Hear straight from our graduates.
The course was intense but in a really good way. It’s fast-paced but because everyone else is in the same boat, there’s a nice support system from your fellow students.
In-House Designer, Brew Tea Co
Halah El Kholy
You studied on the full-time time course at our Manchester Campus. What was your experience of the course, any key takeaways you’d like to share?
The course was intense but in a really good way. It’s fast-paced but because everyone else is in the same boat, there’s a nice support system from your fellow students. The tutors (hi John & Ed!) are great and put you at ease straight away. They have a real love for design and their enthusiasm was infectious. The briefs are all well-chosen and cover a range of projects, but the difficulty ramps up pretty quick. Program shortcuts are your friend!
What was your background before studying at Shillington and would you recommend the course to others in a similar situation?
I’ve got a degree in Illustration, but had absolutely no idea how to translate that into commercial work. I had a bar job and told myself that I’d do creative work on the side, which of course only happened in drips. I’d definitely recommend Shillington to other people in my position—the course connects you with the wider design world and gives a lot of confidence when it comes to working in an actual studio.
You currently work as a designer for Manchester based company Brew Tea Co. What an exciting brand to work for! Can you tell us a bit about your role there?
Basically, I get paid to draw dinosaurs AND I never run out of amazing tea. I’m Brew’s first in-house designer, so I get to do all sorts of work that I normally wouldn’t. I work on everything from swanky new packaging, to our seasonal campaigns. There’s a lot of on-the-job learning, which I find very rewarding, and because it’s such a small company I feel like I’m making a difference there. It’s nice.
Do you think your time at Shillington prepared you for the expectations of industry?
Absolutely—if you can make it through portfolio week, you can make it through ‘need-this-yesterday’ deadlines. The course teaches you a lot about working in groups on creative projects, which I found invaluable because I was very much used to working solo. There’s also the technical side of the course, with insanely helpful software-focused days.
Visit Halah’s website and read her full interview on the blog.
Arwa Al-Salam
Designer, Human Appeal
Babeth Olde Hanter
Junior Art Director, SOV
Jamie Krups
Creative at Stab Magazine
Megan Dweck
Visual Designer, McKinsey & Company
Emily Campos
UX Designer, Wix
Sinead Murphy
Freelance Graphic Designer
Caitlin Clancy
Designer, The New York Times
Miwako Suzuki
Integrated Creative Director
Rachel Urquhart
Founder, Pony Gold Studio
Ellie Pinney
Freelance Designer
Lauren Koste
Freelance Designer and Craft Beer Specialist
Eman Abdallah
Designer, Humachina
Lori Beth Kaye
Senior Product Designer, The Iconic
Anastasiia Vinnichenko
Designer, Tile Creative
Ray Wong
Designer, Oink Creative
Araki Koman
Freelance Illustrator and Designer
Keiran McCann
Graphic Designer, Victoria’s Secret
Jaira Adlawan
Senior Visual Designer, Sephora
Ani Monteleone
Designer, The Wall Street Journal
Hamish Snow
Designer, Josephmark
Eleanor Robertson
Designer, Paul Belford Ltd
Gerald Torto
Strategist, Re Agency
Linda Gao
Designer, HBO
Ella Donald & Charlotte Carnegie Brown
Co-Founders, Studio Duzi
Will Batrouney
Graphic Designer, Ignite Online
Bianca Oggiano
Designer, Design Haus Liberty
Christopher J Porter
Designer, I See Sea
Dominika Stanczyk
Designer, Open Water
Katie Lodge
Business Development Manager, Frost* collective
Vanessa Bertagnole
Graphic Multimedia Designer, Surf Life Saving Queensland
Amee Wilson
Art Director, Clemenger BBDO
Shannon Gordon
Designer, R/GA
Jordan Demetriou
Junior Designer, Principals
Ashley Ronning
Illustrator and Founder of Helio Press
Emily Somers
Founder, Bravery Co.
