On Friday, November 20th I attended the illustration visual symposium held by KCAI. The presentation was not the most exciting, but the information given was. The main thing I liked about the symposium is that real, professional jobs can be obtained through this major. Publishers are looking for illustrators all the time, especially in this age of digital media.

This symposium really gave me a lot to think about. I have worried this whole time about what department I want to get into, and I realized now that I don’t need to. While I am still open to going into other departments, I know now that illustration is my back up. I am very interested in creating narrative and I can illustrate fairly well. Apart from that I am interested in this department because it is closely related to graphic design. I have always liked the idea of being a creative leader, and in graphic design you can do that. I don’t have a lot of interest in graphic design, however, but I still want to be able to lead a team of designers, even if I have a background in illustration, and that is possible in this field. While different training is needed, I have always been interested in developing my leadership capabilities in order to advance myself further. The best thing they told me when I asked about the ability to still be an art director with an illustration background is that “ideas are the currency we work in.” That really struck me because ideas in this field are tangible, and fairly accessible. Some of the fine arts, such as painting, have ideas, but they go to far for my taste. I like the idea of producing for the masses. For creating things that the whole world might see, and changing ideas that way. Because of this I am now leaning towards illustration more than any others.