Jenna Drennan
Getting creative in Cardiff – what to expect from an Advertising degree at USW
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Living in Cardiff is really inspiring as an Advertising student… We can see how a brand’s story is being communicated to different audiences on the street.
Creative in Cardiff
I considered all different courses like Photography, but Advertising was the one that stuck out to me because it doesn't just cover design, you also get to learn about business. You work with so many different companies and choose your own brands to study. For one of the classes that we're doing, I've focused on Lego because I think it’s such a fun brand.
The course leaders showed us a list of all the different types of jobs you can go into, which I found really interesting. I don't exactly know what I want to do when I graduate yet because I’m only in first year. But on the course, there are so many different modules, projects and briefs, so I might find what I want to specialise in while I'm working on something.
When I was at Gower College, we came on a campus tour here. I knew I wanted to come to USW. The Cardiff Campus is home to lots of different creative courses and there's so many nice, accessible spaces you can work in - the library, the cafe, all the different rooms.
Living in Cardiff is really inspiring as an Advertising student. The buildings and the shops, they're not just plain - they always have lights on, and colours dedicated to the brand, so we can see how a brand’s story is being communicated to different audiences on the street.
I live in halls 10 minutes away from campus, which is great. I’ve also recently found part time work in retail at St David’s shopping centre.
Find your courseHands-on projects and industry-relevant skills
My favourite part of the course so far has been working on the Immersed Music Festival. As a team we get to work on four designs - the main stage, the cocktail bar, the waiting room, and then the cinema room. We then have to present it to one of the Music classes and they’ll choose which design they want to go with. It's really interesting because you get to do hands-on, detailed designs and it's all your own work.
Communication is a key skill I’ve developed on this course. You're not only talking to people in your class, but you're gaining confidence by doing presentations to groups of people. Throughout the course, we also learn how to use industry-specific software like Illustrator, which will help with future jobs and our ability to earn more.
The facilities here are great too. The library has so many different books. There are lots of computers and there’s workstations where you can be in a quiet area with classmates.
My advice to people thinking about studying Advertising is to be ready for the amount of different briefs you’ll be working on independently. Also get close to your classmates so you can understand more of what's happening. If you're communicating with people, I feel like it helps with the wider subject, and you have your team around you to motivate you, even if you're not directly working together on something.
It’s good to think about what other people might be feeling too. Some people might be more nervous than you, but you don't picture it that way. Be nice to everyone around you and make sure they're being nice to you, because you’re all trying to progress together.
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