Nº10 ISSUESHOUTTHE 06 // Graduate Showcase 12 // Isaac Izekor: Just Keep Moving Forwards 14 // A Brief History of Shillington 18 // Advice: Agony Aunt Shillo 24 // Advice: First Impressions 30 // Process: Good Shape Studio
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Andy Shillington
Founder and CEO of Shillington
Nº10
THE SHOUT ISSUE
Cover Artwork // Juliette Van Rhyn & George Simkin, Good Shape Studio Editorial // Nick Smith, Course Content Creator
Every day I still love to hear the success stories of our graduates and how the course has changed their lives, whether they graduated in 1997 or 2022. It’s these stories that have given Shillington its longevity—with people from diverse backgrounds coming together with a shared passion for design. With this milestone in mind we wanted to use this landmark, tenth issue of the Shillington Post to celebrate not only Shillington, but the incredible industry we are a part of and, of course, design itself.
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I can’t believe it’s been 25 years since we opened the doors to Shillington. From our original campus in Sydney, we have gone from strength to strength and now, with campuses in three countries and our online course, we are a truly global community—with amazing staff, students and alumni across the world.
Across this issue, we’ll delve into a brief history of Shillington, our global team will share their tips on making a lasting impression, our Design Agony Aunt will answer all your design gripes and Isaac Izekor, of JKR and Nuff Said, writes for us on the important topic of diversity in design. We also look back into the Shillington Post archive for some helpful advice; Global Head of Course Content John Palowski clues graduates in on their first steps into the industry and Intern Mag’s Alec Dudson talks about the importance of networking on a global level, amongst others.
Join us as we celebrate the past and look confidently into the future.
Happy reading!
Mont Blanc pens—timeless. But who needs a beautiful pen, when you can take notes with the chip in your brain?
The second part is making sure our designs rely on the design principles rather than trends. Alignment, repetition, contrast, etc. all ensure that our designs are timeless. Even if a design style falls out of favour (which happens!), if the design principles are perfectly executed there is no denying the beauty and impact of that design.
I believe successful design is design that resonates with the intended audience and causes a response. As audience behaviour changes and is influenced by an ever increasing digital world, some designs are not meant to last. They are about creating a viral moment and achieving this makes the project successful. Legacy, however, seems to me, more about remaining relevant. What do you do with that viral moment? It is about creating design with a human heart in a digital space. It speaks to having a conviction and being open to continued evolution— staying flexible and curious to new ways to communicate with and
Does every brand need to have a legacy, does every brand have the ability to become one?
NEWTEACHERMEYERYORK
This tactic will leave the brand neutral enough that they can adjust and change over time. Example: Facebook becoming Meta. It allows them to adjust their offering whilst letting go of a dying platform. What is the larger picture for brands and what is their trajectory in 5, 20, 50 years? Creating a timeless mark will allow for versatility—but in doing so will strip away personality and the uniqueness of the immediate offering. The double edged sword of legacy.
Ifa fussy bunch.we’retasked with now building an enduring mark we need to review recent(ish) history. What visual language have people been using for the last 80 years? What was relevant then and is relevant now? We’ll find ourselves speaking in neutral typefaces and colours that reproduce well in print and digital ‘a new dialect’. We leave nouns open to change: people, places and things— who is purchasing? Where are they? What are they purchasing?
ANNA
Every client has a multitude of ideas of how they want to be represented. This can be influenced by trends or whatever aspect of their product or brand they are focused on at the time. As designers, we want to help them focus on the high level ideas. What is their tone? What is their goal? What is the legacy they want to leave? Is it beauty, wit or social change? When we design with a core ideal in mind we provide purpose and a strong foundation for the brand that can grow and change with them.
Overengage audiences.theyears,Ihave recognised how important it is for myself as a designer to remain curious. My curiosity keeps me asking questions and seeking creative ways to answer them. More recently the projects I have chosen to work on have collaboration at the heart, the client’s voice and mine coming together to say something worthwhile. It’s often why we choose each other—they know what they want to say and believe that I’m the best person to help them figure out new ways to say it.
We can help brands appear timeless, but that’s as far as we can go. The legacy of a brand depends on the landscape it exists in—and those landscapes are a-changin’.
