The worldwide art scene has inspired people to take up Creative Arts and Design. Not only is it a chance to express themselves, but it also presents various career options for anyone who wishes to take a degree under this programme. Creative Arts and Design has been associated with a lot of things including graphic design, painting, theatre, dance, fashion design, as well as UI/UX designing, animation, magazines, brochures and a whole lot more! 

A lot of students doubt they will find a job if they study Creative Arts and Design. The main reason for this is the opinion of their families and friends who think Art and Design is just about drawing and painting nice things and then get a grade for it.

No! Arts and Design is associated with much more than that. Gone are the days of ‘starving artists’ — graduates of Creative Arts and Design have a lot of job opportunities. According to the United States’ Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment rate for this degree will increase to 2% by 2024. This percentage discloses that there will be 16,700 new jobs and one of them will hopefully be yours! Let creativity guide you into a promising future in Creative Arts and Design.

What is Creative Arts and Design?
 

Why Should you Study Creative Arts and Design?

Career Opportunities are Endless!
Especially for the students who specialise in graphic design. In a world full of gadgets, innovative ideas and good design are necessary. Graphic designers, animators, illustrators, and UI/UX designers can work for companies to design a website, an app, a software programme or a game, to do digital illustrations, produce videos, create animations, and much more!

High Demand of Graduates
According to the Cambridge Assessment, companies seek art students more than ever since Apple founder Steve Jobs mentioned that his success was due to creative engineers. It is known that artist are confident, have discipline, and know how to handle criticisms. Not only are these students wanted thanks to these particular characteristics, they are also needed because of their exceptional talent. Companies want to increase their digital awareness and want good, effective, and visually-appealing websites and media platforms. 

What are the Skills You Need?

Creativity
If you have an artistic idea in your mind and you want to express it into reality, that is called creativity. Everyone has their own imaginations and ideas and if you work on them, it will produce a product that benefits you and your audience.

Style
Style is something you will develop within the years.Whether it is the style of how you do your art and design or working style, you will develop it in this degree.

Critical Thinking
Having a good output requires a good amount of time and thinking. This course will teach you to have patience to come out with a good outcome, while combining artistry and attention to little details.

Communication
Not just through verbal and written communication, this course requires you to ‘speak’ the language of art and design. Getting into this degree will clue you in on the terms and teach you on how to apply them.

Knowledge on Various Methodologies and Technologies
Possessing this skill gives you an advantage among your peers as your are able to combine wide-array of techniques and the new technology utilised today.

Teamwork
While there are times you will be working alone, there will come an instance you will collaborate with other people. You need to be be flexible and know how to work in teams. Learning to listen, respect, help, and share to each other are just of the things you will most probably be doing throughout this course. 

What are the Jobs I can Get from this Degree?

Graphic Designer
These type of designers variate from graphic designers for a website to a graphic designer for an animation studio. Graphic designers can also design business related documents such as business cards or brochures.

Fashion Designer
A fashion designer is an artist who designs clothing, shoes, bags, and other accessories. First they make a sketch of their idea and then they will show it to the management. When it is approved, the production will start. The fashion designer oversees the whole production process to make sure no mistakes are made.

Commercial Photographer
A photographer for commercial purposes takes pictures that will be used for advertising campaigns or for a magazine and TV commercials. Commercial photographers usually work for a creative director, but they still need to act independently and take their own initiative. 

Art Director
Art directors can be directors of a lot of things. There are art directors for marketing related jobs, fashion art directors, internet or advertising. You would be responsible for coordinating concept and design for promotions. They do not really design things themselves, they just focus on the concept and give the designing part to the graphic designers or photographers. 

Executive Producer
An executive producer (EP) is the head producer of television, film and other entertainment. EPs have a lot of responsibilities; they need to oversee all activities within the company, content and they research and analyse market data.

What is the Expected Salary?

Below are the salaries of a few jobs in the Creative Arts and Design industry.
 

Source: (Payscale, 2016)

Top 10 Creative Arts and Design Universities

Here are the top 10 universities in Arts and Design as ranked by the QS World University Rankings 2022.

1. Royal College of Art

Location: United Kingdom

2. University of the Arts London

Location: United Kingdom

3. The New School

Location: New York, United States

4. Rhode Island School of Design

Location: Providence, United States

5. Politecnico di Milano

Location: Italy

6. Aalto University

Location: Espoo, Finland

7. Pratt Institute

Location: New York, United States

8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Location: Cambridge, United States

9. Design Academy Eindhoven

Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands

=9. School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Location: Chicago, United States