Creative advertising has a different hiring process than a lot of industries. You can provide your resume and GPA to show your work ethic, but agencies hire you based on how you think. And although it’s not always fair, the industry is very fast-paced, and doesn’t invest a lot of time into training junior employees. They want to know you can create great work on day 1 of the job. That’s where portfolio schools, and your portfolio, comes in. 

A great portfolio consists of about 6 interesting, smart campaigns. Each campaign should solve a brand problem, or position a brand in a new light for consumers. There’s all kinds of technical things that recruiters look for, like brand activations, digital solutions, and cohesive user journeys, but the biggest thing they look for are big ideas. 

We’ll teach you how to get to that big idea, and help you build a portfolio of work that shows everyone what the inside of your brain looks like.

Yes it’s possible, but it is challenging, and can take a very long time. We’re very honest with our prospective students. If we think your current portfolio is strong enough to get a junior position, we’ll tell you that! We’re not going to waste your time or money.

It’s hard to build a portfolio yourself. The best campaigns are created when writers and art directors work together, with the guidance of a great creative director (aka your teacher!)

At book180, we’ll give you the briefs and structure you’ll need to develop an instinct for what makes truly great work. We’ll also help you make the connections you need to get a job after graduation.

It’s a time vs. money decision. We’ll get you the competitive portfolio you need to start your career in just 6 months. Why wait?

We changed the model for portfolio school after seeing first-hand that strong, smart, creative portfolios can be made in a shorter period of time. We’ve strategically developed our curriculum to provide you with all the best resources and instructors, so you can focus on working really hard and pushing yourself for 180 days. 

We schedule regular portfolio check-ins with you throughout the semester, and touch base with instructors weekly to ensure all students are on track. As a team, we will all help you build out your best ideas into a professional portfolio in half the time of other programs. 

Email us at hello@book180.com to get a full curriculum.

We offer an art direction and copywriting program. In both tracks, you’ll work with partners, think of cool ideas, and work really hard. But art directors focus a little more on the visuals of the ads, and writers focus a little bit more on the words. You can learn more about each of the tracks in the Programs section of our website.

Do you love art and photography, but haven’t found a job where you can use that skill creatively? Do you spend a lot of time making things? T-shirts, doodles, photographs, paintings, illustrations? 

‍Art Direction is for you! Get in touch with us to learn more about the program and hear from art directors in the industry.

Do you write short stories or poetry, or did you love to as a kid? Do you spend time crafting the perfect instagram caption? Do song lyrics or jokes live rent free in your head?
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Copywriting is for you! Get in touch with us to learn more about the program and hear from copywriters in the industry, like Sarah! 

You do not need to have previous advertising experience, or have majored in advertising in undergrad to attend book180. We provide you with the skills and expertise to craft a portfolio and make really smart ideas come to life for brands. 

Many students are career changers, some have worked in advertising, but maybe on the account side, and several are coming right from undergrad. Whatever your background may be, if you are ready to push yourself for 6 months and immerse yourself in the industry, you will leave with a strong book.

Classes are in the evenings Monday-Thursday, as all of our instructors work at agencies during the day. You will be in class around 12 hours per week, and have about 15 outside-of-the-classroom hours dedicated to working with partners, creating your campaigns, and the occasional guest speaker.  

book180 consists of 20 weeks of classes, with a 2-week complimentary finishing period.

We’ve designed the book180 curriculum so that people who’d like to keep their full-time job during the program can. All of our classes are in the evenings, and we don’t have classes on Fridays or the weekends. It will be A LOT of work for 6-months. But, with the right time management and support, you can do it! (Also, check with your job, some of them offer education benefits to partially cover the cost of your tuition!) 

Since we’re fully remote, we have students and instructors from all over! You may have a class live from New York on Monday, and live from Buenos Aires on Tuesday. It was important to us to ensure physical location wasn’t a barrier to acceptance. You shouldn’t have to move to a big city to build a great portfolio!  

All of our classes meet live on Zoom, and you’ll meet with your art director and copywriter partners on Zoom or FaceTime. Since classes are live and meet consistently, you’ll quickly develop a fun, casual repertoire with your classmates and instructors. And if you’re in the same city, we encourage you to meet up in-person! 

