Hear straight from our graduates.
I was a mature student at Shillington—very mature. It took every ounce of courage to walk through the door into what I assumed would be a group of individuals far younger than me, all of which I assume would be techno savvy creative geniuses.
Founder, A Making Life
Dawn Moloney
What were you up to before Shillington?
I studied at Shillington Sydney as a part time student commencing in Feb 2014. I didn’t realise at the time what a profound impact this would have on me and my life. I had expected to learn some great new skills in a fabulous environment but I had not expected it to fundamentally change the perceptions I had of myself.
I was a mature student at Shillington—very mature. I was a moderately successfully business woman and had worked mainly in the pharmaceutical industry almost all my working life. So, why would I change and become a graphic designer? Many have asked me this question and to explain I must briefly return to my upbringing and early career. Born in the East of London in the 60s into a working-class family—life in the arts was never going to be deemed a suitable career, so I became a pharmacist the perennial “square peg in a round hole”. I painted at lunchtime, sewed at the weekend and worked all the rest of the time. Don’t get me wrong I had/have a great career, I have had some magnificent experiences which always made it harder to give it up and follow my dreams of being a fully-fledged “creative person”.
In 2002, at the age of 40, we sold all our possessions, uprooted ourselves and our 2 young kids and moved half way around the world and started again. We have never regretted that decision but once again it meant my creative dreams were put on hold. Whilst I always knew I wanted to design my own fabric and make my own patterns it wasn’t until we had established ourselves that I could focus on gathering the skills I needed to fulfil my dreams. That’s where Shillington came in, and I finally enrolled.
How did you find the course?
I knew Shillington would be challenging, at the time I barely knew how to turn on a MAC!! But even I was surprised at the depth of my nerves that very first day. It took every ounce of courage to walk through the door into what I assumed would be a group of individuals far younger than me, all of which I assume would be techno savvy creative geniuses.
I haven’t ever admitted the fact that I threw up in the toilet 10 minutes before that very first class. Yes, a confident business woman in her 50s who had presented 1000s of times to 100s of people was a total nervous wreck on the first day of design college. Fortunately I used my experience to cover my nerves. Looking back, I think I was so nervous because I had waited so long for this and I had finally arrived and I wanted to be good.
The year at Shillington was fun but hard and very challenging, constantly changing and evolving briefs and all the new things to learn pushed me hard to keep up. I was surrounded by supportive students and fantastic teachers, which helped keep me going.
Tell us about A Making Life.
My creative business, A Making Life, focusses on teaching others the love of making things for themselves. In the short term, we will be teaching lampshade making, sewing, block printing, lettering, watercolours and floristry with many more in the pipeline. I want to provide a space for participants to enjoy the craft of hand making with other likeminded people and help them build lifelong skills. And yes, I have designed and have had my first fabric printed. I’m even training to teach InDesign. Anyone from my course reading this will probably choke with laughter at this point -yes me the person who took 6 weeks to toggle between stroke ad fill is planning to teach. Life is a constant surprise!
I was a mature student at Shillington—very mature. It took every ounce of courage to walk through the door into what I assumed would be a group of individuals far younger than me, all of which I assume would be techno savvy creative geniuses.
Founder, A Making Life
Dawn Moloney
What were you up to before Shillington?
I studied at Shillington Sydney as a part time student commencing in Feb 2014. I didn’t realise at the time what a profound impact this would have on me and my life. I had expected to learn some great new skills in a fabulous environment but I had not expected it to fundamentally change the perceptions I had of myself.
I was a mature student at Shillington—very mature. I was a moderately successfully business woman and had worked mainly in the pharmaceutical industry almost all my working life. So, why would I change and become a graphic designer? Many have asked me this question and to explain I must briefly return to my upbringing and early career. Born in the East of London in the 60s into a working-class family—life in the arts was never going to be deemed a suitable career, so I became a pharmacist the perennial “square peg in a round hole”. I painted at lunchtime, sewed at the weekend and worked all the rest of the time. Don’t get me wrong I had/have a great career, I have had some magnificent experiences which always made it harder to give it up and follow my dreams of being a fully-fledged “creative person”.
In 2002, at the age of 40, we sold all our possessions, uprooted ourselves and our 2 young kids and moved half way around the world and started again. We have never regretted that decision but once again it meant my creative dreams were put on hold. Whilst I always knew I wanted to design my own fabric and make my own patterns it wasn’t until we had established ourselves that I could focus on gathering the skills I needed to fulfil my dreams. That’s where Shillington came in, and I finally enrolled.
How did you find the course?
I knew Shillington would be challenging, at the time I barely knew how to turn on a MAC!! But even I was surprised at the depth of my nerves that very first day. It took every ounce of courage to walk through the door into what I assumed would be a group of individuals far younger than me, all of which I assume would be techno savvy creative geniuses.
I haven’t ever admitted the fact that I threw up in the toilet 10 minutes before that very first class. Yes, a confident business woman in her 50s who had presented 1000s of times to 100s of people was a total nervous wreck on the first day of design college. Fortunately I used my experience to cover my nerves. Looking back, I think I was so nervous because I had waited so long for this and I had finally arrived and I wanted to be good.
The year at Shillington was fun but hard and very challenging, constantly changing and evolving briefs and all the new things to learn pushed me hard to keep up. I was surrounded by supportive students and fantastic teachers, which helped keep me going.
Tell us about A Making Life.
My creative business, A Making Life, focusses on teaching others the love of making things for themselves. In the short term, we will be teaching lampshade making, sewing, block printing, lettering, watercolours and floristry with many more in the pipeline. I want to provide a space for participants to enjoy the craft of hand making with other likeminded people and help them build lifelong skills. And yes, I have designed and have had my first fabric printed. I’m even training to teach InDesign. Anyone from my course reading this will probably choke with laughter at this point -yes me the person who took 6 weeks to toggle between stroke ad fill is planning to teach. Life is a constant surprise!
Lauren Danger Koste
Studio Manager at The Design Kids
Robyn M-C
Freelance Graphic Designer
Lauren Stevens
Freelance Graphic Designer/ Junior Designer at NRMA
Karen Liang
Learning Experience Designer at Standards Australia
Ayesha Mansour
Freelance Designer, Aah Yes Studio
Georgia Latham
Intern at Imagist
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