Hear straight from our graduates.
The biggest thing Shillington did for me was teach me about creative process and the discipline of design. I learnt that inspiration doesn’t happen accidentally.
Founder at Aseda Design Agency
Oyinkan Karunwi
You have a background in law and worked as a business advisory associate at a firm before changing careers. At what moment did you decide to take the leap and study design?
It took me a while to see design as a viable career. I designed my first poster back at university in Nottingham for a friend’s party. After that, students started paying me to design posters for their parties and student union events. I couldn’t believe I was being paid to design. When I moved back to Nigeria, design became a hobby I could make some extra income from. I used YouTube videos to teach myself how to use some of the Adobe software and I made do with that at the time. But after 3 years working as a business advisory associate, I realized that the weekends and late nights I spent designing for clients brought me more joy and fulfillment and sometimes, even more income than my job as an associate. As a Christian, I started praying about the decision to leave law and take design seriously as a full-time career. I don’t believe in coincidences and around that time, a family friend told me about this amazing design course she had studied part-time in London called Shillington. Visits to Shillington’s blog became a daily escape for me in between writing legal opinions and preparing due diligence reports and so in November 2018, I wrote my parents a very formal email about my decision to leave law practice and take design seriously. That was the moment it all became real.
How did you learn about Shillington? What influenced your decision to study In New York compared to other Shillington campus cities?
A family friend who lives in London first told me about Shillington. After that, I read countless reviews, researched other design courses and stalked Linkedin pages to get more information. A major factor in my decision making was time. I initially considered plunging into a full-time 4-year BA program in Graphic Design, then I later looked into some 2 years and 1-year design programs. Shillington’s 3-month course actually seemed too good to be true at the time. The more I read the more convinced I was. With a completely new career path in sight, I also wanted to experience a new city. Everyone I spoke to said that New York was a design capital and it would be an amazing experience. The visa process also seemed relatively straight-forward, so I decided to go for it.
Any tips for other students considering studying abroad?
Be intentional about experiencing your city. Shillington’s full-time course is intense (8am to 5pm; Monday to Friday) and you’ll definitely feel like staying in and resting after class and weekends—but you’re in a new city for 3 months only! You have to push yourself out of bed and be extremely deliberate about experiencing all the culture the city has to offer.
How did the design course build your skillset and give you the confidence to start your own agency, Aseda Design?
I had been freelancing as Aseda Design from December 2017; and while it had been going ok, I was always so nervous about getting calls for new design work. I would feel a huge lump in my throat whenever I got paid upfront to design anything. I was never sure that ‘inspiration’ would strike before the deadline!
There is actually a method to the madness, there is a place for research, there are methods of idea generation and if I just trust the design process, I’ll end up with a great concept in the end. When I got back to Nigeria, I felt ready to take on any brief.
Check out Oyinkan’s interview on the blog and keep up to date with studio projects on her website.
The biggest thing Shillington did for me was teach me about creative process and the discipline of design. I learnt that inspiration doesn’t happen accidentally.
Founder at Aseda Design Agency
Oyinkan Karunwi
You have a background in law and worked as a business advisory associate at a firm before changing careers. At what moment did you decide to take the leap and study design?
It took me a while to see design as a viable career. I designed my first poster back at university in Nottingham for a friend’s party. After that, students started paying me to design posters for their parties and student union events. I couldn’t believe I was being paid to design. When I moved back to Nigeria, design became a hobby I could make some extra income from. I used YouTube videos to teach myself how to use some of the Adobe software and I made do with that at the time. But after 3 years working as a business advisory associate, I realized that the weekends and late nights I spent designing for clients brought me more joy and fulfillment and sometimes, even more income than my job as an associate. As a Christian, I started praying about the decision to leave law and take design seriously as a full-time career. I don’t believe in coincidences and around that time, a family friend told me about this amazing design course she had studied part-time in London called Shillington. Visits to Shillington’s blog became a daily escape for me in between writing legal opinions and preparing due diligence reports and so in November 2018, I wrote my parents a very formal email about my decision to leave law practice and take design seriously. That was the moment it all became real.
How did you learn about Shillington? What influenced your decision to study In New York compared to other Shillington campus cities?
A family friend who lives in London first told me about Shillington. After that, I read countless reviews, researched other design courses and stalked Linkedin pages to get more information. A major factor in my decision making was time. I initially considered plunging into a full-time 4-year BA program in Graphic Design, then I later looked into some 2 years and 1-year design programs. Shillington’s 3-month course actually seemed too good to be true at the time. The more I read the more convinced I was. With a completely new career path in sight, I also wanted to experience a new city. Everyone I spoke to said that New York was a design capital and it would be an amazing experience. The visa process also seemed relatively straight-forward, so I decided to go for it.
Any tips for other students considering studying abroad?
Be intentional about experiencing your city. Shillington’s full-time course is intense (8am to 5pm; Monday to Friday) and you’ll definitely feel like staying in and resting after class and weekends—but you’re in a new city for 3 months only! You have to push yourself out of bed and be extremely deliberate about experiencing all the culture the city has to offer.
