January kicked off with a real creative push. After the new year, our D&AD team finally got going properly, Javier, Eddie and Ria. We had a session with Josh (one of the advertising DPS mentors), who helped us unpack how to choose a brief and break it down. He introduced us to the idea of organising “buckets” of ideas, which was a new way of thinking for me. We started meeting regularly after that to get going. Around the same time, I found out I got the Creative Shift role with Sky Sports x Venture Three, which was a much-needed boost after not getting the Service95 one. Honestly, that win changed my mood completely and gave me something new to look forward to and dive into.
Starting the Creative Shift programme was really energising. I got to meet people from different years and backgrounds, and we were given a live brief directly from Sky Sports. The challenge? Reconnect a younger generation to Sky. It was really cool to be at Sky HQ and hear from the Sky Creative team about what they valued and how they approached creative strategy. Meeting our mentors from Venture Three, such as Louis, was reassuring too. They were really warm and supportive, which helped ease the pressure. It already felt like something I could really grow from, both creatively and professionally.
On top of all that, I got through to the second stage of the CNN/Warner Bros Visual Design role. It was my first time doing a HireVue interview (which was… odd), and I had to work through a very obvious ATS system. These job applications are wild, but it’s helpful seeing how different orgs do things. This month taught me how to balance multiple creative projects at once while keeping the momentum going, even when rejections happen.