HOW CAN WE CREATE SUCCESSFUL DESIGN OUTCOMES TO CREATE A LEGACY FOR OUR CLIENTS?
MARRSAIÉ JORDAN LONDONTEACHER
The longevity of a brand is equal to its relevance. So they must keep up with technology, social norms and environmental needs. We are
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NATHAN MELBOURNETEACHERMILLARD
If, at 80, I can see the work I did was filled with respect, understanding and a helluva lot of potential for future growth, that’s one happy 80-year-old.
With an ever shifting design landscape, we want to build relationships first. Establishing foundations by asking questions and helping the client understand themselves, builds an avenue to create community behind the brand, which is legacy. So even if the visuals get updated over the years, the sentiment and connection established with the brand remains intact.
I believe that legacy comes from authenticity. When approaching a client, the more we can understand about their story, their values and the purpose behind their product or message, the better we can create something authentic that opens the door for a connection. Connecting to others comes from being human, honest and genuine. Legacy is built through these human connections and relationships. Understanding the who, what and why helps create a foundation that can withstand time. These stories inspire the design and visuals that become unique to the client’s story, qualities and characteristics as opposed to reflecting trends, which further helps create longevity.
DAHLIA ONLINETEACHERISHAK
TINA VICTORIA AFSHAR
LONDONTEACHER
The other thing that I always start with is good research, it’s such an important step in the process. Looking into the history of a brand or project, its origin, where it fits into its landscape and what sets it apart from everyone else. Understanding these things can help guide us to create work with longevity and work that feels considered.
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JAIMEE-LEE FIELD SYDNEYTEACHER
You know how parents say, ‘If my children are happy, then I’m happy.’ I feel the same rule applies for the design process. As long as the work created with my clients helps their business grow in a direction that excites them and has longevity— then that’s a darn rewarding legacy.
Legacy for me is work that stands the test of time and work that you remember long after you’ve seen it.
I was given some really great advice a few years ago and it’s similar to what we teach here at Shillington a great designer shouldn’t have an individual ‘style’, it’s far more important to be able to put our personal bias aside and put ourselves in the shoes of the client. By doing this, we can create the best possible outcome to a brief that will feel true to the values of the brand. Ultimately, we are commercial designers, not artists, so addressing a brief so that it resonates with its intended audience is paramount.
I work as an independent designer. So mostly myself and the client collaborate on the brand or packaging together. In order to leave a legacy we both aspire to, it’s so important that we build a working relationship where we trust, empathise and listen to each other. Many of our conversations naturally turn to how we can be sustainable, ethical and how all our touchpoints align with our values—from packaging to suppliers to copywriting.
GRADUATE SHOWCASE 06 // Shillington Post
SHOWCASE GRADUATE SHOWCASE 07 // Shillington Post
GRADUATE SHOWCASE
PYODAISY
@daisypyo 08 // Shillington Post
New York full-time graduate Daisy Pyo is a Korean-American multidisciplinary designer based in Brooklyn. Daisy’s speciality is identity creation, brand and social media strategy, packaging and UX/UI. Her work focuses on bright colours, storytelling and identities that resonate.
GRADUATE SHOWCASE
Marinela Lleshi is an Albanian designer, currently based in Milan. As a graduate of our Manchester full-time course, she is passionate about branding, packaging and editorial. Through her design, she aims to explain complex ideas in a simple and clear way.
@marinelalleshi_design 09 // Shillington Post
LLESHIMARINELA
GRADUATE SHOWCASE
@allegra.brooks
BROOKSALLEGRA
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Allegra Brooks is a graduate of the Shillington Online course, based in New York City. She is a multidisciplinary designer, visual artist and front end developer. Prior to making the transition to graphic design, Allegra was working as a Project Coordinator for Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
PHAMTAI
GRADUATE SHOWCASE
@tai___pham 11 // Shillington Post
A graduate of Shillington Brisbane, Tai Pham is a graphic designer based in Sydney. His work—in his own words—is inspired by anime, basketball, fashion, cars, interior design, magazines and music culture. Since the course, he’s been freelancing and working for the Brisbane-based Gum Magazine.
So many questions (2018)
Some change for the better, some for the worse. But each twist got me a little closer to discovering the place I now hold there. A place that couldn’t exist without both our cumulative changes.
