• Try “portfolio”, “ink”, “branding” or a code like “PRS 101”.

PRS 102Professional Identity and Online Presence

Becoming a Professional Creative

The habits that make people want to work with you again: reliability, file hygiene, feedback, deadlines, ethics and responsible tool use.

Planned

About this course

Talent gets you noticed; professional habits get you hired twice. This course covers the everyday practice of working creatively for and with other people: how to scope your own time, keep files that others can open, receive and give feedback, meet or renegotiate deadlines, and behave ethically around credit, confidentiality and AI tools. It is taught with readings, workflow exercises and a short studio project that you run as if it were a client job.

Who it’s for: Students, recent graduates and self-taught artists moving from personal work to work with clients, collaborators or employers. No business experience assumed.

You will be able to

  • Set up a file-naming, versioning and backup system and apply it to a real project
  • Estimate time for a small creative task and compare the estimate to actual time
  • Respond to written feedback with a clear revision plan
  • Explain professional norms for credit, confidentiality and disclosing AI-assisted work

Studio project

A mock client job run end to end: estimate, time log, versioned files, revision plan and a handoff package, plus a personal AI-use and disclosure policy.

To complete this course

  • Complete every required lesson.
  • Have the assignment “Run a mock job like a professional” accepted by an instructor.
  • Records of completion are issued only for courses whose content has passed instructor review.

Part of

Syllabus

Working titles: they may change as the course is written.

  1. Module 1: What 'professional' actually means

    Reliability, communication and judgement, and why they matter more than polish.

    1. 1.1The trust equationReading · 20 min
    2. 1.2Employee, freelancer, contractor, artistReading · 20 min

  2. Module 2: Files and workflow

    A workflow other people can step into without calling you.

    1. 2.1Naming and versioningReading · 25 min
    2. 2.2Folders and backupsExercise · 30 min
    3. 2.3Handoff packagesExercise · 30 min

  3. Module 3: Time and deadlines

    Estimate, track and renegotiate before a deadline slips, not after.

    1. 3.1Estimating your timeExercise · 30 min
    2. 3.2When a deadline is at riskReading · 20 min

  4. Module 4: Giving and receiving feedback

    Feedback is information, not a verdict.

    1. 4.1Reading feedback without flinchingReading · 20 min
    2. 4.2Revision plansExercise · 30 min
    3. 4.3Giving useful critiqueStudio · 40 min

  5. Module 5: Ethics, credit and tools

    Credit, confidentiality and honest use of AI and stock assets.

    1. 5.1Credit and collaborationReading · 20 min
    2. 5.2Confidentiality basicsReading · 15 min
    3. 5.3AI tools and disclosureReading · 25 min

Author: Ricketts University curriculum team (draft for founder review) · Not yet reviewed

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  2. PRS 101

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    Decide what you make, for whom and why, then turn it into a one-line headline, a working name and a handle you can use everywhere.Professional Identity and Online Presence    Foundation11 lessons · ~6 hIn development
  3. PRS 110

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    Write short, medium and long bios plus an artist statement that sound like you, stay factual and fit every place they will appear.Professional Identity and Online Presence    Foundation11 lessons · ~6 hIn development
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