Hear straight from our graduates.
The most valuable thing we took away from the course was being able to communicate in a design capacity. Having a designer vocabulary has made working with clients so much easier.
Directors, Autumn
Paul McKie and Myles Sharpe
Where do you both work?
We’re Myles and Paul, and we’re both directors of The Autumn Co. Our business has been operating for five years. We specialise in print, design, web and sign. We’re Brisbane-based but love working with clients all over Australia. We’ve really tried to take a fresh approach to the conventional design studio, utilising our backgrounds to offer a full service experience for our clients.
No day is the same as the next. That’s partially what we love about our business and our roles in the studio. We work across the full spectrum of the business—from mopping the floors to working alongside multinational companies, travelling interstate and working on the computer with a new branding project. Every client and every project requires something different which keeps each day different and exciting.
Why did you decide to do the course?
We needed to expand our skill set to progress our business, and that meant going back to study. We really wanted to polish our skills and get some form of industry recognition before trying to mix it with the design community. We were already doing a lot of print and signage work for some amazing clients, so the natural extension of this was a greater design offering—that’s why we chose Shillington. Working full-time, the part-time course was really the only option available for us. The weeknight classes fitted perfectly into our schedule—we finished work on a Wednesday and Thursday and headed straight into the city for college. It made for a really nice mid-week event as we’d grab something to eat before class, often with the teachers or fellow students—we found the whole experience very social.
The classes are intense, in a good way—they condense so much information into a few contact hours each week. This way of studying meant you were learning theory and practical skills at the same time, which made the content really digestible.
What was the most valuable thing you took away from the course?
Three things: (1) We made some amazing new friends and contacts. (2) We took away the practical skills that we’d always wanted. Doing the course meant designing the “right way”, knowing what shortcuts to take and those to avoid. (3) Being able to communicate in a design capacity. Having a designer vocabulary has made working with clients so much easier.
Do you have any advice for those thinking about studying graphic design at Shillington?
Just do it. Getting into the industry is made so much easier by the introduction to the design world that Shillington offers. There’s no other course that delivers the full on practical skills that the course provides you with—and in such a compact and timely manner.
The Autumn Co. has evolved into Autumn. Studio.
Miwako Suzuki
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Rachel Urquhart
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Lori Beth Kaye
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Ray Wong
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Araki Koman
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Keiran McCann
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Emily Campos
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Jaira Adlawan
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Hamish Snow
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Eleanor Robertson
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Linda Gao
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Ella Donald & Charlotte Carnegie Brown
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Sinead Murphy
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Christopher J Porter
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Dominika Stanczyk
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Katie Lodge
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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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Anara Davletaliyeva
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Erin Gale
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Tiffany Yee
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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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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
Creative, Nike
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
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Bobby Hendry
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Anika George
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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
Designer, Moment
Kelly Hansen
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Alexander Wu-Kim
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Kirsten McColl
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Nicole Rogers
Designer, Birchbox
Frankie Young
Founder, Studio Neubau
Pooja Dharia
Branding Designer, FCB Health
Jackson Todd
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Dawn Moloney
Founder, A Making Life
Caroline Keefe
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Sophie Lord
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Ocki Magill
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Andy Vargas
Designer, Bitâcora
Moshe Bien
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Crystal Lin
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Stephen Grace
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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
The most valuable thing we took away from the course was being able to communicate in a design capacity. Having a designer vocabulary has made working with clients so much easier.
Directors, Autumn
Paul McKie and Myles Sharpe
Where do you both work?
We’re Myles and Paul, and we’re both directors of The Autumn Co. Our business has been operating for five years. We specialise in print, design, web and sign. We’re Brisbane-based but love working with clients all over Australia. We’ve really tried to take a fresh approach to the conventional design studio, utilising our backgrounds to offer a full service experience for our clients.
No day is the same as the next. That’s partially what we love about our business and our roles in the studio. We work across the full spectrum of the business—from mopping the floors to working alongside multinational companies, travelling interstate and working on the computer with a new branding project. Every client and every project requires something different which keeps each day different and exciting.
Why did you decide to do the course?
We needed to expand our skill set to progress our business, and that meant going back to study. We really wanted to polish our skills and get some form of industry recognition before trying to mix it with the design community. We were already doing a lot of print and signage work for some amazing clients, so the natural extension of this was a greater design offering—that’s why we chose Shillington. Working full-time, the part-time course was really the only option available for us. The weeknight classes fitted perfectly into our schedule—we finished work on a Wednesday and Thursday and headed straight into the city for college. It made for a really nice mid-week event as we’d grab something to eat before class, often with the teachers or fellow students—we found the whole experience very social.
The classes are intense, in a good way—they condense so much information into a few contact hours each week. This way of studying meant you were learning theory and practical skills at the same time, which made the content really digestible.
What was the most valuable thing you took away from the course?
Three things: (1) We made some amazing new friends and contacts. (2) We took away the practical skills that we’d always wanted. Doing the course meant designing the “right way”, knowing what shortcuts to take and those to avoid. (3) Being able to communicate in a design capacity. Having a designer vocabulary has made working with clients so much easier.
Do you have any advice for those thinking about studying graphic design at Shillington?
Just do it. Getting into the industry is made so much easier by the introduction to the design world that Shillington offers. There’s no other course that delivers the full on practical skills that the course provides you with—and in such a compact and timely manner.
The Autumn Co. has evolved into Autumn. Studio.
Pete Conforto
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Nicol Reid
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David Scott
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James Birks
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Jane Durlacher
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Tim Jones
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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
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Margherita Baldi
Freelance Visual Designer
Henriette van Baren
Graphic Designer, ABC Carpet & Home