Brand Marketing & Content Manager, Guest in Residence

Marc Igbinadolor

Why did you choose to study at Shillington? Did you have any previous design experience?

I found myself naturally gravitating to design while working in other disciplines. While studying at Shillington, I found that the design process we were learning mimicked processes I had already created/experienced in my other work. After overcoming my imposter syndrome about being a designer and seeing how uncertain and nebulous life is in this pandemic, I felt there was no better time to commit to studying design.

Since studying at Shillington, you started working as a Digital Creator and Social Media Manager at Diane von Furstenburg. Tell us about your work there.

There are no typical days, which was what drew me to the position. I photograph, make video content, design and so much more. I manage our social channels across all platforms, learning about the different communities and creating engaging content that resonates. As an interdisciplinary creative, it felt like a great fit. We recently launched a partnership with the Association of Young Astrologers (AYA) to bring our audiences monthly horoscopes and I was able to design the social media assets for this collaboration.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting in the full-time course at Shillington, what would it be?

Go at your own pace, ask alot of questions, and work with tactile matter. The full-time course will have people from various backgrounds, some who know design well, and some who are new to it. As a perfectionist, I ended the course wanting to have a perfect portfolio. What I didn’t know is your portfolio will always grow and change throughout your career, so going at your own pace and trusting the process is key to getting better at design. Getting handsy with tactile matter will also help you to have fun along the way and create something unique.

If you are inspired by a company or a studio, ask yourself these questions: what font do they use, what are their brand colors, do they illustrate, are they a product design company? Then, gear your portfolio towards that style, but of course, with your own personal, unique point of view.

Outside of design, you mentioned you enjoy working interdisciplinary across photo, design and illustration. Do you think it’s important for designers to get involved in projects outside of their profession?

Lately I’ve just been focusing on poetry. I think it’s important to ‘play’ outside of the work you do, especially given the state of our world/society. Poetry is how I’m ‘playing’ now, play allows other parts of myself, other muscles, to be expressed and exercised. It’s how I keep up with my disciplines. Beyond that, my photography clients still reach out to me for portrait sessions, and I do some consulting work as well.

What would you say to someone who is feeling a bit skeptical about the Shillington course?

To sit down and write out what their intentions are:

What do they want to gain?
What do they have to lose?
How could design benefit their career or practices?

I went back and forth about doing this course until I sat down and weighed the pros and cons versus my wants and desires.

Visit Marc’s website and read his full interview on the blog.