Isaac Izekor is a writer and creative, working to put people at the heart of communication. He used to consider himself the scientific sort, but a failed year at medical school soon convinced him otherwise. Now he listens for a living and tries to craft stories worthy of what he hears.
In truth, my introduction to advertising and brand design was filled with questions. What type of creative am I? Is this the right space for me? What if I’m as terrible at creativity as I was with Krebs? And the uncertainty was hard. There’s no way to shake the discomfort of not knowing, I just learnt to manage the feeling. First and foremost by making moving a habit. I tried things, failed things and grew
I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Several on my course were frustrated by the ongoing and
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The creative industry had questions of its own. Inspired by the DCSMS research, creative culture was asking how diversity could be anchored in design. Articles like ‘whitewashed’ explored the multi-layered educational issue that bottlenecked design diversity, while others focused on the other side of the pipe, pulling apart how bias drove homogenous creative cultures—and more importantly how to begin untangling that bias. But the political will to address these issues was limited. In 2018 just over £1 million was made available by the UK government for initiatives that delivered digital skills to under-represented groups and disabled people. In comparison, more than £150 million was jointly invested by the government and businesses to develop the creative industry as a whole. The industry was growing, but the space for me remained the same. And when you’re growing faster than the industry you hope will home you, you realise the industry isn’t ready for you.
OPINION // Just keep moving forwards
Nothing changes overnight. Or so the saying goes, but anyone who has ever tried to leave a lasting impression of themselves in some medium; stone, paint, poetry, knows how wrong the phrase is. An idea left overnight morphs into something else entirely, a client left unchecked suddenly has fresh feedback to shower your work with. Not just the ephemeral though, the material can shift in a day too. As you go to bed tonight, tomorrow you will awaken 1/2 an inch taller. Invariably change happens, whether we want it to or not.
I think we forget the inevitability of change when charting the success of social movements. After all, movements are made up of people that shift just as much as the world they shape. So we forget that sometimes, days are all that separate the world as it is, from the world we want. Not a handful mind you. But even the myriad days it takes society to shift are useful units of change. I’m currently typing this on a laptop that is 1826 days old. This number represents my entire experience in the creative industry. And over those days both the industry and I have grown and shifted in many ways.
In 2017 I dropped out of Medical School. Looking back, my departure was almost inevitable. It’s hard to pass Biochemistry when you’re constructing sets for theatre society plays no one watches, instead of memorising the Krebs cycle. But the truth was biochemistry didn’t make me happy, poorly painted doors and terribly theatric actors did. Somewhere along the way to discovering that fact I’d failed my end of year exams miserably and was searching desperately for some kind of life direction. Somehow, the how is a mystery to me to this day, my desperate searching led me to a London advertising and branding course with zero experience or portfolio to my name.
from the effort. Because you can’t grow unless you try. From that growth I discovered I was a terrible designer. And realised words, not images, sat the most comfortably on the tip of my pen.
JUST (FORWARDS)MOVINGKEEP
I didn’t know then that I was joining an industry still working out how to accept people exactly like me; BAME creatives without a network or a name. A year earlier, a DCSMS report into diversity in the creative industry had found it seriously lacking (only 11.4% of roles filled by BAME workers). But this wasn’t a new or isolated conversation. In 1991 the AIGI held a seminar asking “Why is Graphic Design 93% White?”. 24 years later influential designer Maurice Cherry asked a similar question, albeit in more pointed language, “Where are the Black designers?”. It was a question I’d find myself asking regularly as well.
WORDS BY ISAAC IZEKOR
Names are powerful, they give focus to energy. In 2019 I found mine as a copywriter. In the middle of fumbling from project to project, I realised words were my medium. But as I got closer to the industry I discovered other names and expectations would be levied on me. On my course, with its diversity, I’d rarely if ever thought about myself as a black creative. But realising the industry looked neither like me nor my course flipped those feelings. It gave words to difficulties I’d had adopting and taking ownership of my creativity. I wasn’t just a creative copywriter, I was a black creative copywriter and the industry wasn’t ready for me. The home I’d been hoping for was poorly prepared.
