3 Years Since Shillington: Kate Degel.

After nearly a decade in interior design (and an earlier career as an intelligence analyst) Kate Degel took a leap of faith to retrain as a graphic designer. In July 2022, she graduated from Shillington’s full-time course and quickly stepped into the design industry. Since then, Kate has worked as part of the digital design team at The Telegraph, contributed to cultural and community projects with the Anglo-Ecuadorian Society and continued to grow her creative practice through personal projects and further study.

In this interview, Kate reflects on her creative journey from her early inspirations and decision to pursue design, to the challenges and highlights of the Shillington course, as well as her aspirations for the future.

Welcome back to Shillington Kate! It's been 3 years, and lots has happened. Let's dive in..

Let’s go right back to the beginning. What did you want to be when you were little?

I think like most kids I went through a lot of phases! My grandmother was an air-hostess back in the 40s and 50s so at one point I wanted to do that too and thought it would be a good way to travel the world. I then realised I didn’t really love flying so that dream went straight out the window!

When did you KNOW you wanted to go into a creative field?

I’ve had this conversation with a lot of creatives and it’s interesting how everyone’s journey is so different. I’ve always been a really creative person but my school was very academic-focused so I thought of art and creativity as a hobby or something that was done outside of school/work. It wasn’t until later in life that I realised it could be a genuine career path.

What were you up to before starting Shillington, and what made you go for it?

I was an interior design for almost 10 years. Before that I was an intelligence analyst.

I’d been thinking about graphic design for a long time and looking into different options when a friend of mine who studied the Shillington course recommended it to me. I enrolled immediately!

What can you tell us about the Shillington experience?

I really wanted my life as a graphic designer to start as soon as possible so I chose the 3 month course. I really appreciated that at Shillington you learn more than just the technical skills and software, you’re really taught about the whole design process from start to finish as well as about working in teams and what a studio experience is like. That was invaluable. The 3 month course is very intensive so there were some moments of high stress and anxiety, especially because I put a huge amount of pressure on myself.

Kate's branding for the Ango-Ecuadorian Society:

A few images and mockups of the branding for the Anglo-Ecuadorian Society, including the redesigned newsletter, website and social media.

A mockup of the social media, showing graphic elements and branding, from the campaign identity I created for Multilingual Emotional Support (MES) – a project between FEWP and Southwark College that aims to provide emotional support to students whose native language is not English.

A couple of mockups from an artist portfolio I’m working on with an Ecuadorian artist to showcase his work in an editorial and conceptual way. This is still a WIP (hence the placeholder copy) but the mocks show a cover and spread proposal.

What else were you juggling in life at the time?

I had doubts about leaving a long and well-established career to do something different where I'd start over from zero. I wondered if it was ‘too late’. I think it’s a natural part of life to wrestle with self-doubt sometimes but in the end it makes you stronger, especially when you're able to prove to yourself that investing in yourself is 100% worth it.

What was the best bit of the day during your classes?

I think the friendships made during the course were a highlight for me. We'd always share creative ideas and would bounch off each other’s creative energy was really fun and invigorating.

We know the course can be an intense experience, would you do it anything differently if you could do it all over again?

I think I would tell myself to not put so much pressure on myself. At the time it seems so serious but it’s ok to slow down and just enjoy the process.

Did you consider any other routes to learning design when you were considering Shillington?

Yes, I thought about just taking various technical courses to learn the software individually. I’m glad that I chose Shillington because I feel it gave me a very well-rounded experience and a strong portfolio to enter the working world with.

Kate's Packaging project at Shillington, Élan Skincare.

Had you done any other studies before Shillington? Like college, university, online courses, self taught?

Yes I have an Undergraduate Degree in International Relations and a Masters in Intelligence & International Security. I’d also done a lot of technical courses and workshops for software such as Vectorworks, Photoshop and InDesign.

Do you still have a favourite piece from your Shillington portfolio?

It feels strange looking back at my work because I’ve evolved so much in the years since. To be honest, I enjoy them all because they're so different. It feels good to see how much I’ve grown and accomplished in the years since.

What are you doing for creative inspiration at the moment?

I’m always dabbling in something creative! Whether that's visiting exhibitions or upskilling. I’m into photography, I’m taking an art direction course online and working on a collection of designs which are related to my Ecuadorian culture and heritage. I try to explore different creative mediums whether it be through pottery or different types of art.

Do you have any goals for the next year?

I’m currently working at The Telegraph as part of the digital design team so my goals currently are to learn as much as I can and expand my skill set. I’m currently learning web-design in Framer and getting more into the print-side of things. I’ve also just been re-elected to the committee of the Anglo-Ecuadorian Society as Creative Director so I’m very excited and honoured to have the opportunity to continue my work contributing to my community and to the growth of our organisation.

If you could dream up your perfect creative brief what would it be?

It would be really fun to create designs for apparel like t-shirts and hoodies. A friend and I are currently playing around with some ideas for the future. The great thing about graphic design is if you have an idea for a brief, you can make it reality! Passion projects are a fun way to keep your creativity fresh outside of your day job.

And let’s think 5 years into the future. What are you up to?

My dream is to work with Latin-owned businesses. I was lucky enough to work with a few amazing Latin-owned and run businesses and organisations during my time as a freelancer and ultimately, I’d like to return to that in the future.

These types of projects really fuel my soul!

Kate's dream of being a graphic designer, and embracing new skills started at Shillington. Connect with her on Linkedin.

Your creative career is waiting, and so is our Graphic Design course!