples from their new media portfolio to be judged by new media professionals who choose the most promising talents for 4-6 sessions with outstanding Manitoba professionals in new media. The program is run in Winnipeg, Brandon and locations in Northern Manitoba"

For those out of school, Adult Learning Centres can help you get or upgrade your high school diploma, including adding subjects that are required for work or further education. All Manitobans are normally entitled to 4 free courses.

After High School

Red River College

Creative Arts Department

Graphic Design Department

Digital Multimedia Technology

Business Administration

University of Manitoba

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Studio Degree or Art History) and Fine Arts Diploma

Winnipeg Technical College

Production Art

Assiniboine Community College

Media Production

Skills

Small Business Owner 

The most important Essential Skills* for Small Business Owner/Operators are:

- Oral communication
- Problem solving
- Decision making
- Job task planning and organizing
- Significant use of memory
- Finding information
- Working with others

*For more information on Essential Skills and their importance to this occupation, go to Essential Skills NOC 0013.

Creative Director 

Useful experience and skills for a career as an Advertising Director and related occupations are:

- Leadership
- Business management
- Entrepreneurship skills
- Communication skills

Source: Job Futures.ca

There is not yet an Essential Skills* profile for this occupation.

*For more information on Essential Skills and their importance, go to the Essential Skills web site.

Professional resources

New Media Manitoba
Dedicated to providing networking, resources and training opportunities for Manitobans in Graphic Arts, New Media and Video Industry and provides a space for new media professionals to discuss issues that are relevant to their areas of specialty and the industry in general

Manitoba Interactive Digital Media Association (MIDMA)
A professional association devoted to promoting the objectives of Manitoba's digital media industry and media producers

Manitoba Innovation Framework-Culture and New Media
A summary of the Manitoba government's commitment to cultural and new media development strategies

Advertising Association of Winnipeg
An organization providing networking, professional development and educational opportunities for Manitoba professionals in the advertising industry

Society of Graphic Designers of Canada
A national organization providing advocacy and resources for graphic designers

Sign Association of Canada - Manitoba Chapter
A national organization promoting and furthering professionals who use design and manufacture commercial images.

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