Hear straight from our graduates.
I had already studied for six years in college and I didn’t have the time to go back to school for an additional degree in graphic design.
Branding Designer, FCB Health
Pooja Dharia
You had a very different career before Shillington. Tell us about making the career change from Pharmacist to Designer!
Before Shillington, I studied pharmacy in college and I was living in DC working at the Food and Drug Administration as a project manager and also spent some time at a consulting company. I had always been interested in design but I never took the leap in college. I felt the itch to be more creative at my job and I kept thinking about Shillington. I finally started the program in September 2016 in NYC. I now work as a Branding Designer at a healthcare advertising agency working on the branding of new drugs, clinical trials, and healthcare campaigns. It’s a combination of all my previous healthcare and regulatory experience, plus branding design and strategy and I couldn’t ask for a better fit!
Why did you choose Shillington?
I had already studied for six years in college and I didn’t have the time to go back to school for an additional degree in graphic design. The 3-month full-time course was the perfect amount of time off to learn design and to figure out my next step. I had attended an Information Session over the summer and knew right away that the program was the right fit based on the curriculum, the teachers, and the portfolios of previous graduates. I was nervous, but I knew I would regret it if I didn’t take the chance.
Now you work as a Branding Designer at a healthcare advertising agency—such a perfect fit for your past experience and new graphic design skills. What’s your typical day like?
Since there are so many projects and timelines are quick, there’s an opportunity to work on something new each day, from color palettes, logo and system design, brand guidelines, and even naming of new drugs. The best part is that I can still use the science part of my brain to do background research and to inform the design and concept.
What advice would you give to a Shillington student on day one?
Really immerse yourself in the program and absorb every piece of advice from your classmates and your teachers—everything you learn will be so useful once you start working. Also have fun and enjoy the process. It’s a lot of work with some late nights, but it goes by fast and you’ll feel so accomplished afterwards. You might even miss the 8 AM start time!
Visit Pooja’s website and read her full interview on the blog.
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Jaira Adlawan
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Halah El Kholy
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Alexander Rog
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Jessica Bakker
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Bianca Chu
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Tally Thompson
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Greg Bemis
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Arnold Omanyo
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Meredith Wallis
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Miranda Mayne
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Lindsay Koffler
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Bobby Hendry
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Anika George
Designer, AKQA
Mark Osmond
Designer, Thumbs Up!
Lily Moore
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Liana Modolo
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Victoire Scherer
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Mikel McCavana
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Kelly Hansen
Graphic Designer, Amazon Books
Alexander Wu-Kim
Concept Creative, ANDPEOPLE Australia
Kirsten McColl
Designer, WH-O
Nicole Rogers
Designer, Birchbox
Frankie Young
Founder, Studio Neubau
Pooja Dharia
Branding Designer, FCB Health
Jackson Todd
Art Director, Van Der Zwaag
Dawn Moloney
Founder, A Making Life
Caroline Keefe
Freelance, Nickelodeon
I had already studied for six years in college and I didn’t have the time to go back to school for an additional degree in graphic design.
Branding Designer, FCB Health
Pooja Dharia
You had a very different career before Shillington. Tell us about making the career change from Pharmacist to Designer!
Before Shillington, I studied pharmacy in college and I was living in DC working at the Food and Drug Administration as a project manager and also spent some time at a consulting company. I had always been interested in design but I never took the leap in college. I felt the itch to be more creative at my job and I kept thinking about Shillington. I finally started the program in September 2016 in NYC. I now work as a Branding Designer at a healthcare advertising agency working on the branding of new drugs, clinical trials, and healthcare campaigns. It’s a combination of all my previous healthcare and regulatory experience, plus branding design and strategy and I couldn’t ask for a better fit!
Why did you choose Shillington?
I had already studied for six years in college and I didn’t have the time to go back to school for an additional degree in graphic design. The 3-month full-time course was the perfect amount of time off to learn design and to figure out my next step. I had attended an Information Session over the summer and knew right away that the program was the right fit based on the curriculum, the teachers, and the portfolios of previous graduates. I was nervous, but I knew I would regret it if I didn’t take the chance.
Now you work as a Branding Designer at a healthcare advertising agency—such a perfect fit for your past experience and new graphic design skills. What’s your typical day like?
Since there are so many projects and timelines are quick, there’s an opportunity to work on something new each day, from color palettes, logo and system design, brand guidelines, and even naming of new drugs. The best part is that I can still use the science part of my brain to do background research and to inform the design and concept.
What advice would you give to a Shillington student on day one?
Really immerse yourself in the program and absorb every piece of advice from your classmates and your teachers—everything you learn will be so useful once you start working. Also have fun and enjoy the process. It’s a lot of work with some late nights, but it goes by fast and you’ll feel so accomplished afterwards. You might even miss the 8 AM start time!
Visit Pooja’s website and read her full interview on the blog.
Sophie Lord
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Ocki Magill
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Andy Vargas
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James Birks
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Vanessa Burgess
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Molly Sitter
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Tim Jones
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Carla Scotto
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Meg Walker
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Christina Capetola
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Louise Hamer
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Ina Estrada
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Chrystal Christie
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Ulrika Johnson
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Sam Jacobs
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Sean Raynor
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Irina Manning
UX Designer, Manning Labs
Margherita Baldi
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Henriette van Baren
Graphic Designer, ABC Carpet & Home