Yoots! – Details, episodes & analysis

Got a job you're eyeing up but not sure if you're qualified? Here's why you should send that application TODAY 🏃🏼‍♂️💨

Marketing Officer Robyn Pedley joins us this week to kick off How I Got My Job, our new series documenting how industry professionals in the creative industry secured their first jobs!

Find out how to land your first marketing position without a degree and the value of studying while you're working (your employer might even pay for your qualification!). Robyn also shares what the future of marketing looks like... hint, it's inspired by the very pink global Barbie takeover.

Want to start in marketing? Listen to this episode first.

Connect with Robyn:

LinkedIn

Instagram

David Kamara joins us this week to chat about lighting stuntmen on fire to spark conversations around racism in the UK, his journey from filmmaking to owning the production company House Of Fire Studios, and how to boost your creativity as soon as you wake up (it's not coffee or Twitter/X?!). We're also covering AI and what's in store for us human creatives in this new ChatGPT/MidJourney/Dall-E era.

Interested in production? Feeling the pressure of creative block? Not sure if the robots will take our jobs? This episode's for you!

Connect with David:

David's LinkedIn

House Of Fire Studios

The Sowing Grounds

Connect with Yoots:

Yoots! Instagram

Yoots! LinkedIn

Join the Yoots! conversation

Introducing... Matt! Matt finally made his podcast debut this week to chat about Teal Triggs' recent research and project Brave New Normal: Intergenerational Mentoring + Women in Graphic Design, his experiences in the industry so far, and to discuss burnout in the creative sector. 

Following International Women's Day, we delved into Teal Triggs research: which uncovered that 79% of women in the creative sectors had left the industry—could this be because women in the creative industry feel unheard, undervalued, and not respected? 

As the work and life boundaries become ever more blurred as more and more people begin to work from home, Matt spoke to us about his experience with a poor work/life balance and how he prevents falling back into that habit now. The Yoots of Reddit spoke about their experiences with burnout in the creative industry—we read out the best comments on this episode, but you can read the other 94 comments talking about what made them burn out and how to prevent it here. 

We also learned some new Polish words courtesy of Archie and his trip to Warsaw. Cieszyć się!

Things we spoke about:

Women Make Up Over Half the Design Industry—So Why Are There So Few at the Top? | AIGA Eye on Design

Supporting Women in Graphic Design Through Intergenerational Mentoring | Teal Triggs, RCA

Why the Creative Industry Needs to Start Talking About Men's Mental Health | Creative Boom

Stolen Focus | Johann Hari

Creative Ideas Report 2022 | WeTransfer

Creative Burnout | TBWA

Just want the sweet insights?

00:16 - Introducing Matt! 

01:10 - Discussing the outcomes of Teal Triggs' report

03:20 - How can women in the creative industries achieve more leadership positions?

04:28 - % of women in leadership vs. % of women graduating with design degrees

05:55 - Patriarchy in business

06:32 - How can men help women achieve equity in the creative industries?

12:05 - A Q for female freelancers

15:00 - Quickfire questions with Matt

17:58 - Why do we need to talk about burnout?

19:00 - Reddit responses: why did you burnout, and how do you prevent it?

21:05 - Work/life balances

27:45 - Preventing burnout

30:01 - Creative after-hours

33:08 - Work & self-worth

39:02 - Use your annual leave!

39:48 - Rest and recharge without guilt

Need to talk? 

116 121 | The Samaritans

0300 330 0630 | Switchboard LGBT+ Helpline

0800 58 58 58 | CALM 

Nightline website | Nightline (for students)

We're back for season 2 of Ginger Yoots podcast! And what a time Season 1 was... we've met design students and aspiring creatives at the Creative Futures 2023 event at Nottingham Trent University, spoken to some wonderful industry professionals (more guest episodes incoming 🤭!), attended the Birmingham Design Christmas social with our West Mids neighbours, and many, many other fun creative endeavours that we want you to attend with us in Season 2! 

This ep is a recap of the Creative Futures event: find out what design students were asking about the industry, and what their biggest concerns about becoming a professional creative were. We found out at this event that aspiring creatives struggle most with pricing their work (especially as freelancers!), so we're also discussing the ins and outs of pricing work—and why you should never work for exposure!

Upcoming in next week's episode is mental health in the creative industry: if you want to have your say, head to Reddit to join the conversation! We'll be reading your comments out during the ep.

Just want the sweet insights? Skip ahead to the good stuff:

00:20 - Nottingham Trent University's Creative Futures event recap

03:20 - Archie tests out the 60s quickfire Qs (spoiler alert: he's top of the leaderboard now)

07:15 - Questions and concerns that design students have about the industry

08:00 - Design students' concern about money

09:15 - How does money impact your decision making process when looking for a creative job?

11:30 - Pricing your work and worrying about frightening clients off

13:00 - Does university teach you to price your work?

13:16 - What students estimated they would charge for their work

15:26 - Some things to consider when pricing your work

16:45 - How businesses are prioritising learning & development

17:30 - How universities could teach commerciality better

17:50 - Dags spirals about freelancing

18:30 - Let's address the elephant in the podcast studio—Fivver (boooooo!)

19:46 - Why you need more than a logo in your rebrand

21:00 - NEVER 👏 WORK  👏 FOR 👏 EXPOSURE

21:05 - Design student concerns: not being able to represent my true self

25:30 - Design student concerns: the low employability rate after uni

30:08 - Junior or not to junior... that is the question. Should I call myself a Junior Designer when I apply for my first job?

32:35 - Pricing your work hourly

35:40 - A new guest interview with a fashion brand owner (upcoming!) 

