Hear straight from our graduates.
What really set Shillington apart for me was the course structure. The option of studying for 9 months part time was perfect for me—it meant I could continue working while I studied.
Founder, Harley Quinn & Co.
Erin Donati
Your venture Harley Quinn & Co. is doing so well! Tell us more.
I’ve always loved handwriting and lettering so I started Harley Quinn & Co. as a little way to share my scribbles. I just really love the simplicity and uniqueness of handwriting—the beauty of it is that everyone’s writing is their own—each letter and word is unique. My Instagram just started as me posting bits and pieces here and there—I just saw it as a nice little side project for me to practice my lettering. Soon after I started, people were asking me if I sold prints, or if I did custom work, so I set HQ&Co. up as a business, started taking on orders and freelance jobs and it all just kind of started from there.
I really love seeing my work out there in the world! I love a creative challenge, and the feeling you get when a client is really happy with something you’ve produced for them. The diversity is also great, no two jobs are the same. There’s always something new to learn.
Why Shillington?
I was working full time in Marketing, planning my wedding, and spending a lot of time daydreaming about becoming a designer. I had always been interested in the creative side of my job, and learning graphic design had been sitting on my bucket list for a while, even if it did only ever eventuate into a hobby. What made me finally decide to enrol was the fact that Shillington offered a part time course, so I could continue to work full time. I think because I had put it off for so long, and I just got to the point where I thought now would be as good a time as any. There’s that saying—in a year’s time you’ll wish you started today, so I made an appointment to have a look at the Sydney campus where I was shown some past student’s portfolios and I just thought yep, I really want to do this!
What really set Shillington apart for me was the course structure. The option of studying for 9 months part time was perfect for me—it meant I could continue working while I studied. And 9 months seemed like a manageable amount of time to juggle everything!
What would you say to someone who is sceptical about the Shillington course?
Don’t be! It is a great opportunity to learn from current industry professionals in a really creative environment. I actually miss having school every Monday and Tuesday night. Just looking at some of the Shillington Alumni and the amazing things they’ve done speaks for itself.
Also from my experience I can also say that the quality of work that came out of my class was amazing. I think because everyone who was there wanted to be there, you could tell everyone had passion. At the end of the day it’s up to the individual and what they want to do with the course.
Visit Harley Quinn & Co., follow her on Instagram and read her full interview on the blog.
Veronica Humphris
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Lola Irwanto
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Khadijah Adbul Nabi
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Estefi Panizza
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Leila Bartholet
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Ray Wong
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Amy Forsyth
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Jamie Krups
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Sinead Murphy
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Shannon Gordon
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Caitlin Clancy
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Gerald Torto
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Miwako Suzuki
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Rachel Urquhart
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Ellie Pinney
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Lauren Koste
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Joseph Lebus
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Eman Abdallah
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James Freebairn
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Vanessa Bertagnole
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Amee Wilson
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Jordan Demetriou
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Ashley Ronning
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Emily Somers
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Yarron Frauenfelder
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Anara Davletaliyeva
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Erin Gale
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Tiffany Yee
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Amy Sheehan
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Emma Ladlow
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Braden Floris
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Alexis Waller
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Halah El Kholy
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Jess White
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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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Tahmena Lutfi
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Meredith Wallis
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Miranda Mayne
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Lindsay Koffler
Graphic Designer, Refinery29
Bobby Hendry
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Anika George
Designer, AKQA
Mark Osmond
Designer, Thumbs Up!
Lily Moore
Designer at Sotheby’s
Liana Modolo
UX Designer, Rex Software
Victoire Scherer
Junior Graphic Designer, Neoscape
Mikel McCavana
Designer, Moment
Kelly Hansen
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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
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Caroline Keefe
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Sophie Lord
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Ocki Magill
Founder, Letter Bug Studios
Andy Vargas
Designer, Bitâcora
Moshe Bien
Designer, Nucleus
Crystal Lin
Designer, DNA Design
Stephen Grace
Designer, Christopher Doyle & Co.