Yarron Frauenfelder
Design Director
Anara Davletaliyeva
UX Designer and Developer, Appliances Online
Erin Gale
Designer, Target
Tiffany Yee
Designer, Forever 21
Amy Sheehan
Art Director, Insider Inc.
Emma Ladlow
Designer, University of Nottingham Students' Union
Braden Floris
Designer, GoFundMe
Alexis Waller
Design Director, R/GA
Halah El Kholy
In-House Designer, Brew Tea Co
The course was intense but in a really good way. It’s fast-paced but because everyone else is in the same boat, there’s a nice support system from your fellow students.
In-House Designer, Brew Tea Co
Halah El Kholy
You studied on the full-time time course at our Manchester Campus. What was your experience of the course, any key takeaways you’d like to share?
The course was intense but in a really good way. It’s fast-paced but because everyone else is in the same boat, there’s a nice support system from your fellow students. The tutors (hi John & Ed!) are great and put you at ease straight away. They have a real love for design and their enthusiasm was infectious. The briefs are all well-chosen and cover a range of projects, but the difficulty ramps up pretty quick. Program shortcuts are your friend!
What was your background before studying at Shillington and would you recommend the course to others in a similar situation?
I’ve got a degree in Illustration, but had absolutely no idea how to translate that into commercial work. I had a bar job and told myself that I’d do creative work on the side, which of course only happened in drips. I’d definitely recommend Shillington to other people in my position—the course connects you with the wider design world and gives a lot of confidence when it comes to working in an actual studio.
You currently work as a designer for Manchester based company Brew Tea Co. What an exciting brand to work for! Can you tell us a bit about your role there?
Basically, I get paid to draw dinosaurs AND I never run out of amazing tea. I’m Brew’s first in-house designer, so I get to do all sorts of work that I normally wouldn’t. I work on everything from swanky new packaging, to our seasonal campaigns. There’s a lot of on-the-job learning, which I find very rewarding, and because it’s such a small company I feel like I’m making a difference there. It’s nice.
Do you think your time at Shillington prepared you for the expectations of industry?
Absolutely—if you can make it through portfolio week, you can make it through ‘need-this-yesterday’ deadlines. The course teaches you a lot about working in groups on creative projects, which I found invaluable because I was very much used to working solo. There’s also the technical side of the course, with insanely helpful software-focused days.
Visit Halah’s website and read her full interview on the blog.
Alexander Rog
Junior Designer, oOh!
Jessica Bakker
Junior Graphic Designer, Beyond Communications
Bianca Chu
Senior Designer, eBay
Tally Thompson
Graphic Designer, Awesome Creative
Greg Bemis
Creative, Nike
Arnold Omanyo
UX/UI Designer, Digital on Demand
Tahmena Lutfi
Digital Designer, Qantas and Jetstar Hotels
Meredith Wallis
Designer, King & Partners
Miranda Mayne
Freelance Graphic Designer
Lindsay Koffler
Graphic Designer, Refinery29
Bobby Hendry
Designer, Brilliant Logic
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
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
Sophie Lord
Creative Director, Hello May
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.
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
Designer, Fernand et Firmin
Charly Tudor
Graphic Designer, Holdens
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
Nicol Reid
Founder, Little Creative
David Scott
Designer, The Mix
James Birks
Freelance Illustrator and Designer
Jane Durlacher
Graphic Designer, Paper Stone Scissors
Rachel Lee
Freelance Graphic Designer
Romayne Gadelrab
Freelance Graphic Designer
Janno Saft
Founder, frank wo
Roo Cassels
Designer, Big Fish
Vanessa Burgess
Graphic Designer, Tritium
Olivier Adam
Freelance Graphic Designer
Molly Sitter
Studio Designer, Spring St. Social Society
Cari Sekendur
Art Director, LMNOP Creative
Alexandra Menzies
Freelance Graphic 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
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