AboutSean Trapani Expertise I am a professor of advertising at the nation's largest art and design school. I teach general advertising courses, copywriting and brand theory.
Experience I have 15+ years ad agency experience as a copywriter and creative director. My experience covers general agency work, such as consumer print and broadcast, as well as specialized communications such as directory advertising, recruitment advertising and employee communications. My work has received dozens of awards, including ADDYs, Silver Microphones, Tellys and others.
I recently graduated form Pennsylvania State University with an Advertising degree. For starters, the fact that my diploma says Advertising/Public Relations gives way to the fact that PSU did not do too much focal work on advertising alone. The work that was completed however, did reassure me that this is what I want to do with my life. I am a VERY creative mind and have a way with words. I can drop slogans very quickly and/or tell you what an ad should have looked like instead of what was done. I have an understanding on the research portion of advertising that fuels the creative side.
I am now looking to continue my education and hone in on those skills that I have developed. Something that is important to me is job placement, as the industry is already hard enough to penetrate. I have a strong interest and desire for art direction and a talent for copy writing. What schools do you recommend for me? I have an understanding and working knowledge of CS3. This past summer I purchased the Macbook Pro and the suite in order to prepare myself and become more acquainted with the software. What should be my next step?
Answer On the east coast, your options are VCU (grad level), School of Visual Arts (undergrad only I think - be sure to double check on that), and my school, SCAD, which offers both grad and undergrad art direction & copywriting degrees.
If you want to head a little farther south, The Miami Ad School is excellent. And, if you don't care about an accredited degree - you just want to get a portfolio going - look into the Chicago Portfolio School or the Creative Circus in Atlanta.
I encourage you to look into all of these options. There is no "best"...only the school that best matches your particular preferences.
