Shola Ladeji: How a Warren Street Poster Changed Everything.

Not every designer starts with a pencil and a plan. Shillington graduate Shola Ladeji started with a folder of campaign ideas, a run of closed doors in advertising and a hunch that if he could learn to visualise his thinking, everything might finally click into place.

It did, though not the way he expected. A 2017 exhibition at the Wellcome Collection lit the spark, a Shillington poster spotted at Warren Street station on the walk home sealed it, and a brutal Manchester winter tested whether he really meant it.

Today Shola freelances across branding and creative, has worked with the likes of Pearlfisher and Design Bridge & Partners, and paints between Sevilla and Huelva when he needs to clear his head. We sat down with him to talk turning points, why you should never undercharge, the case for saving every scrap of your working out and why the best work is always collaborative.

Hey Shola! Was there a specific moment, project, or person  that pushed you from being “design-curious” to “design committed”?

I think a moment that stands out would be the 'Can Graphic Design Save Your Life' exhibition at Wellcome Collection in 2017. In the preceding years, I had been knocking on almost all the doors in ad-land with a folder of campaign ideas and copywriting mockups. After a while, I had to take the hint.

I ended up doing sound direction for Park Chinois, based on vibing with Matt Rowe (who produced Spiceworld). But I was always thinking about ad-land. I thought to myself: if I could learn how to visualise my ideas, maybe I could get in the door and get closer to the creative strategist desk I truly coveted.

It was at this exhibition, though, that the thought turned into a real plan. There, I saw the kind of things I wanted to make. It was all health design... purpose-led work truly built to inform the audience. On the way home, I saw a Shillington poster in Warren Street station, and that was that.

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

That quality is subjective. It's just not. Even when you're breaking all of the rules, there's still an acknowledgement that rules exist in the first place. At Shillington, you quickly learn quality has something to do with alignment, balance, contrast, hierarchy and repetition. How these elements talk to each other, and to the central idea. Once I learned these principles, I was convinced quality is objective.

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

Moving up north in the winter, leaving my partner and family at very short notice. Randomly, I still get flashbacks of the morning commute from Langworthy to Manchester Central. I always laugh. Dark skies and unforgivable coldness.

I believed in the process, though, and that's what pushed me through. You're being tested every day, but there's a certain comfort to that. I didn't realise at the time, but my progress was hidden inside small acts of discipline. It was never dramatic. You keep showing up and eventually what feels impossible becomes routine. Besides, tough times are always easier when you know why you're doing it.

Can you describe a project from the course that made you feel like, “Yes. I can actually do this”?

Probably the Code U one. It was a looser brief that allowed me to have some fun with copywriting.

It's not heavy pixel-pushing work, just a coherent concept. I was definitely secretly trying to prove to myself I could do advertising creative.

How did learning in a studio-style environment impact the way you think and work?

The commitment to analog methods in the studio environment is magic. We were encouraged to scan things in and explore different textures. I couldn't yet perfectly lasso a leaf, but in a studio environment I could at least leverage my eye for materials and semiotics. The arty stuff. Working in a studio-style environment is how great things happen.

What’s one piece of feedback you received from a teacher or classmate that changed your work for the better?

Ed Baptist would come at me when I deleted stuff, but he was right. 'Stuff' is important. Save all the working out. These days, I still find it amazing how clients ask me to explore something I did that I don't even rate myself. To be honest, I still have to be reminded of this from time to time (shoutout Rory Cowan), but Ed gave me that gem first.

Talk us through your portfolio: what story were you trying to tell about yourself as a designer?

The shortest story possible. I just think with portfolios, I have to give the visitor next to no work. That is how you can enjoy it. Deliver the thing in full and with no hesitation.

Last year, I didn't have a folio. But that was actually the busiest year. There's something in that too. Most of my work comes through word of mouth. I try to be organised, communicate well and make clients feel involved from beginning to end. The work matters, but so does the journey. I think the simplicity of my folio reflects that.

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

The opportunities are so small at the beginning. You just have to keep on going and keep on dreaming. Risks must be taken. My first opportunity (and risk) was a five-month internship in Sevilla doing retouch for a fire-blown glass studio on a very modest wage. I art worked their brochures in both languages and designed their point-of-sale assets.

Looking back, I think what opened the door is realising I needed the experience as much as the work. At the time, because of all the graft and financial struggle, I hadn't travelled in a while and had become a little worn out. Sevilla gave me new people, a new rhythm and some perspective. I came back with more energy than I left with. Sometimes an opportunity changes your work, but sometimes it changes you.

What’s something you learned in the industry that you wish you knew while studying?

Never ever undercharge. It doesn't feel right. And when you feel weird, you can't enjoy the work.

The work will therefore not get your special magic beautiful signature seasoning. It will stay in a folder after money has changed hands and will never make it into your portfolio. Sometimes it will not even be used by the client beyond their immediate need. So it doesn't take you anywhere. It doesn't work. I wish I'd understood sooner than I did that being serious about my prices was part of my job.

I would say that charging proper rates and setting timelines that let you breathe and deliver properly is what good clients expect from you. There are many other reasons not to undercharge, but that's the peak one. The work lags.

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

Between Sevilla and Huelva. I like to paint. Where I stay in Huelva, there are lots of goats. I also like to box, and the club I go to feels like home. It's the problem-solving aspect of boxing. Anyway, after that I'm pleased to be at my desk. The work feels lighter and there's no block.

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

A bit. Because everyday life has digitised so fast and I've come into design while it's been dealing with that. There are fewer monocultural moments, but design trends quickly make themselves omnipresent. But I always knew that you see more design where there is less internet. Like wayfinding typography in the countryside. Or Taschen books. Or in emergency situations.

As for brands, I think Nikita Walia put it so well: 'It could be said that brand patronage flattens creative work into vibe'. I recommend every designer read her thoughts on the question 'If Brands Are Today's Patrons, Whose Culture Gets Funded?' or pick up a copy of Philip Jackson's 'Lore'.

How do you stay connected to classmates or the wider design community?

Margharita Baldi is a fantastic designer and still a great friend of mine. She's currently freelancing in Toulouse. We studied together at Shillington and I always loved her style. With us, it doesn't really matter how long it's been. When we catch up, it's clear we are still at it, trying to improve.

I was truly blessed to join the 2024 cohort of D&AD Shift. That opened up a wider community for me. It connected me with designers (and angels) I might not otherwise have met. Some of those relationships carried into work with places like Pearlfisher and Design Bridge & Partners.

And finally. If you could collaborate with anyone (a brand, studio, artist, cause), who would it be and why?

I've been very grateful for what I've been able to do so far. It's shaped me a lot. I've started to build an initiative to respond to gaps I've seen along the way in my own experience.

It's already highly collaborative. The best work is. Watch this space! (or follow me on LinkedIn).

Thinking about your own leap into design? Shillington's graphic design course is built for exactly that, turning career-changers into job-ready designers in as little as three months. Your story could start the same way Shola's did.