Hasta La Ideas

News: the founder of a new magazine celebrating the work of interns in the creative industry has spoken of the dangers of creating a culture on unpaid labour (+ interview + slideshow).

“We would welcome a move away from unpaid positions,” said Alec Dudson, who is trying to raise money on Kickstarter to launch Intern magazine in the UK. “The danger across all industries is that a culture is fostered whereby young talent thinks nothing of unpaid work and puts up with arrangements that are far from beneficial,” says Dudson.

However, Dudson said that unpaid positions can sometimes be beneficial to young people. “Unpaid positions can, in circumstances that satisfy the intern’s needs, be useful experiences for those trying to break into the industry,” he said, responding to D&AD chairman Dick Powell’s recent speech advising graduates to “work for nothing”.

Yesterday Powell clarified his remarks, saying unpaid work is not “acceptable on any level”.

Intern magazine aims to showcase work from talented creatives currently interning in the creative industry, and raise debate on the culture of internships. Manchester-based Dudson told Dezeen: “Our intention is to empower interns through the publication.”

Dudson founded the magazine after a two-month paid internship with Domus in Milan and voluntary work with Boat magazine in London. “I gained a lot from my internships, but I had to sacrifice a lot in order to do them,” he said.

Intern magazine has launched a funding campaign on Kickstarter this month, which runs until Wednesday 7 August 2013. If the fundraising is successful, issue one will go on sale in October 2013. Here’s the campaign video:

Here’s the full interview with Dudson:

Kate Andrews: Why did you decide to start Intern magazine?

Alec Dudson: I set out on my first internship in the magazine industry last March with Domus in Milan. After two months there, moved to London and worked for the remainder of the year with Boat. Realising after what were two wonderful, yet financially tough, experiences that I was no closer to my dream position with a magazine, I started to explore the possibilities of setting up my own. Inspired by my own relatively brief time in the world of internships and the experiences of others I had met, it struck me that the ideal subject for such an endeavour was right before my eyes.

I knew from my time at Boat how slender the opportunities to make a profit off print publications were, so any project I did set out on was going to need to undertaken by me alone, wherever possible. Fortunately, Chris, one of the freelance designers at Boat during my stint there, was just setting up design studio She Was Only with a couple of friends and they were prepared to take on the project’s design and art direction. Without them, I would have struggled to get the idea off the ground.

Kate Andrews: Were your internships with Domus and Boat magazine paid or unpaid?

Alec Dudson: At Domus I was paid €400 a month, which just about covered my rent when I was out there. Boat was not but I approached them and was fully aware of the situation before I started.

Kate Andrews: When does the first issue come out?

Alec Dudson: Our Kickstarter campaign runs until August 7th. Should we successfully raise the £5500 or more, I hope to have issue one on sale in September or October at the latest. While a portion of our content is already down and good to go, my helpless desire for perfection and the difficulties in rounding up final drafts of all the articles will inevitably cause some delays. But I firmly intend for the magazine to be very much worth the wait. Anyone backing us to the tune of £1 or more will be kept in the loop regarding the issue’s progress allowing our backers to come with us on the journey towards our launch.

Kate Andrews: What will be in the first issue?

Alec Dudson: The first issue will feature a selection of work by interns from around the world alongside a balanced debate that also see contributions from those established in the creative industries.

Kate Andrews: What are your thoughts about internships, particularly unpaid internships, in the creative industries?

Alec Dudson: I don’t necessarily feel that the creative industries are any better or worse than other industries with regard to how they treat and value unpaid and junior talent, but I do feel that they make a fascinating case study.

The danger across all industries is that a culture is fostered whereby young talent thinks nothing of working unpaid and puts up with arrangements that are far from beneficial. I personally feel I gained a lot from my internships but I had to sacrifice a lot in order to work them, still I am luckier than most as I was in a position where I could make the situation work. A great deal of people simply can’t afford to work for free and by creating situations where only those who can afford are granted access to the industries, you engender a scenario where the pool of talent being picked from is already very selective. Surely this is a morally perplexing scenario for the creative industries as creativity isn’t something only people of a certain social class have or can articulate?

Kate Andrews: What advice would you give to graduates hoping to enter the creative industries?

