A Day in the Life: Head of Creative

Sitting in the middle of agencies, trade desks, publishers and advertisers, as an ad sales house we occupy a near-unique position in the media landscape.  Our relationships with each of these businesses depends on the range of roles and skills that they require from us and reflects the wide variety of career paths available in the media industry. Over the coming weeks several members of Venatus will share their professional insights, beginning with John, the head of our creative studio.

What did you want to do when you were a child?

I always wanted to be an architect, I was fascinated by the intricacy of building plans / design.

What made you decide to pursue graphic design?

I never had the patience for an architectural project’s duration, and discovered that design let me implement the same thought processes on a much shorter timescale, as well as having more freedom to create things which aren’t burdened by as many regulations!

What did you do before joining Venatus?

Before I joined Venatus in 2014 I was at Metro working with the sales and marketing teams, and prior to Metro I worked for DMG Media art working for The Daily Mail.

Did you need any training?

Most roles I pursued required a BA Hons degree in Graphic Design or something similar. A solid understanding of Adobe Creative Suite was a must for my development. Having said that, along with most other creatives, I don’t know the software inside out. Which is nice as that means there is always room to learn new things.

Please describe a typical day in your role:

On a regular day I spend about 40% of my time developing and producing ideas for the sales team to assist with proposals and briefs from our clients. Another 40% is dedicated to creating live ads and rich media campaigns for our clients, and 20% is working on long lead ideas such as one pagers and marketing collateral for the team.

What do you like best about being Head of Creative?

I enjoy that no day is ever the same. I love the fact that I get to work with so many different brands on so many different ideas with a solid team around me.

What is the best piece of professional advice you have ever been given?

That came from my Dad. He has always told me that I should choose a career I would be happy waking up for in the morning. I think enjoying what you do is hugely important to get by and do well as it makes you go the extra mile.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to enter your profession?

You can’t look at design as a 9 to 5 job. You’ve got to live and breathe what you do. I don’t think you can thrive in a design capacity if you’re not going home and picking up a pet project, illustrating, creating, or honing your talents away from the office.  The design world is always changing which means you do too.

If you are interested in joining Venatus please visit www.venatusmedia.com/careers