Tell us a bit about yourself…
I'm a motion designer and video editor. I work for RPM, a creative advertising agency in Shepherds Bush, London.

What does your job look like?
As a motion designer, simply put, you bring things to life. Say I've got an image or file that looks like a human or a character, and I want to break him apart into different elements and move around his limbs. That would be a simple example of motion design – bringing still things to life.

How would you describe your day-to-day?
My roles and responsibilities start with being briefed by the account managers and the creative directors. The creative team as a whole works quite cohesively for us to get things done.

An average day might would consist of communicating with the account managers; they'll brief me and whoever as part of the project on what needs to be done. From there, I'll do my best as the motion designer to animate or bring movement to whatever the brief is, or whatever needs doing. Along the way, we'll always have feedback sessions with the team, so that we're on the right track.

What is the best thing about working at RPM?
One thing that I want to say is that I'm grateful to a creative and to be able to earn a living doing this, that alone gives me a lot of joy and gratitude. In terms of RPM specifically, they're just a really great agency. It’s my first agency role and they took a chance on me even though I didn't have a lot of experience. They've grown me from the ground up.

I've been able to work on a lot of big briefs, and have had loads of joyous moments outside of work. I know not everyone has those same experiences – it can be tough out there. I've been blessed to be working at RPM and to be given these opportunities.

What three qualities help you do your job?
Number one: Staying calm under pressure is super important. For example, if you have a big brief it often involves loads of exports and different formats of the same visual. Then the client will come back and want amends, so you have to re-export everything all over again. It can be a bit mind-boggling at times. There are also a lot of times when we're working towards quite tight deadlines. In those moments you really have to keep your cool and stress-free.

Number two would be work cleanliness. When I say cleanliness, I mean how you work with files and ensure everything's in order. It's really important to work clearly and orderly.

Number three would be keeping up with trends and always updating your skill set. The creative industry moves so fast and you need to always be in-the-know and thinking about how to improve. I’m always trying to better my craft and stay up-to-date with what's happening within motion design, as well as what's happening within AI, 3D and so on.

Are there any resources you’d recommend to young creatives or do you have any wider wisdom to share?
Check out Creative Lives in Progress! Even before I had the opportunity to speak with you, I followed your social media, and my friends also used to send me posts saying, "Check this job out!"

Behance is also really cool because you get to see different projects. I've had a Behance account for a long time, and that's always kept me inspired.

Outside of that, having a creative network or creative community is great – being in those spots where you'll meet new creatives and people find similarities.

The power of LinkedIn is super-real. I got my current role by building a network and connecting with recruiters. A lot of people feel isolated when looking for jobs; it can be intimidating, but a recruiter can help you out with that journey. Build rapport on LinkedIn, and make some connections!

What’s the best career-related advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t take anything personally. While in uni I created work that reflected my personality and topics I cared about, but it needed to be critiqued and graded. It felt impossible not to take criticism as a reflection of myself or my abilities. After I graduated and started working for clients, I learned to separate myself from the work I created by working under a company’s vision. That’s not to say that I don’t put myself into my work, but I now know that a single project does not define my abilities or creativity.

More recently, I’m starting to follow up on the things I’m interested in. I’m making sure I'm not only solving creative problems for others, but that I also focus on making my own stuff – because it’s fun, and I like to tell a story or two.

...

RPM is a Creative Lives in Progress brand partner. Every year, we partner with like-minded brands and agencies to support our initiative and keep Creative Lives a free resource for emerging creatives. To find out more about how you can work with us, email [email protected]

Find a video version of Dominic's interview on our TikTok here.