2 Years Since Shillington: Maheru Jahania.

Maheru Jahania came to Shillington from a completely different field, with no design experience and a healthy dose of self-doubt.

In this interview Maheru shares why design is really about strategy and not just aesthetics, how learning to embrace imperfection unlocked better work and what it took to land those first freelance roles.

Welcome back to Shillington, Maheru!

What assumptions did you have about design or design education that Shillington proved wrong?

I think it's easy to assume that design is just about being creative and making things look "cool". I definitely thought about it that way before, and while the aesthetics are obviously important, design really comes down to strategy. At Shillington, we learnt a lot about the meaning and impact behind certain design choices and how you can use them to tell the exact story you want to tell. You can make something that looks great, but the real power of design comes through understanding your audience and finding ways to evoke emotion or convey a message through creative choices. Layout, colours, empty space: all of it can and should be intentional. There are reasons why we gravitate towards certain items in the grocery store, or why we like some brands more than others, and a big part of it has to do with design. After all, what we see is often the first impression we form of something, and it can make or break whether we decide to interact with it.

On your very first day, what were you most nervous about and how did that play out?

I remember being nervous about coming from a different field, not having any real design experience, and just not being good enough. I think the reality is that the only things standing in your way are your own limiting beliefs. Design is a skill anyone can learn at any time if you invest the time in it, and this course really motivated me to do so. Imposter syndrome can be very real, but the more you keep trying and learning, the more confident you'll feel in yourself.

Maheru's Packing project at Shillington, Fiyeli.

What skill or mindset did you develop at Shillington that you use every single day now?

The most helpful skill I learnt at Shillington and still practise today is setting a clear design direction before starting any project. I used to overwhelm myself by looking at inspiration and getting carried away by all the possibilities I was seeing and wanting to try them all. But through our classes and design projects, I learnt to make certain decisions beforehand so I didn't run into these issues. Based on the brief, we'd define keywords to guide our exploration and filter through inspiration. Our mood boards would include the reasoning behind our creative decisions. This became such a helpful process for making sure every choice was intentional and connected to the original problem I set out to solve.

What was the hardest challenge you faced during the course and how did you push through it?

I've always been someone who likes to perfect things before showing anyone. I'd spend hours getting something exactly how I wanted, only to get feedback and realise how much more work there was left to do. With this design course, one of the best things I've come to appreciate is the process of critique and allowing imperfection. Every project we did was full of rounds of feedback from classmates and teachers, and the reality is that you didn't have the time to make things "perfect" before anyone saw them. It's actually a lot more helpful, because sometimes seeing the behind-the-scenes or the rougher parts of someone's thought process can spark ideas or creativity you wouldn't have tapped into before. I also think design truly works best through collaboration, and the more you share, the more you can benefit from it.

How did the fast-paced, real-world briefs shape your approach to problem-solving or creativity?

Design can be a never-ending process if you don't set any boundaries for yourself. There's always room to keep iterating and trying new things. But when it comes to real-world projects with deadlines, you need to get good at making decisions that align with your initial goal and sticking with them. It's awesome to have creative freedom and run with it, but it's also grounding to give yourself the discipline of time so you can accomplish what you set out to do. The fast pace of the briefs we did in class really helped me practise this.

Maheru's Start-up Branding project at Shillington, NOSH.

How did you land your first opportunity (big or small)? What opened that door?

After graduating from Shillington, I was pretty nervous to start looking for opportunities, and honestly, the job market felt daunting. I felt great coming out of the course, but now I needed to prove to myself I could do it for real. A couple of months into searching, I actually had a friend reach out to me saying her company was looking for a freelance designer, and it seemed like a great way to get comfortable putting what I'd learnt into practice. Through that role, I slowly started building my confidence in making design decisions, and several months later I ended up landing another freelance gig through LinkedIn that I still do today. I'm really thankful for the experiences I've had so far, and for seeing how my skills have evolved by working with people in different fields.

Where do you go when you feel creatively stuck? Tools, people, routines, or spaces?

Sometimes I think it's nice to break away from what's online and take in what's actually around you. It's really refreshing to see design in real life: in cafés, shops and public spaces. There's obviously a lot of great work being shared on the internet and social media all the time, but something about it being tangible, and understanding how people actually interact with it in everyday scenarios, can inspire you to approach a project in a different way.

How has design influenced the way you see everyday life? Brands, objects, cities, culture?

I think overall I just pay a lot more attention to everything and start thinking about how it was made, especially when it's something I've designed before. For example, I've worked on a lot of menu designs for restaurants in one of my freelance roles, and now whenever I'm out getting food, I find myself looking at menus more intentionally and even picking up ideas for things to try out myself. Design teaches you to be very detail-oriented, and with the amount of time you spend on the seemingly smallest touches of a project, you really learn to appreciate the effort and thinking that went into everything around you.

If a future Shillington student asked for honest advice, what would you tell them that isn't on the website?

I'd tell them not to let fear or uncertainty hold them back, and that it doesn't matter how much or how little they know about design going in. Everyone in our class came from different backgrounds and experiences, and I think we all had so much to take from it. Don't compare yourself too hard to others, because everyone has something unique to bring that will make your work stand out. Allow yourself to mess up and be imperfect, and share your thoughts as much as you can. That's the best way to keep growing and stay motivated as you go.

And finally. Looking ahead, what kind of designer do you hope to become?

I hope to be a designer who inspires others to try new things and break the mould. I always admire people who go about things in their own unique way and allow themselves to be different. I want to create work that connects with people, makes them feel something or pushes them to take action. Photography and videography have always been a big part of my life, from before I learnt graphic design, and I want to continually find ways to keep bringing those skills together. I think that's what excites me the most: the new ways of thinking I've learnt throughout this class, and how they can help me grow or get better at the other things I do too.