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Don't Get a Job… Make a Job: How to Make it as a Creative Gradute
Too often a design or architecture degree is seen as a means to an end (a job in an established practice). But imagine for one moment that there are no employers, no firms to send your resumé to, no interviews to be had—what would you do? How would you forge your own path after graduation?
The current economic climate has seen many graduates chasing a finite number of positions. The most ingenious and driven designers have found weird and wonderful ways of making opportunities for themselves, often by applying their skills across the creative disciplines of art, design, architecture, and interiors. Knowing what you want from your design career and being able to adapt your strategy to suit is basic and vital—just like in the wild, designers need to evolve.
The book celebrates the various strategies that students and graduates are taking to gain exposure, while also including interviews and inspirational advice from those who are now enjoying success as a result of their creative approach to employment.
The current economic climate has seen many graduates chasing a finite number of positions. The most ingenious and driven designers have found weird and wonderful ways of making opportunities for themselves, often by applying their skills across the creative disciplines of art, design, architecture, and interiors. Knowing what you want from your design career and being able to adapt your strategy to suit is basic and vital—just like in the wild, designers need to evolve.
The book celebrates the various strategies that students and graduates are taking to gain exposure, while also including interviews and inspirational advice from those who are now enjoying success as a result of their creative approach to employment.
144 pages, Paperback
First published April 12, 2016
68 people are currently reading
999 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
March 29, 2017
Wasn't as helpful as I wanted it to be.
December 24, 2020
Encouraging and inspiring, but lacking in practical and actionable advice. Use this book as a springboard, not a blueprint. I would love to see a covid-era book on the same subject.
July 5, 2021
Two years ago, on the day I quit my job, I walked through the city with tears in my eyes - I had no sense of direction; no clue on where to take my career next. I dreamt of being self-employed one day but had no plans of doing so yet. I stumbled into a bookshop and roamed around looking for a distraction, when this little book popped out and caught my attention. Someone had accidentally placed it in the wrong section - and thanks to their mistake, I discovered this gem of a book.
I do believe in signs, and this was one of them - having instigated me to open my own business on that very day. But it isn't simply fate that made me rate this book highly; every success story in it is deeply inspiring for anyone who is just starting out. There is also some valuable advice, but the real reason I would recommend this book is because if you find yourself lost and confused as I did, the pages of this book will motivate you to give your dreams a go.
I do believe in signs, and this was one of them - having instigated me to open my own business on that very day. But it isn't simply fate that made me rate this book highly; every success story in it is deeply inspiring for anyone who is just starting out. There is also some valuable advice, but the real reason I would recommend this book is because if you find yourself lost and confused as I did, the pages of this book will motivate you to give your dreams a go.
December 21, 2018
Don’t Get a Job…Make a Job is a collection of designers’ experiences of working for themselves immediately, or almost immediately after graduating or dropping out of college. Curated by Gem Barton, this book is structured to provide a multitude of different types of advice to aspiring design entrepreneurs. Sections are broken down into different categories of advice such as propaganda (self-promotion), going mobile (working outside of a studio), specialism vs. diversity (jack of all trades or master of one), tough calls (making decisions), going it alone vs. teaming up (collaboration), and gusto (that extra oomph that’ll get you noticed and make you memorable). The content of this book is meant to be innovative and groundbreaking to show readers how the working world is being challenged and changed as new designers begin to work for themselves in order to achieve the job they want that does not exist. Although none of these tactics are to be stolen or copied, they are here to show readers the scope of how innovative one can be.
When I first picked up this book a year ago while I was a senior in undergrad, I thought this book was going to change my life. I read it as soon as I could, and I fell in love with it. The book is not too long so it was a fast read, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the advice that was presented. The book is designed well with its three column grid, tight typographic hierarchy, and solid layout, making it an aesthetically enjoyable read. And, there’s a reasonable range of advice and number of designer profiles.
