Alumni

Sammy Carrick

Career Path: Creative Lead at Coolr
Location: UK

Started working as a digital marketer/creative all rounder for a North East based, nationwide hospitality group. I ran all social media pages and helped to design and brand their bars and restaurants. It's here where I learned my skills in design and social media. Moved to London in 2015 to start working for a company called Born Social as a Creative, there were 20 people who worked there and we worked with little snack brands, cafes and start-ups. Left Born Social in 2023 as a Senior Creative Strategist, having helped to grow the agency to 130 people - working for Guinness, Jägermeister, Primark, Warner Bros and many more.

What are you doing now?

Creative Lead at Coolr

Previously at Fold7 as a Senior Creative where I work on some of the biggest brands in the world across multiple markets worldwide, including Audible and Carlsberg.

What was it about Northumbria that made you decide to study here?

Great design school and I was Newcastle based. New, modern facilities and a great Uni culture.

What was it like studying at Northumbria?

We had this great lecturer called Chris Wharton. No one used to miss his lectures because he was so engaging, knowledgable and interesting. The area that really sparked my interest was the design module. I'd always had a keen eye for art throughout school, and learning basic Adobe skills really helped kickstart my love for design and making cool stuff.

How connected was your course with industry?

It was a really nice blend between advertising and media - the history of ads, human behaviour and also the more craft side of making stuff - such as design and copywriting. It allowed me to choose the area that most interested me (there was stuff in my course for everyone!)