Alec Dudson: My advice to new talent would be to have the confidence to value yourself and your time. If you end up working unpaid for a studio or company whose work you adore, yet you aren’t given the sort of hands on experience that you desire, or aren’t made to feel an important part of the team, don’t be afraid to walk away. Doing so in a civil manner won’t stop you being able to list them on your CV and get a reference.

The best internships out there are those where trust is placed in the intern and they are allowed a degree of creative freedom and involvement in the day-to-day. It might not seem like it, but there are some great places out there that provide these sort of experiences, they pay as well. Confidence in your ability and the confidence to communicate that ability are key in breaking into the creative industries.

Kate Andrews: Do you think unpaid work is okay or not?

Alec Dudson: I think there remain situations where it can be beneficial. I certainly wouldn’t have had the confidence or the know-how to approach [this project] if it had not been from my time with Boat magazine. Ideally, of course, all positions would be paid. But I think if those contemplating internships have a better idea of what to expect and what isn’t acceptable when it comes to free work, then a lot of the exploitative unpaid positions can be eradicated.

Kate Andrews: Are internships a good thing?

Alec Dudson: Again, in their purest form, absolutely. A good internship is one where the transaction – in a non-monetary sense – is enriching for both parties. By treating interns as a valuable resource and a part of the team, employers can get far more than an eager worker in return. From the intern’s perspective, someone who values their contribution and trusts them, offering guidance where needed can be of great value going forward. Of course these experiences are always subjective but there are too many instances where the arrangement offers little for the intern that little or no monetary compensation can justify.

Kate Andrews: Will Intern magazine be taking on interns? Will they be paid?

Alec Dudson: We won’t be taking on interns. We will be sourcing contributions from interns and unpaid workers in the creative industries and paying them for their contribution. The reality is that this won’t be a full professional rate, but as a new publication and one with a model for steady sustainable growth, we will pay as much as we can. It is the hope that as the magazine grows, sooner rather than later, those payments will reflect a professional rate.

Kate Andrews: What stance will the magazine take on unpaid internships?

Alec Dudson: Our position can’t be overly vitriolic as it would undermine our ability to host a debate of any worth. However, it is clear enough from our stance on paying our contributors that we would welcome a move away from unpaid positions. Internships can be a positive thing to do. We will feature stories from those who we believe provide excellent internships but will not waste our time bad-mouthing those who don’t. A key means of enriching the intern experience for all concerned is providing the tools – in terms of advice and tales of others’ experience – that enable those applying for internships to be more discerning and that is one of the magazine’s main intentions.

Kate Andrews: What are your thoughts on Sou Fujimoto’s comments about unpaid architecture internships in Japan?

Alec Dudson: The RIBA’s stance [in calling for people to report unpaid internships in the UK] is an important attempt to clean house of the UK architecture industry. The debate may not have much footing in Japan at the moment but it will be interesting to see if that remains the case going forward. If the interns are highly involved in model building and, with that, real projects, then I imagine it can be a really great experience for them, particularly with a firm with huge international status.

Where it gets morally perplexing is that realistically, few can afford to work for three to six months unpaid for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week. If this is during studies or with a scholarship in place then I imagine it is easier but it is those who have the talent yet are financially restricted from getting that experience that we should be worrying about and that the debate needs driving forward for.

Kate Andrews: What about Dick Powell’s recent speech that advised people to “work for nothing” to break into the industry?

Alec Dudson: Unpaid positions can, in circumstances that satisfy the intern’s needs, be useful experiences for those trying to break into the industry and I think that is what he is suggesting. But it is a bit disappointing that a prominent figure associated with a foundation like D&AD is encouraging graduates to specifically seek out unpaid work.

The post Young people “can’t afford to work
for free” says Intern magazine founder appeared first on Dezeen.

News: young people wanting to start a career in design should offer to work for free, according to Dick Powell, chairman of design charity D&AD.

“Offer anything, do anything,” said Powell. “Work for nothing, make tea, carry bags, and learn, learn, learn.”

Powell, who is also co-founder and CEO of leading industrial design studio Seymourpowell, made the comments in a speech to graduates at the New Designers exhibition in London earlier this month.

“Your goal may be to get a job, but your first task is to crack open the door,” he told the audience attending the preview of New Designers Part 2. “And you should stop at nothing to achieve that. Be prepared to do anything, anything at all to get into a business.”