How did the design course build your skillset and give you the confidence to start your own agency, Aseda Design?
I had been freelancing as Aseda Design from December 2017; and while it had been going ok, I was always so nervous about getting calls for new design work. I would feel a huge lump in my throat whenever I got paid upfront to design anything. I was never sure that ‘inspiration’ would strike before the deadline!
There is actually a method to the madness, there is a place for research, there are methods of idea generation and if I just trust the design process, I’ll end up with a great concept in the end. When I got back to Nigeria, I felt ready to take on any brief.
Check out Oyinkan’s interview on the blog and keep up to date with studio projects on her website.
Ayesha Mansour
Freelance Designer, Aah Yes Studio
Georgia Latham
Freelance Graphic Designer
Natasha Michels
Designer at Nine Publishing and Creative Director at Sweaty City magazine
Mary Lin
Graphic Designer, Colette Werden
Carla Zimbler
VJ and Designer, Tszuj
Wyatt Welles
Freelance Graphic Designer
Sophie Bo Schmidt
Senior UX Consultant at PeakXD
Sivim Ly
Junior Graphic Designer at Loeffler Randall
Ben Thaler
Junior Designer at Common
Liam Speranza
Associate Design Manager at Tushy
Em Storey
Junior Designer, NU Creative
Natalie Taylor
Designer, Mobkoi
Ella Caseley
Winner of the Shillington x Champion Agency Scholarship
Oyinkan Karunwi
Founder at Aseda Design Agency
Sylvan Hillebrand
Midweight Creative at HarrimanSteel
Maria Vazquez
Freelance Designer and Art Director
Alessandra Conti
Designer, RAPP
Elizabeth Diffey
Freelance Graphic Designer, Spotify
Majo Crespo
Co-Founder and Strategic Designer, Facético
Lorenzo Mengolini
UX Designer, AKQA
Abbey Swinn
Designer, Frost*collective
Angeline Chan
Communications Specialist, The University of Melbourne
Julia Hoolahan
Art Director, Home Beautiful
Seyi Ogunlade
Freelance Graphic Designer and Photographer
Rory Knibbs
Designer, The Midnight Club
Jess Goodall
Digital Designer, Pistachio Design
Stephanie Halovanic
Creative Producer, &Walsh
Megan Voo
UX/UI & Content Designer, Ignite Online
Gerald Torto
Strategist, Re Agency
Eman Abdallah
Graphic & Experience Designer, KAIRO
Ariana Villegas
Designer, Simplecast
Ray Wong
Designer, Oink Creative
Johanna Hagenauer
Brand / Product Designer, Rexlabs
Kris Klein
Experience Design + Videography at AKQA
Emily Campos
UX Designer, Wix
Rawin Keo
Lead Graphic Designer, Dermalogica
Mark Osmond
Designer, Thumbs Up!
Vanessa Bertagnole
Graphic Multimedia Designer, Surf Life Saving Queensland
Araki Koman
Freelance Illustrator and Designer
Arwa Al-Salam
Designer, Human Appeal
Benny Hinman
Designer, Frost*collective
Em Stokes
Junior Designer, MOO
Veronica Humphris
Digital Designer, Mapway
Leila Bartholet
Designer, Chandelier
Jared Worthington
Designer at Media Playground
Alexandra Francis
Designer, Flow Creative
Benjamin Ngooi
Graphic Designer, Cox Architecture
Sophie Lord
Creative Director, Hello May
Khadijah Adbul Nabi
Freelance Graphic Designer
Frankie Young
Founder, Studio Neubau
Ella Donald & Charlotte Carnegie Brown
Co-Founders, Studio Duzi
Amy Forsyth
Graphic Designer, Alfresco Emporium
Jaira Adlawan
Senior Visual Designer, Sephora
Jamie Krups
Creative at Stab Magazine
Keiran McCann
Graphic Designer, Victoria’s Secret
Greg Bemis
Creative, Nike
Anastasiia Vinnichenko
Designer, ToyFight
Lori Beth Kaye
Senior Product Designer, The Iconic
Megan Dweck
Visual Designer, McKinsey & Company
James Freebairn
Junior Graphic Designer, Dark Mofo
Irina Manning
UX Designer, Manning Labs
Shannon Gordon
Designer, R/GA
Sinead Murphy
Freelance Graphic Designer
Lauren Koste
Freelance Designer and Craft Beer Specialist
Ani Monteleone
Designer, The Wall Street Journal
Caitlin Clancy
Designer, The New York Times
Miwako Suzuki
Integrated Creative Director
Linda Gao
Designer, HBO
Rachel Urquhart
Founder, Pony Gold Studio
Will Batrouney
Graphic Designer, Ignite Online
Ellie Pinney
Freelance Designer
Katie Lodge
Business Development Manager, Frost* collective
Joseph Lebus
Designer, Made Thought
Jordan Demetriou
Junior Designer, Principals
Hamish Snow
Product Designer, Rexlabs
Emily Somers
Founder, Bravery Co.
