Alongside AustralianSuper, Crave Australia is teaming up with some legends of the creative industry to get some insight into the best ways to get your career up and running. In today’s entry, super successful designer and illustrator Nathan Nankervis shows us how best to stand out from the pack in an increasingly hectic and competitive industry.
What makes your work more important than the next persons? Because it’s yours.
You are you. We are all unique and that’s what makes your work important.
Now it may seem like some fairytale nonsense, but conveying yourself through your work really helps separate yourself from the rest. Be conscious of your traits and interests and don’t be afraid to let them surface through your work. As you develop as a person you will start to recognise these things a lot more and feel comfortable making them a part of your work.
Nathan at his home studio in Melbourne.
Self-initiated projects are the best way to help convey yourself through your practice. As there is no brief, there are no restrictions. As there is no client, there is no one to cut down your ideas. This allows you to really express yourself and make a statement with your work. Self-initiated projects are a really good form of self-promotion, which is crucial in getting your work out there. You can do the best work in the world but if no one sees it, it’s impossible to make a living from it.
During 2015, The Design Files in collaboration with Peter Drew made a call out for local artists and illustrators to visualise the message ‘Real Australians Say Welcome’ in support of asylum seekers in Australia. I took this as an opportunity to convey my thoughts on the matter as well as hopefully get some exposure for my work, whilst also supporting a cause I felt strongly about.
The piece illustrated in support of ‘Real Australians Say Welcome‘ campaign featured by The Design Files.
I responded to the call out by redesigning the Australian flag. I felt as though our current flag was not a good representation of who we are today and where we are heading. My flag represents peace and harmony whilst playing on the aesthetics of the aboriginal flag. The Design Files ended up seeing my response and reposting in on their social media platforms, which I was stoked about, but I didn’t stop there.
I took this opportunity further by physically going and getting flags made of my illustration. I then sent one out to Lucy, the editor of the Design Files. To my surprise she loved the flag along with my work. Soon after, I received an email saying they’d like to feature me as a ‘new kid on the blog’, which is a feature on the Design Files which highlights up-and-coming creatives and gives them a platform of exposure.
Making physical examples of digital work, is one way to stand out from the pack.
Soon after I was featured, I noticed more work and bigger clients coming in. Since the feature I’ve been lucky enough to work with clients such as Heineken, Bonds, Redbull and even The Design Files themselves.
It just goes to show how conveying a bit of yourself through your work along with a little self-initiative can go a long way.
Nathan Nankervis is a Melbourne based designer and illustrator and you can find out more about him on his website here.
If you’re just starting out in your career, a few right moves early on can help set you up for life. For more stories in our AustralianSuper KickStart series head here, or go to AustralianSuper.
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