Thinking about a career in design, animation, photography, advertising, or digital media? Creative Futures gives you the inside scoop—real talk from pros, tips for choosing the right school, and everything you need to turn your passion into a career.
From stats to internships—everything you (and your parents) need to explore creative careers.
Hot takes, cool art, and creators who get it. The Inspiration blog is where it's at—powered by Applied Arts.
"The Applied Arts Student Awards annual is distributed to a very large number of art directors and art buyers – and it showcases student work along with their contact details, making it a vital promotional vehicle and an excellent way to gain exposure."
- Mohamed Danawi
Professor, Illustration, Savannah College of Art and Design,
"Working for television and movies, you're able to showcase your work to a large family audience. It is always rewarding to hear from a parent how much your work has positively influenced their children."
-Katherine Lim
Storyboard Artist
"Seeing my work in print made me feel like I was accomplishing something! It gave me confidence … that confidence helped me make those all-too important cold calls to CDs knowing I could say I had already won an award, before graduation".
- Nicole Ellerton
Creative Director
Alima Mater of Academy of Design & Western University
"The more I learned about advertising—its culture, people, and influence—the more I knew it was for me."
-Brian Howlett
Creative Director
"I’m never bored. On the surface, that sounds like a weird thing to love about your job, but it’s important. When you’re bored, you feel discouraged, depressed and uninspired. That’s why it’s great to wake up every morning and go to a job that’s always challenging you with fresh projects — it keeps you on your toes."
- Jordan Finlayson
Copywriter
"I can’t begin to express how much your awards program has done for my career as a design professional. It’s opened so many doors being a past winner."
- Vicky Li
Product Designer
Aluma Mater of OCAD University
"What I love most about my job is that I get to help entrepreneurs, small businesses, and innovative companies figure out how to build awareness and grow their sales. We feel like we have a real impact on these businesses every day—and that's really satisfying."
-Erin Bury
Managing Director
"This industry is more than just a job. A healthy creative industry facilitates people to keeping doing what they’re passionate about and also creates a community that leads, inspires and also support others."
-Jinah Lee
Art Director
"After getting my work published in the Student Awards issue of Applied Arts, I was extremely fortunate to have been contacted by two agencies ... and was hired!"
- Marvin Veloso
Art Director, Student RGD
Alma mater of Seneca College
"There's no other industry that better pairs problem-solving with adding beauty into the world. I get to answer the question "how do we make this tell a story AND look good while doing it?" and there's nothing better, to me, than that."
-Andrew Kolb
Illustrator
"What I love most about being an illustrator is being able to bring my most wild imaginings into my work on a daily basis. How many jobs make that possible?"
- Jessica Fortner
Illustrator
"I won an Applied Arts Award as a student at AU Arts, and it was a very exciting boost in my early career."
- Morgan Curley
Partner & Designer
Alma mater of Alberta University of the Arts
"Applied Arts was such an important part of my design career, from being a student to a professional."
- Kristina Valiunas
Design Director
Aluma Mater of George Brown College
Certified fresh. Get your dose of student-made magic from Applied Arts.
