Expert: Sean Trapani - 12/22/2008

Question
Hello Mr. Trapani.  My name is Maureen and I am fifteen years old.  I have been creative and artistic since a very young age, and I am considering pursuing a career in advertising/communications.  I am starting to look into schools and I was wondering if you had any suggestions.  Also, what is the school you are a professor at?  If you could give me any suggestions, that would be wonderful. Thank you.

Answer
Hi, Maureen


You have a lot of options. There are several good ad schools in the country. The ones that get a lot of attention include the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA; the University of Texas at Austin; the University of Virginia's Brand Center; and, my school, SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design).

I'd encourage you to check into all of these schools and compare their offerings, student work, graduate placements and area of focus - and then compare that to your own interest areas.

I'll let the other schools "speak" for themselves. But the focus of SCADs advertising design program is to prepare visual communicators for the world of advertising (as opposed to the writers, which is an equally important area). What makes us different is our students' ability to collaborate with several other students from outside the advertising major - such as interior design, illustration, film, etc. - which gives them a unique perspective on solving communication problems. We do teach courses in copywriting, of course. But we gear them toward what an art director needs to know to be successful in the field.

The main thing, if I were you, to look at is the school's emphasis on helping you to create a good portfolio. I suggest you pick up the January issue of 'CMYK' magazine, which features a lot of student work from around the country.

Best of luck,

ST