Eleanor Robertson
Designer, Paul Belford Ltd
Estefi Panizza
Junior Designer, Design Bridge
Erin Gale
Designer, Target
Kylie Meller
Founder, duosista Web and Graphic Design
Yarron Frauenfelder
Design Director
Bianca Chu
Senior Designer, eBay
Bianca Oggiano
Designer, FutureBrand
Alexander Rog
Junior Designer, oOh!
Christopher J Porter
Designer, I See Sea
Babeth Olde Hanter
Junior Art Director, SOV
Chrystal Christie
Photographer/Graphic Designer, One Round Entertainment
Tally Thompson
Graphic Designer, Awesome Creative
Dominika Stanczyk
Designer, Open Water
Lindsay Koffler
Graphic Designer, Refinery29
Amee Wilson
Art Director, Clemenger BBDO
Lily Moore
Designer at Sotheby’s
Braden Floris
Designer, GoFundMe
Ashley Ronning
Illustrator and Founder of Helio Press
Tahmena Lutfi
Digital Designer, Qantas and Jetstar Hotels
Anara Davletaliyeva
UX Designer and Developer, Appliances Online
Tiffany Yee
Designer, Forever 21
Amy Sheehan
Art Director, Insider Inc.
Emma Ladlow
Designer, University of Nottingham Students' Union
Alexis Waller
Design Director, R/GA
Halah El Kholy
In-House Designer, Brew Tea Co
Jess White
Junior Graphic Designer, Just Media Design
Bobby Hendry
Designer, Brilliant Logic
Jessica Bakker
Junior Graphic Designer, Beyond Communications
Lauren Dannenberg
Designer, Mary's Group
Arnold Omanyo
UX/UI Designer, Digital on Demand
Dawn Moloney
Founder, A Making Life
Miranda Mayne
Freelance Graphic Designer
Caroline Keefe
Freelance, Nickelodeon
Paul and Amoni Liddell
Graphic Designers, Westpac CX and Feel
Meredith Wallis
Designer, King & Partners
Ocki Magill
Founder, Letter Bug Studios
Victoire Scherer
Junior Graphic Designer, Neoscape
Anika George
Designer, AKQA
Liana Modolo
UX Designer, Rex Software
Kelly Hansen
Graphic Designer, Amazon Books
Mikel McCavana
Designer, Moment
Alexander Wu-Kim
Concept Creative, ANDPEOPLE Australia
Jing Ong
Designer, Autumn
Kirsten McColl
Designer, WH-O
Nicole Rogers
Designer, Birchbox
Pooja Dharia
Branding Designer, FCB Health
Erin Donati
Founder, Harley Quinn & Co.
Jackson Todd
Art Director, Van Der Zwaag
Andy Vargas
Designer, Bitâcora
Moshe Bien
Designer, Nucleus
Crystal Lin
Designer, DNA Design
Stephen Grace
Designer, Christopher Doyle & Co.
Eleanor Rogers
Letterpress Printer, Chapel Press
Andy Tharagonnet
Designer, ThumbsUp
Ben Peters
Freelance Graphic Designer
Brad Holten
Designer, Big Idea
Natalia Baker
Freelance Graphic Designer
Molly Sitter
Studio Designer, Spring St. Social Society
Guy Pittard
Freelance Graphic Designer
Bea Sambalido
Freelance Graphic Designer
Peta Harris
Graphic Designer, Macquarie University
Oceane Combeau
Designer, Fernand et Firmin
Anna Mullin
Illustrator, Sneaky Racoon
Theo Witrylak
Visual Designer, EPAM
Stephanie Antill
Founder, St Clement Creative
Paul McKie and Myles Sharpe
Directors, Autumn
Pete Conforto
Designer, For The People
Roo Cassels
Designer, Big Fish
Nicol Reid
Founder, Little Creative
James Birks
Freelance Illustrator and Designer
David Scott
Designer, The Mix
Jane Durlacher
Graphic Designer, Paper Stone Scissors
Rachel Lee
Freelance Graphic Designer
Janno Saft
Founder, frank wo
Sean Raynor
Designer, Watermark Studio
Vanessa Burgess
Graphic Designer, Tritium
Olivier Adam
Freelance Graphic Designer
Cari Sekendur
Art Director, LMNOP Creative
Alexandra Menzies
Freelance Graphic Designer
Margherita Baldi
Freelance Visual Designer
Tim Jones
Brand Experience Director, venturethree
Carla Scotto
Freelance Graphic Designer
Meg Walker
Designer, Milkshake
Christina Capetola
Designer at Wayfair
Louise Hamer
Design Lead, We Are Empire
Ina Estrada
Founder, Par Vous Designs
Sam Jacobs
Senior Designer, Time Inc.
Ulrika Johnson
Designer, Fantasia Accessories
Henriette van Baren
Graphic Designer, ABC Carpet & Home
Charly Tudor
Graphic Designer, Holdens
Lola Irwanto
Graphic Designer, Princess Polly