What Allan Beaver Wants from Art Students and Their Portfolios Watch Allan Beaver, one of the most creative people in America, share his thoughts on what universities look for in art students and their portfolios.
by Karen Kesteloot
Allan Beaver was and is ahead of his time. Considered as one of the top 100 creative people in America and inducted to the 1997 Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, Allan Beaver is living testament to the success of brazen ideas that paved the way to cuttingedge advertising. His work at Levine Huntley Schmidt & Beaver has helped their clients get into the CLIO Finals, an award-giving body that recognizes creative communications in advertising. In particular, he was responsible for creating Matchbox Ad Campaigns geared towards adults that got their largest orders from major retailers. Currently an artist in residence at the High Point University, America’s fastest growing university, Professor Beaver continues to cast his creative influence to younger artists as they try to find their own inspiration for coming up with new and exciting ideas. Karen Kesteloot from PortPrep has had the privilege to interview Prof Allan Beaver on what art and design schools are looking for from college applicants and their art portfolios. Click here to view interview video.
Key Points from Allan Beaver
Be passionate in the arts. There is a great demand from students once they get accepted to an art or design program. Sleepless nights and criticisms from their professors is a common occurrence for them. People without the drive and desire to excel in the arts will easily drop out of such challenging programs, discouraged and disheartened. This is why passion is a
necessity when going to an art school. If you really love learning and creating art, you will succeed in the program regardless of any obstacles you will encounter.
Additional reading: 5 Ways to Rediscover Your Art and Reclaim Your Passion
Choose a school with a great faculty. To unlock the potential of your child into becoming a successful artist, you need to help them to select an art or design program with great faculty. Arts instructors are responsible for the growth of their students – without proper guidance, student’s success in their careers will be limited. Allan Beaver urges parents to check out the faculty–if the faculty is good with high credentials and success in their professional careers then they will be able to impart that to the students Additional reading: How to Select the Perfect College Art Program for Your Child
Come up with new ideas. Good ideas are a highly valued commodity in the field of art and in particular in advertising, Beaver’s specialty. It is essential in all design fields be-it architecture, animation or entertainment design that students and professionals come up with truly original and innovative ideas to have successful and cutting edge careers. That’s what design professors look for in prospective students: ideas. What separates the great artists that stand the test of time from the rest is how they changed art and design through their ideas. Cubism would not have taken place if it weren’t for Pablo Picasso paving the way. It would also be difficult to fathom Impressionism come to life without Édouard Manet. In other words, art is all about finding ways to make the mundane extraordinary, and it is up to the ability of students to innovate that will determine their success as artists and designers. Additional reading: Making an Artistic Impact – The Creative Inspiration Process in Building Your Art Portfolio Images created using Quozio and Pixlr. Click here to view where article was first published.