001: SOY

Recently, we launched SOY (Support Our Youth) – a new MIK initiative spotlighting and developing young creatives where we offer free one-on-one sessions with our team, sharing candid career advice to help you develop and flourish as a creative. You can register your interest here: https://www.miksoy.com.

And as part of SOY, we'll be featuring local up-and-coming creative talent. First up we've got Connor Dewhurst , a Sydney-based Designer / Illustrator with a love for hand-crafted and happy mistakes. He’s created stunning work for the likes of?@middlekidsmusic ?,?@moktarmusic ?,?@the1975 ?to name a few - and we think he’s bloody brilliant.

What did you find the most challenging about getting to where you are now in your career?

The most challenging thing for me when starting out was rejection. I’m a sensitive guy and I have had to learn to grow thicker skin in the music industry when my designs and ideas were not what the client needed. Everyone has opinions and you may think you have created the best thing ever but sometimes you cannot please everyone. I had to learn it’s not a reflection of my work and most of the time other people have better & stronger ideas to get the creative over the line.

What are some of your favourite projects that you've worked on to date?

I’d say my favourites would easily be doing work for the 1975 most recently. I got to design a total of nine gig-specific limited-screen printed posters which was incredible as they have been my favourite band since I was about 16. some other favourites would be merch designs for Nirvana, Paul McCartney, Fall Out Boy, and Bring Me The Horizon, and I also just wrapped up a whole worldwide campaign for U2.

Have you got any advice for budding creatives looking to follow a similar career path?

My main tip would be to make as many connections as possible. I completely owe my success to cold emailing and approaching managers & bands over Instagram. It’s amazing living in a world where every person on the planet is an email and dm away.. the possibilities are endless and you never know who you might reach.

What's your ultimate goal and how do you plan on getting there?

Goals are a funny thing for me now.. starting out I had two.. work for The 1975 & Bring Me The Horizon and reading above you’ll notice I’ve managed to crack both of them! Currently, the goal is just to work on more album campaigns for Australian artists. I have a good couple up my sleeve but I love Australian music and grew up as a teenager deep in the Australian music rabbit hole so I’m keen to make more of those happen.

Feeling inspired? You can register your interest in SOY here: https://www.miksoy.com.