A stunning revelation, of sorts (2017)
Name and shame (2019)
Then Covid happened. I distinctly remember the complete assurance that everything would be okay before lockdown. Almost comical conversations about plans to restart projects after what would be a quick lockdown, but the realisation slowly set in that no part of the Covid crisis would be quick. We weren’t ready to work from home. I wasn’t ready to learn from home or graduate from home. To say 2020 was a tough year would be an understatement. While the world moved like molasses, projects spun at high speed. From final major projects to my dissertation, work was completed through pure force of will. Everyone became a plate spinner, watching plans and hopes shatter as they fell, but promising ourselves we’d glue them together later. Then more crashed.
Work from home (2021)
5 years can change a lot. From dropout to copywriter, those 5 years were enough to let me sit in the industry as a member, not a spectator. There are still others who deserve to sit beside me though. So there’s more change to come. But my hope is the days till they join will be much less than mine.
George Floyd’s murder was a cold reminder of the dangers of systemic inequality. The structural strains the pandemic revealed were nothing new, we’d just gotten very good at spinning plates. Amongst the backdrop of BLM and protests, agencies responded. Diversity conversations I’d gotten all too used to hearing suddenly shifted in tone. There was a focus on practical actions. The BBC committed £100m to increase diversity on TV. Channel 4 outlined a six-part plan to become an anti-racist organisation. And agencies began plans to upturn their internship programs...
We change and they change. And we are both equally shaped by the times we work through. So creating social change is a holistic enterprise. Equity is created when we understand each other and our world better. Sharpen our individual perspectives, then free those perspectives to shape systems. In all my 1826 days of experience, I’ve learned one major lesson; the world will always move, we will always move. And it’s all of our jobs to make sure we both keep moving forwards.
Where to next (2022)
We can shorten those days by understanding movements move with us.
Hopes stall (2020)
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In January 2021 I started working as a copywriter at JKR. The journey was strange. A prior internship with the expectation of future work had ended in me being gently sent back into the pool. But I’d met enough people in that time to chart my course. Creativity finally felt like home. And I wanted that home to be built on my terms. So the tide gently took me to that job. No more me changing and the industry-changing separately. We were together. And like all love stories, the tale didn’t end with the two of us colliding. We had to stick together, and adhesion is work. Me learning to think like a professional and the industry learning to treat people like me with professional care. But I’d found my way home regardless...I wasn’t outside looking in anymore, I was in and trying to fit. And the industry was doing the same. We were both working to turn the creative house into a home for all.
George Floyd, the customer in question, was found sitting in a car with two other passengers. Officers forcibly removed Floyd from the car and handcuffed him face down in the street. One officer, Derek Chauvin, held Floyd in position pressing his knee to Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. And ultimately killing him.
In the midst of the mess I graduated. Out in an industry rushing to answer questions people had asked for years. But that context made my perspective suddenly more valuable. In the wake of our infrastructure failing us, remaking our creative systems became a true need, not a nice to have. And people willing to be a part of that process became prized.
ineffective conversations happening around diversity. So for us, it was important for those conversations to end. And to be replaced with meaningful change. We called ourselves ‘Nuff Said’. We created events, workshops and education pieces. In response to an industry that was still; talking—but the industry wasn’t completely still. CIC members signed up to the Diversity Charter, as a framework for moving the dial on diversity and inclusion in the creative industries. Nuff Said was driven by that same energy, a recognition of what is possible when you move forward collectively. And as the year set, the path was paved to create lasting change.
On 25 May, 2020, police were called to a Cup Foods grocery store by employees who suspected a customer had used a counterfeit $20 bill.
OPINION // Just keep moving forwards
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A BRIEF HISTORY
9:20 ednesday INSIGHT // A brief history of Shillington OF SHILLINGTON WORDS BY OLI STEVENSON, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS LEAD ILLUSTRATION BY KIM MELVIN, LEAD TEACHER, NEW YORK
2011 — New York campus opens.
2007 — Shillington celebrates its 10th anniversary.
2017 — Shillington celebrates 20 years.
A lot has changed since Shillington was founded back in Sydney those 25 years ago, and undoubtedly a lot will change in the next 25 years but, as Andy himself has said, Shillington will be here “doing exactly what we’re doing right now…just years better at it”.
Now in its fourth iteration, the Shillington online course continues to grow and connect budding designers from all over the world. So far, we’ve had graduates from China, Mexico, India, the USA, Italy, Japan, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Indonesia, Estonia, Australia, Switzerland, Ecuador, Canada, Israel, Poland, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Haiti, France, Kuwait, Sweden, Taiwan, the Philippines and more.
