Media, Design and Creative Career Guide

The media, design and creative industry plans, creates and delivers media content for companies and organisations. People who work in this sector enjoy using technical skills and imagination to bring concepts to life.

Potential Roles in Media, Design and Creative

Media, design and creative jobs are often in agencies, where teams come together to collaborate on large projects for organisations. Alternatively, creatives can work freelance or in-house for media companies, including broadcasting corporations, the printing press or radio.

This guide focuses on three roles in the media, design and creative industry: media planners, graphic designers and creative directors.

Media Planners evaluate and plan the most suitable types of media for advertising campaigns, including TV, radio, digital and billboards. Media planner jobs involve working within a team, analysing data to make decisions, and communicating ideas with clients and colleagues.

Graphic Designers use software to create graphics, images and illustrations for branding and marketing purposes. Graphic design jobs require experience in using programmes like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Creative Directors oversee brand development and strategy and manage a team of creatives who work on projects. Creative director jobs exist in almost any sector.

Salary and Career Progression

There is a vast range of jobs available in media, design and creative industries, with a broad scope of salaries and potential for career progression.

Media planner jobs span from mid-level to senior positions, with the potential to lead a team or contribute to brand strategy. Typical salaries range from £20,000 to £35,000.

Graphic designers can start in an entry-level position and work up to senior positions, leading a team or managing large design projects. Salaries range from around £18,000 for junior staff to £45,000 and above with experience.

Creative directors work in a senior position, often overseeing a large team. Salaries are very attractive, often exceeding £75,000. Larger companies or agencies may offer some scope to progress into a C-Suite or executive role, such as Chief Creative Officer, which can attract salaries of £200,000+.

Qualifications, Education and Experience

Media planners often (but not always) need a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject, as well as:

• Experience working with different types of media, e.g. TV, social networks, digital billboards and more.
• Knowledge of media industry tools, such as BARB or Infosys
• A Master’s degree in a relevant subject (may be advantageous for some roles)

Graphic designers benefit from the following:

• Fluency in using graphic design software, like Adobe Suite
• Several years’ experience for senior positions
• A Bachelor’s degree or A’ Level in graphic design can be advantageous

Academic qualifications are not always necessary to embark on a career in graphic design. However, you may benefit from a Bachelor’s degree in a design subject if you want to progress to more senior roles.

Creative directors are valued for their extensive experience more than for academic achievements. However, many do hold a Bachelor’s degree in a creative subject, like graphic design, fine art or marketing.

In addition, creative directors may also need:

• Several years of experience in the industry (some jobs demand 5-10 years minimum)
• Knowledge of relevant software, such as Adobe Creative Cloud and Figma
• Experience in a particular sector or delivering specific types of campaigns
• A Master’s degree in a relevant subject to stand out from the competition
• An understanding of all the departments that come together to deliver a project

Skills

Media planners need hard and soft skills to carry out the technical aspects of their role and manage a team. Media planners must have:

• The ability to work well in a team
• Good communication skills to work with other teams of professionals
• A positive attitude and willingness to take on a challenge
• Motivation and drive
• A good eye for detail
• Technical skills using relevant software (can differ between employer and job role)
• Presentation skills to showcase their ideas and results to clients
• Analytical skills
• Good with numbers and able to read and understand metrics and KPIs

Graphic designers need the following skills:

• Good organisation and the ability to meet deadlines
• Technical design skills
• Creativity
• A good eye for design
• A willingness to learn and stay up to date with trends
• Good communication skills to liaise with team members and clients

Creative directors have often worked for multiple companies in different capacities. As a result, they have a good understanding of how each speciality contributes to the creative process and can manage a team of more junior staff. Creative directors must have:

• Pitching skills to help bring in new clients
• Good communication with team members, senior colleagues and clients
• Leadership qualities and good management skills
• Creativity and innovative thinking
• Enthusiasm and passion for their work
• Practical skills to support their team with elements of planning, design and creation of media
• Strong analytical skills

Working Hours

People in media, design and creative roles typically work office hours of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. However, if you work for a larger agency or organisation, there may be times when a project or campaign requires you to work outside of these hours, for example, a night-time photo shoot or presentation to clients in another time zone.

In senior positions, including that of creative director, you are expected to do whatever it takes to meet a project deadline, including working evenings and weekends.

Notable Locations

Media, design and creative companies are typically based in cities. London has a thriving creative community, from large broadcasting corporations, including the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, all the way down to individual freelancers.

Manchester also has an impressive creative media scene. Europe’s biggest digital media centre, MediaCityUK, is located in Salford and hosts companies including the BBC, ITV, Kellogg’s and The Hut Group. It is also a hive of training and development with digital and media courses for young people from UTC creative college and The University of Salford.

Other major UK cities also offer opportunities for work in the media, design and creative fields, including Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol.

Notable Companies

Media planners, graphic designers and creative directors can work in the same fields, often for the same employers. Notable employers include:

• We are social – a creative agency based in London, working with brands including LEGO, Vodafone and Adidas.
• MEDIA ZOO – a creative communications company with UK sites in London and Glasgow.
• BBC, ITV and other TV broadcasting organisations.
• Major Players – Global digital marketing agency with offices in London, Amsterdam and Berlin.
• Aire Global Ltd – a design agency that works with Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brands, including Pringles, Kellogg’s and Budweiser. Located at MediaCityUK, Salford,

Next Steps

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