Jing Ong
Designer, Autumn
Paul and Amoni Liddell
Graphic Designers, Westpac CX and Feel
Eleanor Rogers
Letterpress Printer, Chapel Press
Andy Tharagonnet
Designer, ThumbsUp
Erin Donati
Founder, Harley Quinn & Co.
What really set Shillington apart for me was the course structure. The option of studying for 9 months part time was perfect for me—it meant I could continue working while I studied.
Founder, Harley Quinn & Co.
Erin Donati
Your venture Harley Quinn & Co. is doing so well! Tell us more.
I’ve always loved handwriting and lettering so I started Harley Quinn & Co. as a little way to share my scribbles. I just really love the simplicity and uniqueness of handwriting—the beauty of it is that everyone’s writing is their own—each letter and word is unique. My Instagram just started as me posting bits and pieces here and there—I just saw it as a nice little side project for me to practice my lettering. Soon after I started, people were asking me if I sold prints, or if I did custom work, so I set HQ&Co. up as a business, started taking on orders and freelance jobs and it all just kind of started from there.
I really love seeing my work out there in the world! I love a creative challenge, and the feeling you get when a client is really happy with something you’ve produced for them. The diversity is also great, no two jobs are the same. There’s always something new to learn.
Why Shillington?
I was working full time in Marketing, planning my wedding, and spending a lot of time daydreaming about becoming a designer. I had always been interested in the creative side of my job, and learning graphic design had been sitting on my bucket list for a while, even if it did only ever eventuate into a hobby. What made me finally decide to enrol was the fact that Shillington offered a part time course, so I could continue to work full time. I think because I had put it off for so long, and I just got to the point where I thought now would be as good a time as any. There’s that saying—in a year’s time you’ll wish you started today, so I made an appointment to have a look at the Sydney campus where I was shown some past student’s portfolios and I just thought yep, I really want to do this!
What really set Shillington apart for me was the course structure. The option of studying for 9 months part time was perfect for me—it meant I could continue working while I studied. And 9 months seemed like a manageable amount of time to juggle everything!
What would you say to someone who is sceptical about the Shillington course?
Don’t be! It is a great opportunity to learn from current industry professionals in a really creative environment. I actually miss having school every Monday and Tuesday night. Just looking at some of the Shillington Alumni and the amazing things they’ve done speaks for itself.
Also from my experience I can also say that the quality of work that came out of my class was amazing. I think because everyone who was there wanted to be there, you could tell everyone had passion. At the end of the day it’s up to the individual and what they want to do with the course.
Visit Harley Quinn & Co., follow her on Instagram and read her full interview on the blog.
Ben Peters
Freelance Graphic Designer
Brad Holten
Designer, Big Idea
Natalia Baker
Freelance Graphic Designer
Guy Pittard
Freelance Graphic Designer
Bea Sambalido
Freelance Graphic Designer
Oceane Combeau
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Charly Tudor
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Anna Mullin
Illustrator, Sneaky Racoon
Theo Witrylak
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Stephanie Antill
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Paul McKie and Myles Sharpe
Directors, Autumn
Pete Conforto
Designer, For The People
Nicol Reid
Founder, Little Creative
David Scott
Designer, The Mix
James Birks
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Jane Durlacher
Graphic Designer, Paper Stone Scissors
Rachel Lee
Freelance Graphic Designer
Romayne Gadelrab
Freelance Graphic Designer
Janno Saft
Founder, frank wo
Roo Cassels
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Vanessa Burgess
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Olivier Adam
Freelance Graphic Designer
Molly Sitter
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Cari Sekendur
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Alexandra Menzies
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Tim Jones
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Carla Scotto
Freelance Graphic Designer
Meg Walker
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Christina Capetola
Designer at Wayfair
Louise Hamer
Design Lead, We Are Empire
Ina Estrada
Founder, Par Vous Designs
Chrystal Christie
Photographer/Graphic Designer, One Round Entertainment
Ulrika Johnson
Designer, Fantasia Accessories
Sam Jacobs
Senior Designer, Time Inc.
Sean Raynor
Designer, Watermark Studio
Irina Manning
UX Designer, Manning Labs
Margherita Baldi
Freelance Visual Designer
Henriette van Baren
Graphic Designer, ABC Carpet & Home