Part of Shillington’s mission straight from the start was to help anyone to achieve their dreams of becoming a graphic designer, so in 2019, a parttime course that runs every Sunday was launched in London. This move allowed students who worked evenings or lived too far out to get to campus during the week to become part of the Shillington family. We’re now on our third intake of students who start their week off a day early, to study design.
1997Under—Shillington
2009 — Manchester campus opens.
2015 saw the publication of the first ever Shillington Post, which was aptly themed ‘Firsts’. You can read one of the articles ‘Foot in the Door’ written by Shillington’s Global Head of Course Content John Palowski elsewhere in this issue—though the full issue is also available online.
Fast forward 12 months after London opened its doors, Shillington continued its British takeover, opening a campus in the Northern Powerhouse, Manchester. Located on the edge of the lively Northern Quarter, Shillington Manchester was amongst the best that the vibrant city had to offer—rubbing shoulders with some of the best design studios up North.
Back in the mid 90s, our founder Andrew Shillington was running a busy design studio in Sydney, Australia, but kept being faced with a dilemma. Andy’s dilemma? He wanted to hire graduates fresh out of university, but none of these graduates were trained to work in a studio—even after three or four years of a degree. Andy’s solution? An intensive graphic design course that actually trains students to become professional graphic designers, who understand the ins and outs of working in a design studio. Like that—Shillington was born.
Crossing the Pond
September 2014 — London opens a second studio.
July 2015 — First Shillington Post published.
From here, there was only one logical next step for Shillington: The Big Apple, the City That Never Sleeps. Call it what you want—New York City is undeniably a major international hub of design. So in 2011, Shillington opened its first US campus, nestled amongst the skyscrapers of Manhattan.
Two decades and countless graduates in, 2017 saw the New York campus add a third studio to its repertoire—overtaking London to become Shillington’s largest campus. The twentieth anniversary also saw the publication of the Shillington Post #5: The Anniversary Issue which celebrated 20 years of Shillington success.
Over those 25 years, we’ve seen over 9000 students come through our doors (both physical and virtual) with a myriad of backgrounds, experiences and circumstances—who all unite in the one thing that has brought all this together, and the one thing that we all love: graphic design.
A year after its tenth year in the business, Shillington expanded into the Northern Hemisphere and opened its first international campus in London. A London location made perfect sense for Shillington’s campus outside of Australia—after all, it is a city known for its creative culture, whether that be fashion, architecture or, of course, graphic design.
2006 — Brisbane campus opens.
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Taking Over Down
September 2019 — Shillington launches Sunday part-time courses.
2002 — Melbourne campus opens.
INSIGHT // A brief history of Shillington
Shillington’s inaugural college was opened in 1997 in Andy’s hometown Sydney. Andy chose Shillington’s home to be in the Sydney CBD where it still remains, with the same phone number, today. From the very beginning, Shillington’s mission was always the same—to produce industry ready graduates with amazing, polished portfolios in just three months full-time or nine months part-time. And we’ve been doing that now for 25 years non-stop.
Spurred on by the determination of our graduates, the Shillington term worked relentlessly over the summer of 2020 to launch Shillington’s first ever dedicated online course. And the solution was simple—recreate exactly what Shillington had been doing for the past 23 years online.
A Quarter of a Century
The Future — Still teaching, still designing, still transforming lives.
Going Truly Global
Following on from Sydney’s success, Shillington began to set its sights on two more Australian cities: Melbourne to the South-West and Brisbane to the North. By the middle of the new millennium Shillington had opened campuses in both cities— in 2002 and 2006 respectively. Why these two cities? Both were an obvious choice for a graphic design college, with Melbourne being globally recognised as Australia’s cultural capital and Brisbane being known for being a centre of technology and innovation.
All campuses were going from triumph to triumph and, six years after it opened, Shillington London moved to a new location so that the campus could grow into a second studio—meaning more students and more designers.
March 2020 — Pandemic. All courses moved online.
September 2020 — Online Course launched.
founded, Sydney campus opens.
With the world in the grips of the Covid-19 pandemic, for the first time in its history, Shillington moved all its courses online. We were thrilled, given lock-downs, quarantines and isolation, to see graduates across the globe produce some of the best portfolios our team had ever seen.
