Clay Allison

Co-Managing Director

Clay grew up in Leicester in the English Midlands and studied Graphic Design at Leeds Metropolitan. More than a decade on, he's made his mark in working in creative spaces, galleries and, more often, in creative education. He joined Shillington eleven years ago as a Studio Assistant and worked his way up to Managing Director, a role he throws himself into every day alongside Shillington's determined global team. Clay's on a mission to shake up design education and prove that anyone can be a designer or a creative, no matter their qualifications or background. He's based in London.

"I am immensely proud of Shillington’s mission. I’ve seen over 500+ students graduate Shillington, and to this day—the pride I feel when I see their names out in the industry or when they land a job hasn’t changed one bit."

Recommends

I’m a huge fan of food & drink, and as odd as it sounds—one thing I would recommend is the star function on Google Maps. Every time you visit a pub, bar, restaurant, cafe etc—just add it as a star. How many times have you been somewhere, and then totally forgot where it was and forever long for it? It also means people come to you for recommendations and you can pretend (or not) to be in the know.

Yardsale Pizza! Other than being the best pizza in London (or the world)—it’s aesthetic is on par with most design studios. They churn out amazing merch, and always have great people collaborating with them. Long live Yardsale.

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Far Out Magazine. The self proclaimed ‘Independent voices of culture’. I happen to be great friends with this lot, and the passion they exude for putting Independent music & film on the map is inspiring. The music industry itself could take a leaf out of their book.

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