Hear straight from our graduates.
I made some great friends on the course, and went into the industry with a strong body of work which helped me get straight into work.
Designer, I See Sea
Christopher J Porter
You studied way back in 2009 on our full-time course at Shillington London. What originally made you enrol at Shillington and can you tell us a bit about your experience on the course?
After school I had been working as a professional musician, during which time I had been doing a lot of ‘amateur’ design work for the band. When the music came to an end I decided that it would be good to train in design, however at 23 I was reluctant to sign up for 3 years of study. Shillington seemed like the perfect place to totally immerse myself in design and learn the ropes and it totally was! The studio environment and fantastic support from the teachers was the perfect foundation for my future in design.
Alongside working as a freelancer you’re part of the team at Kingdom and Sparrow who have produced some seriously beautiful packaging—what’s it like working for an agency like this and can you share any projects you’re worked on specifically?
My favourite project that I have worked on with K&S has been creating the branding and can artwork for a brand new range of Beer blended with natural Fruit Juice for Uproot Brewing Co. After my route was chosen for development at concept phase I have then spent 18 months working on the expansion of the brand and am excited for it to be unleashed to the world in the near future!
You’re based in Falmouth, an area known for creativity despite being in a fairly remote location of England. What would you say to other creatives worried about finding work outside of London and other major cities?
It’s hard, but it’s possible. It certainly keeps you on your toes as you can’t rely on having the work month on month. Communication is key; making connections with business and building solid relationships will hopefully create more and more opportunities over time. The benefits of not being based in one of the major cities are what make it worth it for me though, slower pace of life, lower cost of living and it has been amazing to work with so many small independent business right from their conception and then watch them grow!
Visit Chris’ website and read his full interview on the blog.
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I made some great friends on the course, and went into the industry with a strong body of work which helped me get straight into work.
Designer, I See Sea
Christopher J Porter
You studied way back in 2009 on our full-time course at Shillington London. What originally made you enrol at Shillington and can you tell us a bit about your experience on the course?
After school I had been working as a professional musician, during which time I had been doing a lot of ‘amateur’ design work for the band. When the music came to an end I decided that it would be good to train in design, however at 23 I was reluctant to sign up for 3 years of study. Shillington seemed like the perfect place to totally immerse myself in design and learn the ropes and it totally was! The studio environment and fantastic support from the teachers was the perfect foundation for my future in design.
Alongside working as a freelancer you’re part of the team at Kingdom and Sparrow who have produced some seriously beautiful packaging—what’s it like working for an agency like this and can you share any projects you’re worked on specifically?
My favourite project that I have worked on with K&S has been creating the branding and can artwork for a brand new range of Beer blended with natural Fruit Juice for Uproot Brewing Co. After my route was chosen for development at concept phase I have then spent 18 months working on the expansion of the brand and am excited for it to be unleashed to the world in the near future!
You’re based in Falmouth, an area known for creativity despite being in a fairly remote location of England. What would you say to other creatives worried about finding work outside of London and other major cities?
It’s hard, but it’s possible. It certainly keeps you on your toes as you can’t rely on having the work month on month. Communication is key; making connections with business and building solid relationships will hopefully create more and more opportunities over time. The benefits of not being based in one of the major cities are what make it worth it for me though, slower pace of life, lower cost of living and it has been amazing to work with so many small independent business right from their conception and then watch them grow!
Visit Chris’ website and read his full interview on the blog.
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