By Chris Medford

Art Director for hire.

Recently I have been trying to find my place in the universe. Over the past year I have been looking over my life with a fine-tooth comb and picking out all the things that have been making me unhappy. The truth is that making such drastic changes are not as easy as saying they need to be done but require creative solutions due to the issues being more complex, or delicate with severe consequences.

Growing up in a non-creative household came with its set of challenges but taught me lessons in resilience. Being able to stick at something, even though people doubt you and your abilities has become a handy tool while applying for and eventually studying at SCA. 

I always thought a job that I could find joy in was unattainable for me. If I was to attain anything like that it would have be entrepreneurial, but coming to this school has actually been my biggest step towards doing finding personal happiness.

After discovering the role of Art Director, I realised that it is the place I belong within the universe, for I have found a source of happiness within creating and being creative, thinking outside the box as well as developing entrepreneurial revenues. For these reasons alone I know that I need to achieve it by any means necessary.

From an early age I always drew pictures to summarise the thoughts I had, and from my teens developed it more drawing on the walls. And now I have found the profession that allows me to do this to a level I couldn’t have even comprehended. Just the freedom to think of ideas and to create things to influence a change in mass opinion just sounds too good to be true.

Even now, as I am learning to think strategically about my creativity, having my creative muscles stressed beyond imagination day in and day out – even as I struggle to write 500 words as a person with little belief in my ability to write, I cannot help but appreciate how much happier I am about what I actually do with my time then I ever have been before.

Whenever I go somewhere new or meet up with old friends and they ask what I am up to, I no longer cringe inside, having to explain a boring, mind-numbing job that I know and they know is killing me inside. I finally feel like I’m on the right track and although I do have tough days, feeling like a creative fraud or becoming frustrated with the creative process, I know that I am well on the way to the happiest I have ever been and all the stress and anxiety will be worth it for the day I can turn to someone and say, “I’m an Art Director at (insert agency name here)”.