But, as I reread this book post-graduation and while I’m beginning to freelance, I’ve come to realize that the advice is nothing new. It’s all stuff I’ve heard before, and reading this book only serves as a refresher. The advice in this book includes things like, “Put yourself out there, don’t run before you can walk, exploit your interests, and create positive change”. This is advice that I’ve heard throughout my education and from reading other books like, How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul, I Used to Be a Design Student, and Know Your Onions.
Another flaw with this book is it primarily focuses on designers who lost their jobs during the recession of 2008 and in the economic downturn of 2012. Although it shows the reality of needing to be creative during tough economic times when jobs are sparse, it loses the notion of creating the job you want. The designers featured weren’t creating a job that has never existed in their fields before, but rather, they were creating jobs that existed, but not at that moment because jobs were scarce. Then it follows some different creative ways in which these designers made those jobs, like offering free architecture consulting on the street, or creating a mobile architecture studio in an ice-cream truck, or turning an architect’s resume and CV into a foldout poster. The book featured different tactics and not new, innovative careers that disrupted any markets.
That leads to another issue with this book: half of the designers featured are architects (or define at least one of their careers as architecture). It’s understood that architects probably had one of the toughest outcomes during the recession, but that doesn’t mean that other creatives in other design fields didn’t have it rough as well. If there were to be a large focus on architects in this book, then that should have been stated in the description from the get-go, or the book could have solely focused on that field. It’s frustrating because there are only one or two examples of other fields such as graphic design, illustration, editorial, fashion design, and makers/industrial/furniture. It’s just not an accurate depiction of the design world. It was also a little difficult because almost every design profile wasn’t labelled as being a part of one design field, but rather, a part of a motley of them.
Oddly enough, this was the best part of this book. It solidified and nailed the concept that one of the best ways to break free from the traditional realm of design work is the need of taking on different roles instead of being specialized in just one thing. Graphic designers should also be interactive designers and industrial designers. Architects should know how to build furniture and how to lay out a book. Fashion designers should also be consultants and pattern designers. There were no limits to what these designers could and should do in order to differentiate themselves from their competition.
The book then ends with a manifesto about how design schools should educate their students and prepare them for the industry they are about to enter by consistently reevaluating the assigned projects, partnering with industry sponsors and real brands, and teaching critiquing etiquette. The manifesto also mentions that business courses are not necessary for designers to break out into entrepreneurs after graduation, because like the designers mentioned in the book, they didn’t need business classes to become successful entrepreneurs. Which is odd because designers should learn some type of basic business practice while still in school. Whether it be marketing, management, investing, etc. this knowledge expands their field. Whether or not students use that business experience to craft their own business does not matter because they can use that information in any job they pursue after graduation. The manifesto also ends with stating that schools should not focus on trying to emphasize the importance of striving for innovation because that is the best way to eliminate all prospects of students creating innovating things. I wholeheartedly agree with this point. As a student who went to one of these schools that promote the importance of innovation, I can say that when innovation is promoted more than usability and contextuality, then the project loses its value and significance. This is because the target audience is put second to the project, which inevitably, creates a project that is useless.
I will rarely ever advise to never buy or read a book, because every book is valuable to someone, and just because I don’t enjoy a book does not mean someone else will. That being said, I do think Don’t Get a Job…Make a Job is a good book, especially for someone who is still in school and wants to read a primer on some good advice on working for oneself post-graduation. But, if you’ve graduated and are already working for yourself, or if you are enrolled in a program where you are proactive, then I think the information in this book will be redundant. I think the better option would be to go towards a book that is more catered to your field of design that can offer more accurate information about freelancing. Simply because freelancing, creating a studio, and building a reputation work differently according to each field of design. Although the principles may be the same, the tactics sure aren’t. Like I mentioned previously, the first time I read this book, I loved it. And I loved it up to the point where I reread it, so you never know, this might be the book that is perfect for you.
When I first picked up this book a year ago while I was a senior in undergrad, I thought this book was going to change my life. I read it as soon as I could, and I fell in love with it. The book is not too long so it was a fast read, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the advice that was presented. The book is designed well with its three column grid, tight typographic hierarchy, and solid layout, making it an aesthetically enjoyable read. And, there’s a reasonable range of advice and number of designer profiles.