2022 — Shillington celebrates 25 years.
2008 — London campus opens.
A quarter of a century is a long time, especially in an industry that moves as fast as graphic design. But Shillington’s longevity boils down to the fact that we are still doing what we were doing 25 years ago when the Sydney campus first opened: teaching students relevant industry skills and equipping them with an incredible design portfolio so they’re able to go out and thrive in their creative careers.
September 2017 — New York expands to 3 studios.
No Signs of Stopping
London Calling
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BYCOLLAGE ESTERHUIZENSIMONE 17 // Shillington Post
WORDS BY EDEN LIM, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT ILLUSTRATIONS BY TIM KING, LEAD TEACHER, SYDNEY
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DESIGNERDEAR
ADVICE // Dear Designer
You asked and we answered! In this advice column, Aunty Shillo smooths and soothes a selection of design woes and worries, submitted by our Shillington community.
Aunty Shillo
WIP, design ideas or finished work—put it all to the world! It doesn’t hurt to build your creative confidence with some external validation—enter design competitions and submit your work to blogs or design showcases.
Design is a collective process
Confidence comes with time and practice
Get off social media
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“Hi Aunty Shillo,
Embrace play
But If presenting your ideas and confidence is still something you struggle to get your head around, why not try some of these ideas?
As a junior designer I find that I compare myself to every other designer around me in the studio, and it’s making me stressed and I’m finding it hard to present my designs. Is there a way to have healthy competition but still take care of
Ahh mental health and career competition can be such real and pressing stresses in this modern world. But it’s okay, you’re not alone. There’s a few ways to look at your situation, so let’s step through them one by one!
ADVICE // Dear Designer
Collaborate
Remember when you were a kid, and you mindlessly trailed waxy crayons across a page of paper and BAM! Before you knew it, you had a masterpiece. Why not get rid of preconceived ideas and adopt a more formless ideation process? Disregard the inner critic and create a nice, safe, judgment free zone for your ideas to fly free and flourish. When your brain is relaxed, it can truly create the most beautiful things.
“Hi Aunty Shillo,
I feel you, being a designer is a job that sometimes feels like it expects you to be creatively switched on 24/7. Even though we all know that creativity ebbs and flows and comes in waves. Something that we teach at Shillington are the foundations of design thinking and a structure for creative ideation. You may still be using this, or you may have diverged and developed your own process—depending on where you’re at in your career. Either way this process of ideation is integral and key to creating creative and innovative design outcomes—but it’s never a bad idea to re-evaluate how you’re going about it. So here’s a few ways you can be mixing up that creative process!
1. Create an online presence and post regularly
If you’re stressing about your personal ability in comparison to other creatives, it’s good to take a step back and remember that design is
Combating Creative Block
Auntymy mental health?”.Shillo
Lately I’ve been finding it difficult to find inspiration. It feels like as soon as I have an idea, someone else has come up with it already. The creative field seems trend-driven and saturated with the same old ideas. How can I switch up my creative process and find out-of-the-box inspiration?”.
The algorithms can serve you up the same old— so it’s a great idea to look outside your bubble and seek inspiration in other places. Avoid Pinterest, ditch Instagram and look for inspiration everywhere. Do some field work and rummage through a local vintage store, take a walk through nature or listen
to an inspiring podcast. Some of the greatest inspiration hits when we’re not boxing ourselves into a strictly ‘design’ frame of mind. Read, watch and engage with your interests outside of the design world. They hold diverse and rich insights and you may never think would apply to design but may end up sparking an incredible thought or idea—think of it as a serendipitous collaboration.
2. Stick it to Imposter Syndrome
If you’re working freelance, it can be difficult as often you only have yourself to bounce ideas off of. Try reaching out to your network—or join a group of like-minded creative professionals and organise weekly zooms or meet-ups. This can be a great way to give those ideas some fresh air and external feedback. If you’re working in a studio or office, never be afraid to lean on your colleagues as a creative sounding board. Fellow designers and even strategists will have a plethora of ideas and new perspectives to offer you.
