Jump to content

Hear straight from our graduates.

I’ve always wanted to be a graphic designer but I thought it was too late, I didn’t want to go back to college for 3 years. So when I heard about Shillington, it was a revelation.

Freelance Designer

Manon Prost

What have you been up to since graduation? You are now freelance, can you tell us about that?

Before the course I was a project manager in a design studio. I’ve always wanted to be a graphic designer but I thought it was too late, I didn’t want to go back to college for 3 years. So when I heard about Shillington, it was a revelation.

I graduated in 2020, which was the worst time to find any work. But, luckily, I started to do some freelance gigs here and there and then I found a design internship at Hedoine, a fashion brand based in London. After the internship, I went freelance ‘full time’ and worked on a lot of cool branding projects.

Can you tell us about a recent professional project? What’s been the project that’s got you the most excited so far?

Recently I designed digital stamps/stickers for Death to Stock—which is a visual content platform that provides the freshest authentic stock photos and videos.

My favourite project so far has been the whole brand identity of CORE—a Physiotherapy, pilates and wellness and wellness studio in South London.

What’s your day-to-day like as a freelancer?

I wake up between 7 and 8, walk my dog June, drink my 1st cup of coffee and go to work (which means, walking from the kitchen to the living room where my office is). Not one day is the same—I always work on different projects each day to keep my creativity running.

I like to keep my morning call-free since I feel like I’m more productive in the morning. Afternoon is usually for client calls, training and content creation. I try to be active on Instagram since this is where 80% of my clients have found me.

What piece of advice would you give to someone who is about to graduate/start the course?

For someone that is about to graduate: I’ve got 2:

1. Keep on learning, be curious of the new trends/techniques/softwares. The design industry is constantly moving so as a designer, you have to keep your skills and ideas sharp.

2. Get involved in a design community. There are a lot of digital and IRL communities that are great to connect with other designers. You can also find a mentor that will help you grow.

For someone that is about to start the course: Be curious and keep your eyes open. Design is everywhere around, try to analyse what you see to develop your own design critic.

Anything else you would like to add? Tell us something surprising!

I resigned from my former full time job the day I graduated from Shillington. Now, I don’t recommend it, It was a really risky move because I didn’t have any plan B.

I just couldn’t bear spending one more day doing anything else than design, now that I was a designer. But I’ve been very lucky because it’s worked out well so far.

Check out Manon’s website and read her full interview on the blog.

AJ McLaughlin
Art Director, Cyclone

Meg Yonson
Director, Studio Maybe

Caroline Adams
Freelance Designer

Sarah Galley
Freelance Brand Designer

Manon Prost
Freelance Designer

Linda Gao
Art Director, Warner Bros Discovery

Claire Grocott
Founder, Studio Kokomo

Oyinkan Karunwi
Founder & Brand Strategist, Aseda Design Agency

Alexandra Francis
Freelance Graphic Designer & Illustrator

Joseph Lebus
Design Lead, Porto Rocha

Liam Speranza
Art Director, THE CHARLES

Anuja Shukla
Creative Specialist, Twitter

Tom Noon
Design Director, The Midnight Club

Marc Igbinadolor
Brand Marketing & Content Manager, Guest in Residence

Wyatt Welles
Freelance Art Director & Designer

Vanessa Low
Freelance Designer, Studio Van Low & Digital Marketing Officer, Art Gallery Society of NSW

Graphic Design Student Testimonials: Winnie Vuong
Junior Designer, HOYTS

Melissa McAuliffe
Junior Designer, The Walt Disney Company

Lauren Horner
Graphic Designer, Hundred Weight Design

Suparom Ronyut
Designer, Future Brand

Mason El Hage
Designer, Uncommon Creative Studio

Carl McBride
Designer, Toyfight

Melody Yee
Senior Graphic Designer, Sydney Festival

Darsh Seneviratne
Designer, Canva

Ximena Jimenez
Graphic Design Artist, Polemical Zine

Lauren Danger Koste
Studio Manager, The Design Kids

Ayesha Mansour
Freelance Designer, Aah Yes Studio

Maria Vazquez
Founder, Maria Marie Studio

Majo Crespo
Founder & Creative Director, UNÁNIME

Seyi Ogunlade
Freelance Graphic Designer and Photographer

Eman Abdallah
Regional Communication Officer and Designer, International Committee of the Red Cross

Ask a question

Help team photo 1/3 Help team photo 2/3 Help team photo 3/3

The team typically replies within a day

By submitting this form you agree to our privacy notice.
Thanks for getting in touch! We will follow up with you shortly.
Oops, something went wrong. Click "back" to try again. Or contact us.

Apply Today

Course and Intake Date

How it works

Ready to apply for Shillington’s graphic design course? You're four steps away. Select your course, share your details, process your payment and we'll get in touch to confirm all the details.

Still researching? Learn more about our course and view course dates and fees.

Interested in studying online? Use our timezone tool to find course times that work for your location.

Your safety matters to us. Please review our COVID-19 policy. If circumstances change, enrolled on-campus students will agree to transition to partial or complete online learning.

Please hold, loading form...
Please hold, loading form...
Payment
Confirmation

Need help? Let me know.