Key Lessons From Founder Of YEO Magazine Saul Duffin’s Blick Academy Creative Talk
Due to an insanely busy period of work and travel this is a very belated event writeup of our last Blick Academy Creative Talk on 5th June with Saul Duffin founder of YEO Magazine!
Saul began the talk by speaking about his early influences of TV, video, music and perhaps most importantly graffiti. Saul explained how experimenting with graffiti gave him the opportunity to do something creative as a teenager but still fit in and not get bullied. He also learnt many important lessons from graffiti which have stuck with him throughout his creative journey including:
- Be unique and identifiable in your creative work – develop your own creative style.
- Be visible – make sure the world sees your creative work.
- Always strive to improve – everyone has to start somewhere, the important thing is to take that leap and start and then keep learning and improving.
- Typography skills and knowledge – graffiti was Saul’s first experience and insight into the world of typography.
- Balancing space and colour in good design – graffiti taught Saul about the importance of balancing space and colour in good design.
Saul also spoke of the value of travel and broadening your horizons for inspiration and knowledge. He went to Manchester to study graphic design and he talked about the inspiration he gained from the visuals of the city, its street art and colour as well as the music scene.
The covid pandemic brought him back to Belfast to finish his degree. During this period he saw a gap in the market for a platform to showcase creative things happening locally which led to him founding YEO Magazine.
YEO Magazine was born with the goal of injecting life into the Belfast music and art scenes and breaking down barriers to bring people together in sectors that Saul believed could be cliquey and intimidating to outsiders. He started with an instagram account and built a community by inviting people to get involved early on by asking them to submit ideas and back the project on Kickstarter to fund publishing the first 2 issues of the magazine. He needed to raise £800, through the Kickstarter campaign but in the end got over £1000. Overall he published 6 print magazines over a year and a bit before it got too expensive and the magazine turned to an online only format. When putting the magazine together he wanted to create a high quality curated experience so was selective about what he would cover.
Saul wears many different creative ‘hats’. As well as running the magazine, Saul is also a freelance designer and social media content creator, runs different music and comedy events including the monthly comedy night No Joke, has started his own radio show, started djing and set up his own podcast called Wise Up podcasts which are currently recorded once a year.
Here are some of the lessons Saul learnt during his experience starting YEO Magazine and through his other creative endeavors that we all could learn from:
- If you can’t find the book you want to read then write it. If what you want doesn’t exist it probably means other like-minded people will also want it. This can make it a good opportunity to create something there is demand for as well as something you personally have a passion for. Saul wanted a way to find out about the art and music scene in Belfast when he came back to live here after studying in Manchester. He couldn’t find anything so he decided to create it himself.
- Trust your taste and that if you like it others will too. Know what’s good to you and trust that if you like it others will too. Don’t doubt your ideas and taste. Even if what you are doing seems very different. Ask yourself questions such as:- What would I like to exist that doesn’t currently
– What am I watching on my own phone?
– What do I like?
– What am I interested in? - Ingrain yourself in the world you want to work within. For Saul that was music, art and comedy. Through the magazine and different events and activities he created opportunities for himself to produce the type of work he wanted to be known for. This gave him experience, improved his skills and gave him the opportunity to build his network and connections in these industries. Work out which sector you want to work in and find a way to get involved and get to know people in that sector.
- You have to try different things to learn. Saul talked about how trying different creative things when you are starting out can help you to work out what creative work you like and are good at, what there is a market for, as well as what skills you need to improve. For example through running events Saul learnt that he needed to improve his time management skills, it also showed him that the bit he liked most about running events was the design element.
- It’s ok to change direction. Saul printed 6 copies of the magazine in the first year and a bit before it became too expensive and the magazine changed to an online only format.
- Curate to create. Having the skills to put things together can be just as important as having the skills to create things. As Saul explained he didn’t think he could ever be the best designer, but he did believe that he could be the best curator. He knew was good at putting things together, at curating content. A vital skill for setting up YEO magazine.
- Look around before you look up. Network with other creatives and support each other.
- For good design keep it simple. It’s hard to go wrong with a nice font and good colours.
- Social media for most creatives is a necessary evil. Saul spoke about the challenges of social media, but how you can also learn how to use it to your advantage and as a way to generate income from sponsored posts with brands. He spoke about making it work for you, setting boundaries, not overthinking it and being kind to yourself. Post the things you would like to see and be confident if you would like them others will too.
- Money should be exchanged for goods and services, even creative ones. Don’t do anything for free unless it is something you are passionate about.
- Learn in public. Saul spoke of the benefits of what he called learning in public. Putting himself and his art out there to the world first through graffiti, then through the magazine. It gave him the opportunity to produce the type of work he wanted to create and be known for, gain feedback, build awareness to promote himself and improve his skills.
- Learn how to learn. Finishing university remotely forced Saul to learn in different ways, such as through Youtube. He believes this gave him a broader range of creative skills and knowledge, as well as mechanisms for continuously learning and improving his skills throughout his career.
- 36 days of type. Saul spoke of this instagram challenge which asks you to design a letter everyday as a small thing that improved his skills and ultimately he believes changed his life.
- Naivety can be a blessing when starting out. When Saul started YEO magazine he explained that he didn’t understand all the ins and outs of publishing a magazine. He just knew that he liked the idea and had a belief that Belfast needed it and he could do it. In hindsight he believes if he knew the reality he might not have had the courage to do it. Though of course he was more than capable and published 6 copies.
- It’s good to sometimes do creative things for fun and without expectation.Saul spoke of the benefits he found from doing creative things such as his podcast and radio show just for fun and without expectation. A reminder that you don’t need to follow any set rules or earn money from every creative activity. Your professional creative practice will usually benefit from improved skills, creativity and inspiration as well as giving you joy.
You can read the interview we did with Saul before the event here
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