Transitioning from the VCU Brandcenter to my current job was a bit strange, although I felt extremely prepared for it because of the program’s rigor and my internship at McKinney. Not only did I gain technical skills at the Brandcenter, but I felt I grew so much as a person. I am prepared to deal with challenges in the work place, and I sometimes wonder if I would have been able to hack it if it weren’t for Brandcenter training.
Prior to the Brandcenter, I had never worked for an agency. This is why my internship in between the first and second year of the Brandcenter program was so valuable. I got a glimpse into how production works. This is essential because, if you’re doing your job right you will be selling work. If you sell your work, you’re rarely going to be the one making every piece of it. Some of it, yes. Most, no.
The skills gained at the Brandcenter (that Professor Wayne Gibson will be telling you to learn) will be best for pitching work to clients and getting your ideas sold. Don’t be afraid to pull out all different your skills for this, people WILL be impressed, because few people will be expecting you to whip out a brand manifesto video or some killer mock-up unprovoked. Listen to Wayne and learn as many programs as you can so you can understand how they work, what the terminology is, and know how to ask for things to be changed. I have found that even knowing what questions to ask will give you a head start in everything.
If you do your job well, you’re going to be spending a lot time producing the work that gets bought.
-Rachel Sheeran, Art Director at Rokkan, art direction track, class of 2016