Is Portfolio School Worth It?
Is portfolio school worth it? Check out our weekly installment of #CircusAlumni and see what these folks have to say to address that question.
TUESDAY, AUG. 18TH
Casey Heffernan
- Current title & agency/company name: Art Director, IMG LIVE
- What’s one piece of advice you’d like to give current or recent grads of Circus? Be humble, but not a doormat…and never EVER let them see you cry.
- Describe what Circus means to you in three words or less: It changed everything.
- Who pushed you the most while you were in school and why? My classmates. They were (and still are!) so talented and constantly challenged me to do more and be better.
- Describe a monumental, light bulb moment for yourself while you were at Circus: Sometime around fifth quarter when I realized what an art director actually was. I remember the conversation with Dan Balser quite vividly. I’m pretty sure he witnessed the exact moment the light bulb switched on above my head.
- What year did you graduate and from what program? 2010, Art Direction
Eric Doctor
- What year did you graduate and from what program? 2012, Design
- Current title & agency/company name: Graphic Designer, The Unemployed Philosophers Guild
- What’s one piece of advice you’d like to give current or recent grads of Circus? It’s all about the work. You’re going to hear a lot of people telling you a lot of things about what should and shouldn’t be in your book to get this job or that job, but take a step back, don’t worry about your book, and just do the work as well as you can. If you do good work, you’re going to have a good book. If your book is made up of work you like and are proud of, it will lead you to a good job for you. Oh, and enjoy the process. If you have fun making something, people are gonna have fun looking at it.
- Describe what Circus means to you in three words or less: Who do you think I am, a copywriter? Linguistic efficiency ain’t one of my strong suits. The Circus set me up for life. That’s all there is to it.
- Who pushed you the most while you were in school and why? Sylvia Gaffney pushed me to the edge of my sanity and self-conception; every time I had a class with her was transformative. Colleen Finn taught me that I can do things that I can’t do. Ron Moore completely changed (and continues to change) my idea of what makes good design. But the people who pushed me the most were my classmates; just being surrounded by all of these talented and hardworking people was the biggest motivation I could have had.
- Describe a monumental, light bulb moment for yourself while you were at Circus: Why does it have to be a lightbulb?
Amy Lieberthal
- What year did you graduate and from what program? 2011, Copywriter
- Current title & agency/company name: Copywriter at kbs+
- What’s one piece of advice you’d like to give current or recent grads of Circus? Network! the hardest part is getting your foot in the door. The circus tells you to have a mentor. I say get 10. Constantly send your work out to people in the industry. If they feel like they have a stake in you, they’ll want to help you when you graduate.
- Describe what Circus means to you in three words or less: finding yourself
- Who pushed you the most while you were in school and why? Teacher wise, Paul Korel. He’s really passionate about teaching and really makes you feel good when you nail it. I also had a core group of writers, Steinberg, Dma and Rachel who really pushed each other. We helped make each other better. One last thing that I think is most important… I think I touched on it but like the thought of helping each other. Yeah, they are all competition but the better your quarter is, the more people in the industry notice the better the Circus grads are and the more desirable we become. So make each other better.