But, as I reread this book post-graduation and while I’m beginning to freelance, I’ve come to realize that the advice is nothing new. It’s all stuff I’ve heard before, and reading this book only serves as a refresher. The advice in this book includes things like, “Put yourself out there, don’t run before you can walk, exploit your interests, and create positive change”. This is advice that I’ve heard throughout my education and from reading other books like, How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul, I Used to Be a Design Student, and Know Your Onions.
Another flaw with this book is it primarily focuses on designers who lost their jobs during the recession of 2008 and in the economic downturn of 2012. Although it shows the reality of needing to be creative during tough economic times when jobs are sparse, it loses the notion of creating the job you want. The designers featured weren’t creating a job that has never existed in their fields before, but rather, they were creating jobs that existed, but not at that moment because jobs were scarce. Then it follows some different creative ways in which these designers made those jobs, like offering free architecture consulting on the street, or creating a mobile architecture studio in an ice-cream truck, or turning an architect’s resume and CV into a foldout poster. The book featured different tactics and not new, innovative careers that disrupted any markets.
That leads to another issue with this book: half of the designers featured are architects (or define at least one of their careers as architecture). It’s understood that architects probably had one of the toughest outcomes during the recession, but that doesn’t mean that other creatives in other design fields didn’t have it rough as well. If there were to be a large focus on architects in this book, then that should have been stated in the description from the get-go, or the book could have solely focused on that field. It’s frustrating because there are only one or two examples of other fields such as graphic design, illustration, editorial, fashion design, and makers/industrial/furniture. It’s just not an accurate depiction of the design world. It was also a little difficult because almost every design profile wasn’t labelled as being a part of one design field, but rather, a part of a motley of them.
Oddly enough, this was the best part of this book. It solidified and nailed the concept that one of the best ways to break free from the traditional realm of design work is the need of taking on different roles instead of being specialized in just one thing. Graphic designers should also be interactive designers and industrial designers. Architects should know how to build furniture and how to lay out a book. Fashion designers should also be consultants and pattern designers. There were no limits to what these designers could and should do in order to differentiate themselves from their competition.
The book then ends with a manifesto about how design schools should educate their students and prepare them for the industry they are about to enter by consistently reevaluating the assigned projects, partnering with industry sponsors and real brands, and teaching critiquing etiquette. The manifesto also mentions that business courses are not necessary for designers to break out into entrepreneurs after graduation, because like the designers mentioned in the book, they didn’t need business classes to become successful entrepreneurs. Which is odd because designers should learn some type of basic business practice while still in school. Whether it be marketing, management, investing, etc. this knowledge expands their field. Whether or not students use that business experience to craft their own business does not matter because they can use that information in any job they pursue after graduation. The manifesto also ends with stating that schools should not focus on trying to emphasize the importance of striving for innovation because that is the best way to eliminate all prospects of students creating innovating things. I wholeheartedly agree with this point. As a student who went to one of these schools that promote the importance of innovation, I can say that when innovation is promoted more than usability and contextuality, then the project loses its value and significance. This is because the target audience is put second to the project, which inevitably, creates a project that is useless.
I will rarely ever advise to never buy or read a book, because every book is valuable to someone, and just because I don’t enjoy a book does not mean someone else will. That being said, I do think Don’t Get a Job…Make a Job is a good book, especially for someone who is still in school and wants to read a primer on some good advice on working for oneself post-graduation. But, if you’ve graduated and are already working for yourself, or if you are enrolled in a program where you are proactive, then I think the information in this book will be redundant. I think the better option would be to go towards a book that is more catered to your field of design that can offer more accurate information about freelancing. Simply because freelancing, creating a studio, and building a reputation work differently according to each field of design. Although the principles may be the same, the tactics sure aren’t. Like I mentioned previously, the first time I read this book, I loved it. And I loved it up to the point where I reread it, so you never know, this might be the book that is perfect for you.
