Hear straight from our graduates.
In the year since graduating from Shillington I’ve done freelance work for a UX company, worked for a design studio with mostly large retail clients and have most recently landed a sick job in hospitality with Mary’s Group designing cool collateral for their venues, branding events and speaking for the venues’ brands via social media.
Designer, Mary's Group
Lauren Dannenberg
Before Shillington you worked at SA Water as a Support Officer, but nurtured your creativity with a side business (and great Instagram account!), Paper Parade. Tell us more about that side hustle.
Paper Parade was a great creative outlet for me at the time. It really kept the dream alive while that 9-5 that had me deep in spreadsheets. I began by posting snaps on Instagram of hand lettering and greeting cards I was making for friends and before I knew it, I was getting custom orders and wholesale requests. It was a good way to get experience and exposure while working full time and ultimately lead to me quitting my day job to study full time at Shillington.
Why did you want to study design?
I always wanted to work in the creative industry but struggled with “imposter syndrome” and felt I needed a solid portfolio and skill set to launch my creative career. I did quite a bit of research on where I wanted to study and I couldn’t go past all the student reviews of Shillington. The full time short term course was also ideal for my situation. The reviews were so accurate. It really is a super challenging but rewarding experience. I’m still blown away with how much I learned in that time and the standard of work I produced coming out of the course.
How are you finding the change of scene from Adelaide to Sydney?
I think there are a lot more opportunities for creatives in Sydney. Since graduating Shillington in May 2018 I’ve done freelance work for a UX company, worked for a design studio with mostly large retail clients and have most recently landed a sick job in hospitality with Mary’s Group designing cool collateral for their venues, branding events and speaking for the venues’ brands via social media.
We heard you just landed a new job—with a former Shillington teacher! Tell us about it.
This is seriously my dream job. I’ve hit the jackpot working with Leyla! It’s great to work for someone who really values the development of her team. I get to continue building on the skills I gained at Shillington and apply that design theory to real work. That’s just the tip of the iceberg though, this role challenges me to be creative every day in different ways and I get to work with a family of absolute legends.
How did you feel after graduation? Any tips for fresh graduates?
I definitely felt overwhelmed about what to do next. My advice is to take some time off, but not too long, and then strike while the irons hot! Break it all down into small tasks to make things less daunting like write a cover letter or aim to apply for 3 jobs today. Once you get started it all becomes more manageable.
Where are your go-to spots for creative inspiration?
I wouldn’t say I have a go-to spot. For me it’s more about surrounding yourself with creative people and different people, being exposed to different points of view and discovering new ways of thinking.
In the year since graduating from Shillington I’ve done freelance work for a UX company, worked for a design studio with mostly large retail clients and have most recently landed a sick job in hospitality with Mary’s Group designing cool collateral for their venues, branding events and speaking for the venues’ brands via social media.
Designer, Mary's Group
Lauren Dannenberg
Before Shillington you worked at SA Water as a Support Officer, but nurtured your creativity with a side business (and great Instagram account!), Paper Parade. Tell us more about that side hustle.
Paper Parade was a great creative outlet for me at the time. It really kept the dream alive while that 9-5 that had me deep in spreadsheets. I began by posting snaps on Instagram of hand lettering and greeting cards I was making for friends and before I knew it, I was getting custom orders and wholesale requests. It was a good way to get experience and exposure while working full time and ultimately lead to me quitting my day job to study full time at Shillington.
Why did you want to study design?
I always wanted to work in the creative industry but struggled with “imposter syndrome” and felt I needed a solid portfolio and skill set to launch my creative career. I did quite a bit of research on where I wanted to study and I couldn’t go past all the student reviews of Shillington. The full time short term course was also ideal for my situation. The reviews were so accurate. It really is a super challenging but rewarding experience. I’m still blown away with how much I learned in that time and the standard of work I produced coming out of the course.
How are you finding the change of scene from Adelaide to Sydney?
I think there are a lot more opportunities for creatives in Sydney. Since graduating Shillington in May 2018 I’ve done freelance work for a UX company, worked for a design studio with mostly large retail clients and have most recently landed a sick job in hospitality with Mary’s Group designing cool collateral for their venues, branding events and speaking for the venues’ brands via social media.
We heard you just landed a new job—with a former Shillington teacher! Tell us about it.
This is seriously my dream job. I’ve hit the jackpot working with Leyla! It’s great to work for someone who really values the development of her team. I get to continue building on the skills I gained at Shillington and apply that design theory to real work. That’s just the tip of the iceberg though, this role challenges me to be creative every day in different ways and I get to work with a family of absolute legends.
How did you feel after graduation? Any tips for fresh graduates?
I definitely felt overwhelmed about what to do next. My advice is to take some time off, but not too long, and then strike while the irons hot! Break it all down into small tasks to make things less daunting like write a cover letter or aim to apply for 3 jobs today. Once you get started it all becomes more manageable.
Where are your go-to spots for creative inspiration?
I wouldn’t say I have a go-to spot. For me it’s more about surrounding yourself with creative people and different people, being exposed to different points of view and discovering new ways of thinking.
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Jess Goodall
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Benny Hinman
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Em Stokes
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Veronica Humphris
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Benjamin Ngooi
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Sophie Lord
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Amy Forsyth
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Jaira Adlawan
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Jamie Krups
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Greg Bemis
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Anastasiia Vinnichenko
Designer, ToyFight
Lori Beth Kaye
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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
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Lauren Koste
Freelance Designer and Craft Beer Specialist
Ani Monteleone
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Caitlin Clancy
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Miwako Suzuki
Integrated Creative Director
Linda Gao
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Rachel Urquhart
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Will Batrouney
Graphic Designer, Ignite Online
Ellie Pinney
Freelance Designer
Katie Lodge
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Joseph Lebus
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Jordan Demetriou
Junior Designer, Principals
Hamish Snow
Product Designer, Rexlabs
Emily Somers
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Eleanor Robertson
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Estefi Panizza
Junior Designer, Design Bridge
Erin Gale
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Kylie Meller
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Yarron Frauenfelder
Design Director
Bianca Chu
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Bianca Oggiano
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Alexander Rog
Junior Designer, oOh!
Christopher J Porter
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Babeth Olde Hanter
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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
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Meredith Wallis
Designer, King & Partners
Ocki Magill
Founder, Letter Bug Studios
Victoire Scherer
Junior Graphic Designer, Neoscape
Anika George
Designer, AKQA
Liana Modolo
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Kelly Hansen
Graphic Designer, Amazon Books
Mikel McCavana
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Alexander Wu-Kim
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Jing Ong
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Kirsten McColl
Designer, WH-O
Nicole Rogers
Designer, Birchbox
Pooja Dharia
Branding Designer, FCB Health
Erin Donati
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Jackson Todd
Art Director, Van Der Zwaag
Andy Vargas
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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