Creative Comparison & Competition
It’sa collective practice.goodtodetachyourself from the creative process and have a more collective outlook on each project or brief. Often when working in a studio, especially as a junior, you collaborate as a team with a lead designer or senior designer running the project and everything is overseen by the creative director. So, since the final output will most likely be a team effort—don’t stress about whether your individual ideas are good or bad. It doesn’t matter if the other junior’s ideas got chosen for the final pitch. You’re all working together to create and provide the best outcome for the client.
Often times you are good enough, but just doubt your abilities. A good majority of the success of an idea is the manner in which you present it—present confidently and people will have confidence in your concept. Present doubtfully—and they’ll be worrying along with you. So why not give yourself a running start by backing your creative self, after all if you’re not going to cheer for you, who will? For more advice on Imposter Syndrome, check out Cathy Sison’s article on page 22.
I remember back in the day when I was in design school, a teacher once told us to never be precious with our ideas. And that advice holds true, ideas are meant to be stretched, combined, toyed with and even thrown away. They’re just little pieces that are yet to be formed into something with substance.
I’ve been working freelance (and in-house freelance) for a number of years now, but am craving bigger projects and a different experience. Do you have any advice on successfully making the transition from in-house/freelance to agency/studio life?”.
Aunty Shillo
You are your greatest asset
Changing Creative Career Lanes
Creative Directors see a lot of portfolios everyday and interview a diverse range of people—but there’s a few things in your approach that could really help you stand out and get that agency role. So, how do you do it?
Be bold and do your research
What about a follow up? It totally pays to be persistent, but don’t pester. Persistence is rewarded but if someone isn’t responding by the 3rd or 4th check-in, that’s okay. There’s plenty other places to reach out to and creative directors are busy people, sometimes the timing is just off.
In the digital heavy world, it sometimes pays off to make an analogue move. So send something in the post—we’ve heard many anecdotes of handdelivered letters or artwork landing someone the job, so why not give it a go.
Remember, whatever agency you end up in—you’ll be working with their designers on the regular. So landing the job is just as much about your stellar portfolio as your amazing personality and whether you’re a cultural fit. So let’s nail both.
Presentation matters, so let your personality shine when you’re showing off your portfolio and talking about yourself. Drop those weird hobbies and side-passions, prospective employers love to hear about the quirks that make their team unique.
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If you’re missing the buzz of a team to share ideas with or are just tired of running your own ship, it’s a great way to work collaboratively again.
“Hi Aunty Shillo,
That’s so great you’re looking to make the jump into agency, many designers who are self-taught or are craving a new creative experience make this move.
It’s not a bad idea to gather a list of your favourite studios/agencies—give them a cheeky stalk and do some organic networking. Go to talks and stay back to chat to the speaker, reach out on DMs and be a fan—follow up with an email afterwards letting them know what you loved about their content.
And finally, it can be nerve-wracking, and after working for yourself for so long—it’s hard to dive back into the world of interviews. But remember, you’ve got years of practice, pitching yourself to a client is no different to pitching yourself to a creative director. If you’re nervous it’s okay there’s no harm in saying so. Being genuine and true to yourself is the gateway to a stressfree and successful interview!
Aunty Shillo
Design is (mostly) about the client
Furthermore, now that you’ve gone freelance, the onus is on you to find business opportunities. Freelancing is a bit of a one-person-wonder—it’s now entirely your responsibility to find work, market and promote yourself and maintain relationships.
Set your standards right
I find designing such a personal practice, it feels personal when my concept and my work is rejected by clients. How do I take myself out of my work without losing me in the process?”
“Hi Aunty Shillo,
Unless you’re an artist or illustrator, and even then, you’re rarely ever designing for yourself. Design is often created for a client, greater good or a collective outcome, and you won’t always have the opportunity to put the spotlight on yourself and that’s okay. If that’s the kind of career you’re chasing, it might be a good idea to re-evaluate your career trajectory, and really ask yourself why you got into design in the first place.
Aunty Shillo
Freelance can be a tough gig indeed, but we’ve seen many of our graduates transition (or even kickstart) their creative careers into successful freelance businesses! It’ll take initiative, passion and true drive for design to get yourself going, but it’s certainly not impossible. Here’s some food for thought to get you started.
If you’re coming from a studio/agency, chances are you’ve already got an amazing network to chat to and rally support from. Unexpected opportunities can come organically from your non-design network as well, conversations with friends and acquaintances often lead to interesting jobs. Word of mouth is one of the fastest, easiest and most organic ways to grow your personal brand and make new connections.
