Hear straight from our graduates.
Creativity is not something that can be taught. It’s either there or it’s not. But I do believe it can be nurtured, and the technical skill that’s needed for the real world can be honed. Shillington is the perfect environment for that.
Creative Director, Hello May
Sophie Lord
Where do you work?
I run Hello May, a bridal magazine for the creatively-inclined, Etsy-loving, non-bridal bride. I founded the magazine in 2012. Hello May is jam-packed full of fashion, DIY and real weddings, and focuses heavily on the talented humans that make up the creative side of the wedding industry. Graphic artists that branched off into designing wedding invitations, fine art and fashion photographers that dabble in shooting weddings on the weekends, production designers that have turned to styling and event planning … that kind of thing.
What do you love about magazine design?
I love that you’re just given a bunch of Word documents and photos and it is down to you to put all that content together in a way that will draw a reader in and take them on a journey cover to cover. Technical skill is really important. I can spot something that is 1mm out from a mile away! Margins, column widths and clear navigation are all extremely important, and consistency is key. There’s nothing worse than reading a magazine and not knowing if a feature has ended and another has begun. That leads to a very frustrated reader who won’t be picking up your magazine again. Reading a magazine is meant to be relaxing!
Most of all, I love that, at the end of the deadline, and after a whole heap of blood, sweat and tears, you have a tangible product that you can hold in your hands. When we get the preview copy back from the printers there’s always that moment of “Shit, I made this magazine!” It’s a pretty cool feeling!
Any advice to graduating students?
Get all the experience you can. If you know someone in the industry then heckle them like crazy about coming in to the office and working for free. You want to be there when a job becomes available because you’ll be the first person they think of! That’s how I got my start and that’s how the majority of my magazine friends started out too. If you don’t know anyone, persistence is key. I know there’s a lot of negativity around internships and unpaid work. Look at it this way: you’re getting paid in valuable experience. Just be careful that you’re not used and abused.
Another great tip for those looking to get into the big bad world of publishing is to intern at smaller publications with smaller staff numbers. Trust me. It’s the difference between spending six months getting coffee, opening mail and cleaning out the fashion cupboard or spending those six months actually designing pages and learning about the production and the pre-press process and how to mark up a proof and lay out a feature.
But the most valuable piece of advice I can give is just be a nice human being. Nobody wants to share an office with an a**hole.
Rachel Urquhart
Founder, Pony Gold Studio
Lori Beth Kaye
Senior Product Designer, The Iconic
Ray Wong
Designer, Oink Creative
Keiran McCann
Graphic Designer, Victoria’s Secret
Emily Campos
UX Designer, Wix
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
Sinead Murphy
Freelance Graphic Designer
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
Amee Wilson
Art Director, Clemenger BBDO
Jordan Demetriou
Junior Designer, Principals
Ashley Ronning
Illustrator and Founder of Helio Press
Emily Somers
Founder, Bravery Co.
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
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
Creativity is not something that can be taught. It’s either there or it’s not. But I do believe it can be nurtured, and the technical skill that’s needed for the real world can be honed. Shillington is the perfect environment for that.
Creative Director, Hello May
Sophie Lord
Where do you work?
I run Hello May, a bridal magazine for the creatively-inclined, Etsy-loving, non-bridal bride. I founded the magazine in 2012. Hello May is jam-packed full of fashion, DIY and real weddings, and focuses heavily on the talented humans that make up the creative side of the wedding industry. Graphic artists that branched off into designing wedding invitations, fine art and fashion photographers that dabble in shooting weddings on the weekends, production designers that have turned to styling and event planning … that kind of thing.
What do you love about magazine design?
I love that you’re just given a bunch of Word documents and photos and it is down to you to put all that content together in a way that will draw a reader in and take them on a journey cover to cover. Technical skill is really important. I can spot something that is 1mm out from a mile away! Margins, column widths and clear navigation are all extremely important, and consistency is key. There’s nothing worse than reading a magazine and not knowing if a feature has ended and another has begun. That leads to a very frustrated reader who won’t be picking up your magazine again. Reading a magazine is meant to be relaxing!
Most of all, I love that, at the end of the deadline, and after a whole heap of blood, sweat and tears, you have a tangible product that you can hold in your hands. When we get the preview copy back from the printers there’s always that moment of “Shit, I made this magazine!” It’s a pretty cool feeling!
Any advice to graduating students?
Get all the experience you can. If you know someone in the industry then heckle them like crazy about coming in to the office and working for free. You want to be there when a job becomes available because you’ll be the first person they think of! That’s how I got my start and that’s how the majority of my magazine friends started out too. If you don’t know anyone, persistence is key. I know there’s a lot of negativity around internships and unpaid work. Look at it this way: you’re getting paid in valuable experience. Just be careful that you’re not used and abused.
Another great tip for those looking to get into the big bad world of publishing is to intern at smaller publications with smaller staff numbers. Trust me. It’s the difference between spending six months getting coffee, opening mail and cleaning out the fashion cupboard or spending those six months actually designing pages and learning about the production and the pre-press process and how to mark up a proof and lay out a feature.
But the most valuable piece of advice I can give is just be a nice human being. Nobody wants to share an office with an a**hole.
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