He continued: “Offer anything, do anything, call in every contact you have, get on LinkedIn and let it take you everywhere, work for nothing, make tea, carry bags, and learn, learn, learn.”

Speaking to Dezeen after his speech, Powell said that doing an unpaid internship is “the easiest way to get a job”.

“You’ve got to invest [in yourself],” he said. “It depends on the industry. In advertising it’s normal – you don’t get paid. Other businesses will pay for lunch, travel, that kind of thing.”

Seymourpowell pays its interns, he said, but felt that the company would be able to help more young designers if it offered unpaid internships instead. “We always try to pay a basic wage but it would clearly be better for them if we took on six that are unpaid than two that are paid, but we choose to pay them.”

Unpaid internships in the creative industries have caused controversy this year, with the RIBA calling for students to report companies offering unpaid architecture internships and Tokyo architect Sou Fujimoto defending the Japanese “open desk” practice, whereby foreign staff work for nothing to gain experience.

Fujimoto provoked a furious backlash when he told Dezeen that unpaid internships are “a nice opportunity” for both employers and interns.

D&AD is a British charity working to promote and inspire best practice in design and advertising.

The organisation have launched a guide to getting into the industry, called The Creative Notebook. “People wanting to get internships should get a copy of that,” said Powell. “It’s full of advice on how to get internships.” The guide is free for D&AD student and graduate members.

Photograph by James Champion.

Here’s the full speech Dick Powell gave at New Designers:

When I graduated from the RCA, I had an unshakable, cast iron, rock-solid self-belief that I could make a difference; that I could make things better. Better for People. Better for Business. And Better too for the World. That I could make things Better by Design.

And while much has changed since, I still have that rock-solid self-belief … making things Better by Design remains my credo, my rallying cry, my philosophy.

That rock-solid self-belief was born from a combination of arrogance, ambition, passion and naivety, but there was something else too. Something which I believe, irrespective of the field of creative endeavour or the design discipline, characterises outstanding creativity and innovation. I had no fear of failure… because I had nothing to lose – no mortgage, no big costs, no family to support and, unlike most of you, no big debts. I could not have been any poorer.

And today, all of you are at the same point in your life – graduating from education and out into the real world of our creative industries, with little to lose and the prospect of a career in the Creative Industries, which are hugely important to the UK, financially, practically and culturally.

So here are 6 tips for breaking into those industries:

1. Design is fabulously rewarding. We do it because we love it. We do it because we can make a difference. And the chance to work at something you love is so much more important than just working for money. If you are motivated by the need to make money, you’re in the wrong business! If you are talented, ambitious and prepared to work hard, to go beyond expectations, you will have a rewarding and satisfying career – and money will follow.

2. Never stop learning! Your courses have been very focused around a single discipline, but our industries need designers with bandwidth: a hunger for a wide view of the world and a deep understanding of people, markets, business and technologies from which they can build a point of view. Today, you’re probably thinking you’re done with education! Wrong! For those of you who will ultimately succeed, the learning starts today!

3. Your goal may be to get a job, but your first task is to crack open the door… and you should stop at nothing to achieve that . Be prepared to do anything, anything at all to get into a business. Offer anything, do anything, call in every contact you have, get on LinkedIn and let it take you everywhere, work for nothing, make tea, carry bags and learn, learn, learn.

4. Be really really good at one thing. Be a star at one thing. Be an expert at one thing. Your courses have had to focus on equipping you as best they can to be a great all rounder – research, creativity, execution, trends, markets, and equipped with extensive knowledge of design and its practise. But that makes you all more the same than different, so it’s hard to stand out. But every business needs dedicated skills of different kinds – skills with tools, like Alias or Pro-Engineer, or skills at drawing, research, film editing, animating, budgeting, selling or whatever. Being a star at one thing can get you in, maybe not in the role you want, but at least you will be in and learning – after that, it’s up to you.