April 8, 2020
3.5/5
Found myself inspired throughout!
“Time is something that, if wasted, you can never win back, so I increasingly try to spend it wisely, productively, and happily.”
“You have to know yourself really well in order to understand what is best for your well-being or desired state of mind”
“As long as you are honest with yourself and believe in what you’re doing then you can find your career path”
“You can’t count on money to encourage you to get up in the morning”
Found myself inspired throughout!
“Time is something that, if wasted, you can never win back, so I increasingly try to spend it wisely, productively, and happily.”
“You have to know yourself really well in order to understand what is best for your well-being or desired state of mind”
“As long as you are honest with yourself and believe in what you’re doing then you can find your career path”
“You can’t count on money to encourage you to get up in the morning”
June 26, 2016
A somewhat incohesive collection of interviews and viewpoints from studios and initiatives that operate within the mindset of "do your own thing." The writing and formatting of the book was unable to demonstrate the valuable lessons and perspective that's should be gleaned from these creative practitioners.
December 22, 2024
I think that you can become too reliant upon what the art world offers you and forget that you are as much an active component of it as its funding bodies.
///
We once had reason to ask different creative people why they liked to break convention. Stephen Fry replied, "To prove that it exists".
—-
Nicely layed out but is missing more women designers and a broader range of examples that tie in with practical advice. As a post-Covid recession graduate, it doesn’t include anything I haven’t heard before.
///
We once had reason to ask different creative people why they liked to break convention. Stephen Fry replied, "To prove that it exists".
—-
Nicely layed out but is missing more women designers and a broader range of examples that tie in with practical advice. As a post-Covid recession graduate, it doesn’t include anything I haven’t heard before.
September 14, 2024
A little repetitive after a few stories
December 29, 2024
Very inspirational book for anyone who feels they're not ordinary or don't feel they match the typical societal pressure to do live as told. The greatest takeaways are: be yourself, go get what you want, never give up. Love it!!
September 15, 2020
My expectations for this book were to learn and question possible paths to take in order to build a career in the creative field. As a recent graduate in graphic design, I hoped for an overview of the market of design and art in general, but the book mostly focused on the architecture field. Nevertheless, the professionals or "case studies" in the book were inspiring, providing valuable tips for an autonomous professional life in the arts. Still, many of them stated similar things, such as the importance of "doing what you love" or "being true to yourself". Although these clichés are partly vague and come from commonplace advice, they appear to be universal truths to creative people. Statements in this fashion are suited for people working in touch with their creativity. Some subjects could have been approached more deeply, such as the practicalities of the "hows" instead of so many personal anecdotes that are strictly personal and subjective.
Altogether, the book is fairly insightful, eyeopening and stimulating for students and graduates. It describes a wide variety of experiences and the immense number of possibilities to create a fulfilling, multi-faceted career in the creative world. It demonstrates the important factors to take into consideration when making life-changing decisions, at the same time motivating the reader to reflect upon what is best for them, rather than to repeat successful steps of others. The author mentions that the book is not a "how to", but still I missed a bit more direction in some sections of the text. My final rating for Don't Get a Job… Make a Job: How to Make it as a Creative Graduate would lie in between 3.0 - 3.5 for the fact that it was at times too focused on extraneous information, at the same time that it was a smooth reading with interesting stories and ideas.
Altogether, the book is fairly insightful, eyeopening and stimulating for students and graduates. It describes a wide variety of experiences and the immense number of possibilities to create a fulfilling, multi-faceted career in the creative world. It demonstrates the important factors to take into consideration when making life-changing decisions, at the same time motivating the reader to reflect upon what is best for them, rather than to repeat successful steps of others. The author mentions that the book is not a "how to", but still I missed a bit more direction in some sections of the text. My final rating for Don't Get a Job… Make a Job: How to Make it as a Creative Graduate would lie in between 3.0 - 3.5 for the fact that it was at times too focused on extraneous information, at the same time that it was a smooth reading with interesting stories and ideas.