We’ve worked super hard to make sure book180 feels inclusive and together, even though we’re all over the world. We host monthly trivia nights, movie screenings, Quiplash and more! In-person portfolio reviews and beach parties are also on the horizon.

A computer
    Mac is preferable, but not required
    At least 16GB, and for Art Directors, 32GB would be ideal
    A processor of 2.4 GHz or higher
A reliable internet connection
A favorite notebook and pen for brainstorming and note-taking

That’s it! We provide all of our students with the Adobe Creative Suite for their 6-month program. We also provide students with CommArts subscriptions, entry fees for award shows, and industry-leading support programs.   

We’ve done our best to offer competitive and affordable pricing for our students. 

All students who apply for the Fall 2022 semester will be entered into a drawing for our New Direction Scholarship, which is a full-ride scholarship to book180. 

We also offer quarterly and monthly payment options to help. 

If price is still a barrier to entry for you, please email us and we can work towards a solution.

You can apply here. After we receive your application, we’ll set up a phone interview to get to know each other better! Students can apply for either the Fall or Spring semesters on a rolling basis.

Our number one goal at book180 is to help students land their dream job in advertising. We have a 2-week finishing period (called the 360 period) where we help perfect every student’s portfolio and make sure they’re ready to be seen by top industry professionals. 

We offer career services for every student who finishes the program, which include: 
- One-on-one career coaching
- International portfolio debuts, personal job counseling, salary guides, interview training
- Job board postings and career assistance, even after you’ve graduated!
- An industry mentor to help make connections and transition to agency life

We personally pair our recent graduates with an industry mentor whose interests align (agency, location, personality, etc.) to help with networking, and bridging the gap between portfolio school and agency life. 

Our instructors are all top industry professionals who are based in major cities and amazing agencies across the globe. They are hands down our best asset in helping students make connections. 

Our weekly job board sent out to book180 grads and alumni provides smart leads to jobs and recruiter + creative director connections. 

book180’s guest speaker series introduces students to inspiring creatives worldwide, while keeping you up to date with industry trends. 

We are there for you for your entire career in advertising. You can always reach back out to us if you’re looking to move agencies, move to a different city, for advice, for anything!

Worldwide! With over 20 years of combined experience in advertising and portfolio schools, we’ve cultivated lasting relationships with agencies across the globe. The benefit of being online is also having top creative instructors in major cities all over! To name a few - New York, LA, San Francisco, Miami, Amsterdam, Chicago, and Buenos Aires. 

We’re committed to fostering our agency relationships and are always looking to make new connections.

Honestly, it’s one of the most fun jobs you could ever have. Imagine an office where you’re surrounded by like-minded friends, and your job is literally to hang out with them and think of fun ideas. There’s a lot of joking and laughing, and there’s a lot of variety in the week. Some days you’ll be building an Instagram campaign. Other days, you’ll be helping to pick music for a TV commercial. You might get a chance to work with famous actors, or visit LA to be on a production set. 

And you’re making work that feels valuable. You aren’t just building spreadsheets all day—you’re creating things that people see out in the world. You’ll help change people’s minds about brands and nonprofits and important issues.

It’s fast-paced and stressful at times, and there are hard deadlines and late nights. But we think the industry is quickly evolving to see that creatives need downtime to recharge, and that mental health is just as important as physical health. We want to help set the bar for creative support at book180, so that when you get into the industry, you know how to advocate for your needs and be your best creative self.

Junior-level (0-2 years): $45,000 to $60,000
Mid-level (3-5 years): $60,000 to $75,000
Senior-level (5-7 years): $75,000 to $99,000
Associate Creative Director (7-10 years): $100,000 to $140,000
Creative Director (10+ years): $140,000 +

Creative problem solvers will always be needed, even during recessions, and pandemics. It’s hard for a machine to replace the need for innovative, culturally-relevant solutions. The skills you learn at book180 are skills that can be applied to so many industries. Writing and graphic design skills can be applied to advertising agencies, branding agencies, internal marketing departments of any company, city councils, non-profits, and more. It’s also an easy career to continue at with freelance, through life changes like moving to a new state, starting families, personal illness, caring for parents, etc. 

If you’d like to talk more about anything above, or have any other questions, please reach out! We’d love to chat. 
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EMAIL US