30 Years of Shillington: Ed Baptist.

Seventeen years after first walking through Shillington’s doors as a design student, Ed Baptist has come full circle. Having built a career across branding, advertising, packaging, fashion, interiors, tech startups and teaching Shillington's Graphic Design course for years, Ed is now back. This time teaching our Motion for Graphic Designers course.

In this interview, Ed reflects on how Shillington has evolved since his student days, what makes teaching so rewarding, and why passionate teachers and real-world creativity are still at the heart of the experience. Ed reminds us why, even after 30 years, Shillington continues to be, in his words, “fun… because it is.”

Hey Ed. What brought you to Shillington, and what’s kept you here?

I studied at Shillington back in 2008, it was only the second class that was being run outside of Australia and I remember worrying if it was legit before I signed up! No Certification! No Accreditation!

Well 2 weeks after graduation, I was working in Shoreditch. Turns out it was for real. 6 years later I joined the team back at Shillington teaching graphic design. And now, 17 years after that graduation, with a career spanning Branding, Advertising, Packaging, Fashion, Interiors & Tech Startups, I’m back again teaching the motion course.

Shillington was such a positive experience, being taught by people who were passionate and enthusiastic about design was life-changing for me.

How has Shillington changed or evolved since you joined?

Shillington has changed massively, most obviously from in-person to online. But also the team are really hot on ensuring the content and tools are staying relevant to the industry. Quite often our graduates will turn up in roles with more technical knowledge than their new colleagues.

What’s one memory from your time here that still makes you smile?

Apart from some legendary AGM’s hanging out with teachers from across the globe, the thing that always makes me smile is hearing from students. How they're progressing in their careers, new roles, promotions, pivots. And the occasional life update, weddings, babies, relocations.

What do you love most about teaching design?

I love helping students understand something new, seeing the light bulb come on for someone and watching them create something great, running with their new knowledge is super rewarding.

How have you seen design education change over the years?

I mean, there’s lots of information everywhere, you can learn things from TikTok for goodness sake! The challenge is filtering the good from bad, the thing Shillington does well is it gives you confidence that you have a strong design foundation. You will keep adding to that throughout your career…. but you’ve got to have a firm foundation.

What’s one piece of advice you find yourself giving to every student?

All the clues are in the brief.

What does 30 years of Shillington mean to you personally?

Man!!! I mean Shillo has weathered some pretty epic storms: the dot-com bubble, 2008 financial crisis.. Covid. So the fact that it’s still going is a huge achievement. But to me 30 years of Shillington is 30 years of helping people towards a more creatively fulfilling career.

What’s something unique about the Shillington experience that hasn’t changed, and shouldn’t?

I think teachers who are passionate about design, and care about the students. That’s what impacted me as a student, so I've tried to do that & be exactly that as a teacher.

How do you think design education will evolve over the next 30 years?

I know AI will probably be able to do all the things we do, but I still think humans are pretty great. So I hope we keep our humanity and don’t outsource all the fun parts of being a designer to the robots.

If you could describe Shillington in one word, what would it be and why?

FUN… because it is.

Thirty years on, Shillington’s mission remains the same: to empower people everywhere to unlock their creativity and build a career they love. Our course was created in 1996, and from our first studio in 1997 to a global network of designers today, we’ve seen thousands of students transform their lives through design.

Whether it’s through our Graphic Design Course or Motion Design Course, Shillington continues to provide a hands-on, industry-focused education that helps students turn creative potential into professional success.

As we celebrate three decades of design, we’re more inspired than ever by the passion, imagination, and ambition of our community. Here’s to 30 years of creativity and to shaping the next generation of designers around the world.