Meet Rebecca Caputi—Shillington Graduate

Before Shillington, Rebecca Caputi already had design qualifications, but still didn’t feel she was ready to enter the industry. When she discovered our fast-paced, brief-driven course, she knew it was exactly what she needed to build both her portfolio and confidence. After graduation she worked full-time as a designer at 360i in New York and was eventually recruited to be an Art Director at CNBC. Today we hear more about Rebecca’s journey!

How did you land your job at CNBC?

I got the gig at CNBC in mid-August 2015. They found me on LinkedIn and reached out, from there I had an in-person interview and that was that! The first project I worked on was an ad campaign for a Pitbull Documentary airing on CNBC. I designed the print, digital and social ads for the campaign, which also extended to on-air. I look forward to ideating and designing more cool stuff in this role!

Cast your mind back to the weeks or months before you made the decision to study with Shillington—what were some of the main motivations you had to get in to design?

My main motivation for attending Shillington School was to network in New York and to finish with a really polished portfolio that I felt comfortable showing to creatives in the industry. Since graduating, these have remained key motivations for me; to continue networking and building my portfolio with each piece I work on.

Have you discovered areas of the industry since leaving that you never would have dreamed working in?

Definitely. Working in the industry thus far I have had experience in a creative studio, a few start-ups, a boutique advertising agency, and also a larger agency, with an extensive range of clients. I am currently working in Entertainment, something I had never previously thought about and I absolutely love it!

What do you most love about where you are currently at in your design career?

As I have gained the trust of my client over the past few years, it has allowed me to have some creative freedom to explore new areas of design with programs like After Effects. I also have a great team of copywriters, account mangers and a strategist, where we work seamlessly together to make sure we are always presenting our best possible work.

How did you go about securing those interviews and—ultimately—your first job?

I did as much networking as possible, and stayed connected through sites like Behance, Krop, LinkedIn and Coroflot. I found my first job through LinkedIn.

Through the interview process, what sort of feedback were you receiving on the work you’d produced in your time at Shillington?

Fresh out of Shillington, I received a lot of positive feedback on my work. My portfolio reflected the creative skills I had acquired from Shillington School.

What project/s in your portfolio do you feel made the best impression in your interviews?

My range of digital to print work was what stood out the most.

While at Shillington we covered different areas of design which really helped my portfolio stand out from the rest, showing a variety of work.

We’ve all got a pearl of wisdom or two that we’ve taken out of an interview that maybe didn’t go as well as we’d have hoped. What are one or two of yours?

Do your research! Before you head into an interview make sure you know what you’re walking in to. It also shows your potential employer that you have a keen interest in their company and what they’re working on.

What has been one of your favorite projects since graduating?

Recently I have delved into After Effects and done some video editing. I am currently designing a lot of animated visuals which I think is fun and exciting, bringing another dimension to my designs. I have been creating 2.5D animations for the USA Network show Suits, they look pretty neat!

Tell us a little but about the process with that project.

So, I first opened After Effects three months ago and was completely overwhelmed with all the possibilities to create dynamic visuals. Initially I used a few online tutorials, but after getting a grasp on the basics it was really about exploring the tools and effects you can create. For inspiration I looked at motion graphics with awesome visual effects. When we presented the new content in video form to the client, they were thrilled and loved the new direction we had chosen to go in.

To anyone considering starting out in design, what advice would you give them before they make the commitment?

You have to be passionate about it.

Anyone can open up a new Photoshop document, but to create something beautiful takes a certain kind of passion, paired with technique.

For someone who’s already made the commitment to study, what advice would you give in the way of preparation?

What you put into it, is what you’ll ultimately get out of it! And if you put in the effort, people will be able to see that through your work.

Thanks so much for sharing your story and tips, Rebecca! Check out her website to see more of her work.