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December 14, 2023good little think piece for any designer. very male-centric though, disappointing in a book about innovation but nice examples of doing things differently
May 11, 2017
I was hoping the jobs that people took would be a little more diverse. This book focuses almost completely on people with design, art and architecture degrees. A lot of the advice can be abstracted to other creative professions, but I would have liked to see more diversity in the people interviewed.
January 21, 2024
I was gifted this book after a tough year of layoffs in the games and animation industries - how nice, but it's short, maybe it has something different or useful in terms of advice, and from a quick flipthrough it seemed like it would include interviews from a variety of disciplines. I was wrong.
This book is a series of short interviews of artist and designers who approached freelancing or entrepreneurship in a variety of ways, followed by a short paragraph of what advice they'd give to someone else. Sounds great right? Too bad the majority of the people interviewed are either an architect or a fine artist: and a majority of the stories very, very clearly had a hard underline of wealth and nepotism with zero footing in reality. The advice from these stories was predictably cliche: "follow your dreams", "do what you love", an entire chapter on specializing that can't actually compare or contrast being a generalist vs a specialist and claims being a generalist is better followed by a chapter of stories saying otherwise with or without reading between the lines.
The very few who had actually good advice very clearly were people who went off the beaten path out of failure and/or financial uncertainty, not boredom or inability to research their chosen field before going off to school, I only wish that those few had a better interviewer and the entire book to themselves.
Not quite in the same category but I also noticed that a lot of the less than helpful interviews were from people who got their start a decade or more ago - with an exception to a few who graduated in 2008 or so. The world was a very different place in 1999 or 2006, it was even dramatically different in 2012! I'm sure some of these people have actually helpful advice and interesting stories, but need a better interviewer or to be included only for an entirely different topic. The amalgamation of who was chosen really feels like it was chosen by a web designer who doesn't understand the medium is the message who was told in the 13th hour to make an inspirational book about artists and designers who made it in non-traditional ways.....but that person knows nothing about the art and design world's themselves, and has no ability to discern grit from luck or reality from fantasy.
This book is a series of short interviews of artist and designers who approached freelancing or entrepreneurship in a variety of ways, followed by a short paragraph of what advice they'd give to someone else. Sounds great right? Too bad the majority of the people interviewed are either an architect or a fine artist: and a majority of the stories very, very clearly had a hard underline of wealth and nepotism with zero footing in reality. The advice from these stories was predictably cliche: "follow your dreams", "do what you love", an entire chapter on specializing that can't actually compare or contrast being a generalist vs a specialist and claims being a generalist is better followed by a chapter of stories saying otherwise with or without reading between the lines.
The very few who had actually good advice very clearly were people who went off the beaten path out of failure and/or financial uncertainty, not boredom or inability to research their chosen field before going off to school, I only wish that those few had a better interviewer and the entire book to themselves.
Not quite in the same category but I also noticed that a lot of the less than helpful interviews were from people who got their start a decade or more ago - with an exception to a few who graduated in 2008 or so. The world was a very different place in 1999 or 2006, it was even dramatically different in 2012! I'm sure some of these people have actually helpful advice and interesting stories, but need a better interviewer or to be included only for an entirely different topic. The amalgamation of who was chosen really feels like it was chosen by a web designer who doesn't understand the medium is the message who was told in the 13th hour to make an inspirational book about artists and designers who made it in non-traditional ways.....but that person knows nothing about the art and design world's themselves, and has no ability to discern grit from luck or reality from fantasy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2017
I picked up this little book in a quirky design store back in Dublin. It highlights case studies from around the world; along with photos of key projects and interviews with creative professionals. There were case studies that spoke to me more than others; in general I found that the book focused on architecture graduates more so then design, however there was still a similar take-away in terms of advice and inspiration. I would love to find a similar book that more prominently highlights graphic designers in the creative field.