Leaving a position as a lead creative to pursue a freelance career at the tail end of a pandemic sounds not for the fainthearted. But this is what Isaac Goode, founder of Studio G, boldly chose to do. We sat down with Isaac to understand his creative journey, how to make a successful living in an industry without 'traditional' training, and why the shower really is a creative's best friend. 

Just want the sweet insights? Skip ahead:

0:40 - What is Studio G?

2:10 - Graduating without a plan

2:50 - The importance of experimenting

4:00 - Do you need a uni degree? 

5:05 - Starting out as a freelancer

6:35 - Getting your freelance career off the ground

10:40 - The importance of rest (Rest: Why you get more done when you work less)

12:00 - I want to go freelance! How do I do it?

13:25 - Retaining a good work/life balance and expectations

15:15 - Finding clients as a freelancer

19:35 - Being asked to create in someone else's style

22:10 - Working with colour and fun briefs

24:42 - #IamWhole campaign and working as a creative director

27:55 - Advice for aspiring photographers

30:30 - Juggling admin with creative as a freelancer

33:58 - Moving on from mistakes

35:14 - The value of the rabbit hole

37:10 - Freelancing and the creative process

38:30 - The BTS of product photography (head to the @gingeryoots insta to see BTS clips of Isaac's process!)

42:35 - Quick fire Qs!

Join us next week for another Yoots chat, and keep your eyes peeled on the socials for our next guest interview! 

Hello! We had some time off to celebrate Jesus' bday buuuut... we're back! Hot off the press this week is a review of our New Year's resolutions that we shared in the 12 Days of Yootmas (holding ourselves accountable is the theme for this year), and some trends we're predicting will be part of 2023. 

We've also arranged for some really exciting interviews with creatives whose work we love! There'll be episodes across fashion design, sustainable creativity, starting your own business, going freelance, photography, web development... the good, the bad, and the ugly of the creative world. Make sure you're following to be first to listen! 

Just want the juicy insights? Skip ahead...

00:49 - New Years design resolutions

06:00 - The monopoly of the twin market (needs to be heard to be believed)

07:40 - How TikTok has changed the social landscape

08:50 - Playable ads? PrettyLittleThing (PLT) is in the metaverse!

11:40 - Life imitates art, TikTok imitates QVC

15:10 - Where is AR in adverts?

16:30 - Y2K is sticking around (BOO!)

17:50 - Abstract illustrations for 2023. We talk about the Delight in the Romantic Branding for Macao's Infinite Love Concerts article at Print Magazine.

21:00 - Archie's business plan for motorised heelies

22:24 - Data visualisation is our big 2023 prediction

22:50 - David McCandless' funky infographics: Information is Beautiful

24:30 - Spotify Wrapped as a trailblazer for visualising data in new ways

29:10 - An update about upcoming interviews!

Day 3 of Yootmas means you get a bonus episode (annuva one?!)!  We're delving into our Reddit Qs this time, uncovering the terrible advice given to other creatives... what's the worst advice you've ever been given? 

Make sure you're on our Instagram @gingeryoots tomorrow to reveal Yootmas Day 4! Don't miss a free gift 🎄

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/GingerYoots/ 

The Yoots 12 Days of Yootmas kicks off with Dags spilling the tea on what he gets up to with PG Tips (other tea brands are available). 4 minutes of ridiculous chat for your cold Monday morning ☕️ 

The 12 Days of Yootmas will unfold on Instagram over the next few days, with some surprise launches and free resources (among 11 other goodies) coming your way! See you over there ➡️ @gingeryoots

In this week's podcast, we discuss whether you actually need a degree to become a designer. Debating going at it without a degree? We're also chatting about  other outlets and how to boost your portfolio. 

Just want the juicy insights?

0:44 - AI ChatGPT which generates copywriting

6:45 - Working class creatives in the industry

9:37 - Do you actually need a degree?

14:35 - Where to find briefs 

18:32 - If you can't find work, you have to make it up

22:13 - Activities to improve your design skills

23:23 - Book recommendations

25:55 - What employers look for

Refs:

ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/chat 

Article on the working class in the creative industry: https://pec.ac.uk/news/just-16-of-people-in-creative-jobs-are-from-working-class-backgrounds-and-those-from-privileged-backgrounds-more-likely-to-land-a-job-experience-autonomy-and-progression-and-shape-what-goes-on-stage-page-and-screen 

ISTD Student Briefs: https://www.istd.org.uk/sas

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/GingerYoots/

This week we're chatting about WeTransfer's discovery that creatives are giving up on their dream jobs, the Women's Aid x Corbin Shaw campaign, and debating to niche or not to niche. (We promise we're back to regular scheduling now). 

Just want the juicy insights?

0:45 - WeTransfer's Ideas Report

4:55 - Mental Health and the Creative Industries

7:08 - The worst advice you've ever received

8:14 - Women's Aid x Corbin Shaw advert

11:08 - What's a niche?

13:08 - Should I specialise?

17:15 - The T model

20:40 - Should I focus more on digital design?

21:45 - Picking an experimental uni

23:54 - Socials!

Refs:

WeTransfer's Ideas Report 2022: WeTransfer Ideas Report

Mental Health and the Creative Industries: www.creativeboom.com/features/mens-mental-health-and-the-creative-industries/

Women's Aid x Corbin Shaw: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2022/11/25/women-s-aid-subverts-england-s-it-s-coming-home-with-domestic-violence-message 

Reddit conversations: https://www.reddit.com/r/graphic_design/comments/z48qt1/whats_the_worst_advice_youve_ever_been_given_as_a/