5. Scale your ambition. Of course, you’d like to work for Apple – we all would!. Don’t abandon that ambition. Just be prepared to spend time building experience and making yourself useful in a thousand ways to small companies of any kind or discipline. Which brings me around to where I started…

6. Fear of failure. In business, as in life, failure is part of learning. Every failure, every rejection letter is a process of learning and improving. And the best way to scrape yourself off the floor and get your head into the right place is to never stop designing. The golfer, Gary Player, was accosted by a journalist having just won a tournament. The journalist observed that he had been a bit lucky with one or two shots. Player responded “You know what? The more I practice, the luckier I seem to get!”. The more you use your skills, the better you become. The graduate who is out of college a year and is still hawking round the same college portfolio is doomed … For every opening you have, ahead of every interview, ahead of every letter you write or phone call you make – discipline yourself to use every second to fill your portfolio with fresh thinking, and new ideas which are tightly focused and highly relevant to the person or business you want to see. Find out what they do and do some of that. That way, you’ll pique their interest and you’ll develop the informed point of view they want to hear.

And finally, this week at New Designers is a major opportunity to make those first valuable contacts and build a network which might one day lead to a job. That’s what all this is about. Today, you join that network, an embryonic designer with a future. Welcome to our world!

The post Graduates should “work for
nothing” says D&AD chairman appeared first on Dezeen.

We are currently looking for interns to assist the Cool Hunting team in all aspects of publishing the site, from writing and reporting to photo editing and web production. Ideal candidates have a super-keen eye, strong writing skills and familiarity with graphic production and HTML, as well as with our…

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Apply to join the Cool Hunting team this Fall

Do you think you have what it takes to be part of the Cool Hunting team? We are currently looking for Fall interns to assist with all aspects of publishing the site, from writing and photo editing to video production.

Ideal candidates have a super-keen eye, strong writing skills and familiarity with graphic production and HTML. We are also looking for interns to assist with researching, producing and editing Cool Hunting Video. Preferred applicants will have experience in and passion for all aspects of filmmaking, as well as a familiarity with our unique style. All potential interns should be available to work a minimum of four days per week in our New York City office.

While intern work includes responsibilities that cross disciplines, we are seeking to fill the following areas:


Editorial: research, copy editing, fact checking and story entry 


Photography: photo editing, basic info graphics and presentation layouts


Video: research, production assistance, editing

If you’re interested in applying, please send a brief cover letter in the form of a Cool Hunting story pitch—tell us why you’re a fit in five sentences or fewer—along with a resume and samples of your work (or URL to portfolio) to internship [at] coolhunting.com. We can work around class schedules and provide school credit if applicable.

Dezeenjobs: Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London are looking for a gallery-assistant intern:

Gallery Assistant Internship

The Carpenters Workshop Gallery specialises in bringing artistic positioning to design, through an ambitious program of exhibits they avoid categorisation by uniting conceptual and functional works which strive to challenge and enlighten.

The gallery presents established artists such as Marc Quinn, Atelier van Lieshout, Wendell Castle, Ingrid Donat and extends to the current generation; Sebastian Brajkovic, rAndom International, Robert Stadler, Pablo Reinoso, Demakersvan, Xavier Lust, Vincent Dubourg and Mathieu Lehanneur.

Based in Mayfair, 3 Albemarle Street, we aim to be the destination in London for cutting-edge contemporary design-art.

Internship duties:

• Gallery administration
• Dealing with enquiries from clients, galleries, curators, press, museums, auction houses, gallery visitors and the general public
• Assisting with curatorial research for forthcoming exhibitions
• Designing press releases, catalogues and associated visuals
• Event planning, private views, exhibitions, photo shoots
• Providing assistance to the press officer, gallery manager, director, curator and Partners
• Liaising with artists and designers

Flexible with working hours; some Saturday work may be necessary. Full time preferable, part time, 2 days a week minimum.

Technical knowledge required – Microsoft Office, Excel, InDesign, Photoshop is useful but not crucial.

Good writing skills and the ability to communicate clearly and concisely are an essential part of the job.

Excellent multi-tasking skills – every day is different.

This internship is an excellent opportunity for anyone who wishes to learn how an art/design gallery operates.  It is hands on and requires focused candidates who have a desire to learn, a professional outlook and are passionate about art and design.

Please email your CV and a covering letter stating why you think you are a good candidate to:

James Malcolm Green, Gallery Manager James@cwgdesign.com

T 020 3051 5939

www.carpentersworkshopgallery.com

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