January 2, 2020
El libro tiene varios ejemplo de emprendimiento, surgidos, como no, de la necesidad no estar donde nos quieren de no encontrar lo que uno busca de no tener lo que no se encuentra, necesidades pues que son madres dela creatividad. Casi todo los ejemplos en un escenario anglosajón (Estados unidos y Reino unido principalmente) pero que no es ajeno al escenario global de caracterización del trabajo y más aún del trabajo creativo. Para tomar los ejemplos y estrategias que funcionen en latitudes sudamericanas y desechar el resto.
January 23, 2017
I still think it was great to have this book found after I quitted my corporate architect job after 5 years(2 months ago) to pursue my own agenda. So stories in this book really connect to me well, especially most of them came from architecture background including the writer herself. It is a book collected well articulated individual creative who decided to get out from the norm and be the master of their destiny.
August 23, 2019
Para emprendedores. Sin dudas.
Son entrevistas de diferentes rubros, diferentes paises, diferentes maneras de comenzar - o hacer una salida progresiva de una corporación - hacia la vida freelancer o independiente.
Fácil lectura, y muy inspirador ver tantas emprendimientos tomar curso por cuenta propia si tan sólo se organiza un buen plan a seguir y se tiene mucho empuje.
En ningún momento dice que es fácil! Just in case you were wondering..
Son entrevistas de diferentes rubros, diferentes paises, diferentes maneras de comenzar - o hacer una salida progresiva de una corporación - hacia la vida freelancer o independiente.
Fácil lectura, y muy inspirador ver tantas emprendimientos tomar curso por cuenta propia si tan sólo se organiza un buen plan a seguir y se tiene mucho empuje.
En ningún momento dice que es fácil! Just in case you were wondering..
May 17, 2020
An inspiring handbook for an aspiring creative.
However, a distinct under representation of successful female creatives. A narrative of success spun around young men with females only highlighted within collective organisations. Disappointing considering over 60% of creative students identify as female.
However, a distinct under representation of successful female creatives. A narrative of success spun around young men with females only highlighted within collective organisations. Disappointing considering over 60% of creative students identify as female.
August 24, 2021
I don't often tread into the non-fiction genre but something like this is an exception and indeed exceptional in itself. Barton has expertly drafted together numerous wise voices, voices that inspire with great humility leaving me feeling like my artistic goals can be met. These people feel real and human not to mention intriguing. What a book!
October 13, 2021
I really like the premise of this book.
The front cover touched on so many things that I have to consider as a freelance writer. However, I did not read the whole book as I could see that it was aimed more at architects. I am a creative and I am a graduate but I am not a 'creative graduate' by this definition.
Spotted this book in Dublin too! 4 Temple Bar Street.
The front cover touched on so many things that I have to consider as a freelance writer. However, I did not read the whole book as I could see that it was aimed more at architects. I am a creative and I am a graduate but I am not a 'creative graduate' by this definition.
Spotted this book in Dublin too! 4 Temple Bar Street.
October 24, 2020
Un libro que hace rato había comprado y hasta ahora lo volví y terminé de leer. Es suprema mente interesante y muy inspirador para aquellos que estamos en el negocio y la industria creativa y del diseño. Recomendado si eres freeelance o estudiante de estas áreas.
September 23, 2024
Some interesting case studies, but generally the perspectives felt very male-dominated. I’d like to see a newer edition of this book written in the post-pandemic world that includes more diverse perspectives on the creative industry.
May 8, 2017
good insights and strategies for designers trying to make it in the world of business and art/design.
December 16, 2019
Really great advice for anyone trying to carve out a career. Its focused on the creative industry but a lot of the tips can be applied to anyone in any field, especially freelancers.
June 23, 2020
Really short interviews
March 17, 2022
Amazing read!
March 20, 2022
No fue lo que yo esperaba, pero una buena dosis de inspiración nunca viene mal 👍💕
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February 28, 2023Don't Get a Job… Make a Job: How to Make it as a Creative Gradute (in the fields of Design, Fashion, Architecture, Advertising and more) by Gemma Barton (2016)
September 29, 2024
Don't know if it's very helpful for brand new students finishing uni. Wasn't that helpful for me. Can see how someone already in a job could use this as an inspiration though.
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