The course
The 12
weeks
A brief every 45 minutes, with crits in between, two evenings a week for 12 weeks.
12
weeks, start to show night2
evenings a week45
minutes per brief. Then the next one.20
people, tops, in each classHow it works
On day one we put you in pairs. Usually a writer and a visual person, though most people don't know which one they are yet. You'll swap partners a couple of times before it settles.
Each evening runs on 45 minute briefs. You get the brief, you have the idea, you pin it up, and the room tells you what it thinks. Then the next brief lands. The pace is hard on purpose, because agencies work like that and we'd rather you found out here.
The briefs could be anything. A brand of chewing gum, a holiday destination, a charity, a movement that needs more than a poster. It's copywriting and art direction as practice, so we care about the idea first and how it looks second.
01. Unlearn
weeks 1 to 4- Week01
Forget what you think an ad is
Sharpies, A3 pads and a lot of bad ideas, on purpose. You'll learn to scamp, which means drawing an idea badly enough that it's quick and well enough that someone else gets it.
- Week02
Insight
Finding the true thing about people that the ad hangs on. It's usually something everyone knows and nobody says out loud.
- Week03
Strategy for people who hate strategy
How a brief gets written, and how to find the bit that matters. Then you take a real one apart and rewrite it on a single page.
- Week04
Speed
45 minutes, one idea on the wall. It feels impossible in week one. By week four you'll have three and be arguing about which one to show.
02. Make
weeks 5 to 8- Week05
Art direction
Type, layout, picking the picture, and knowing when to take the words away.
- Week06
The poster
One image, a few words, three seconds of someone's attention at a bus stop. It's the hardest format there is, so it gets a whole week.
- Week07
Radio and film
Writing scripts and reading them out loud to the room. It's awful the first time. By the third time it's fine.
- Week08
Agency evening
Industry people set a live brief and crit what you come back with. They're looking at your work the way they'd look at their own team's.
03. Book
weeks 9 to 12- Week09
Charities and movements
Campaigns for causes instead of products, with ideas that go past the print ad: stunts, social, a thing on a lamppost, something people join in with.
- Week10
Awards brief
We pick a student awards brief, like the ones D&AD New Blood sets, and you go after it properly.
- Week11
Book crits
Creative directors go through your book one page at a time. They'll tell you what stays, what goes, and what you should have done instead. It stings a bit.
- Week12
Show night
Your work goes on the wall. Agency people come in for a drink and a look. Bring business cards, or at least a pen.
Who teaches it
The course is run by William Howie. On agency evenings, people from the industry come in to set live briefs and crit your answers.
William Howie
Course leader. Sets the briefs and runs the crits. glasgowadschool@gmail.com
Agency evenings
People from agencies come in, set a live brief and crit your answers the same night.
What you leave with
spoiler. it's not a certificate
- A book of campaigns, each one crit'd until it holds up.
- A creative partner, if it clicks. A lot of teams in agencies started like this.
- Your work seen by the people who hire juniors.
- A folder of scamps that shows how you think, which some creative directors like more than the finished stuff.
- A habit of throwing away your first idea.