I’ve been working in creative studios and agencies for some years now and I’m craving more creative freedom and autonomy in the projects that I take on. I’d love to go freelance but I know it’s a tough gig and I’m concerned about finding work and figuring things out like setting rates. Do you have any advice on this?”.
Get your name out there
Round up your network
Design and creativity can be such personal and heartfelt practices, but it’s important to set some clear boundaries between yourself and your professional identity. Here’s a few key things to remember:
Losing yourself is only possible if you’re allowing your identity to become attached to your creative ideas. As difficult as it may be to separate the two, it’s important to understand the difference and through that, ensure that you’re growing as a designer.
ADVICE // Dear Designer
“Hi Aunty Shillo,
And if you’re wanting to retain the creative freedom, but need some bread and butter projects—don’t hesitate to try the old school approach and email design studios and agencies that might be able to offer you opportunities.
21 // Shillington Post
Flying Free(lance)
When it comes to getting your name out there, it’s always worth it to have an online presence. Whether that be in the form of an Instagram account or website that will be the first point of contact for prospective clients. And make sure it looks good, like any agency or studio—socials run your reputation, so make sure the feed is nicely curated and that website is functioning well.
Losing Myself
You and your ideas are not one and the same
Embrace fluidity
Now people know who you are, and the work is trickling in. It’s a good time to consolidate your business model. It can be tempting to settle for anything when you’re just starting off, but your first steps set the tone for your reputation and standards as a freelance designer. You probably went freelance to also enjoy a decent work-life balance. So work smarter not harder, and take time to price yourself competitively and fairly. Make sure you’re across all the administration (invoicing etc.) and set up clear boundaries for each project. Remember, the market is ever-evolving and each brief is different. Don’t be afraid to change rates between projects or develop custom pricing strategies on a case-by-case basis.
The design industry is one that is ever-adapting and shifting—so it doesn’t work in your favour to become stagnant or attached to a single school of thought or certain type of idea. Agility in creativity is something that is highly rewarded and the ability to shift and innovate on the fly is a mark of an amazing designer. Take pride in your ability to make mistakes and learn from them, a sign that you haven’t given up growing as a creative.
OPINION // Imposter Syndrome ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN SHILLINGTON POST #09: WELLBEING WORDS AND ARTWORK BY CATHY SISON, HEAD NEW YORK AND HOW I’M HADWITHDEALINGITEVERYDAYASACREATIVEHOWIDISCOVEREDIIMPOSTERSYNDROME 22 // Shillington Post
4. Stop the comparison game
“I put my heart and my soul into my work and lost my mind in the process”—is a quote often attributed to van Gogh.
I had no idea what these thoughts or emotions were. I think I always felt insecure, not just in my work, but personally. I’ve always dealt with a sense of awkwardness, shyness and low confidence growing up, so I felt that this was just my normal inner voice.
• Berating your performance.
It’s now 2022 and a lot has happened within my career and life. I can’t say that I don’t ever get the waves of uncertainty and insecurity, it’s definitely something that I deal with on a day-to-day basis. However, what I can control is how far I let it affect me. This means being self-aware of the red flags and doing small things to keep me at ease.
This one was a hard one to adjust to. A lot of my Imposter Syndrome was rooted by comparing myself to other creatives and slowly building the narrative that I’m not good enough. In order for me to really stop comparing I had to let it go, stop following people on social media that triggered this feeling and start focusing on my own path.
• Self doubt.
2. Talk it out
After much heavy deep research, I found myself in the depths of psychology articles about Imposter Syndrome. It can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. Imposters suffer from chronic self-doubt and sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence. (Harvard Business Review, 2018)
Graphic design to me was more about problem solving and getting my head around the programs. It was less about my own personal work—it took a long time to really build on my style and aesthetic. Fast forward five years, I had become a senior in-house designer and then started to transition into a junior art director. It was an exciting time and I had always felt anxious in every role I took. But, when you’re a junior or straight out of college, I thought it was quite normal to feel ‘inadequate’ or inexperienced, because I was. Yet, here I was five years in the industry and I suddenly felt this overwhelming insecurity of “I don’t belong here”.
5. Accept you’ll always be a WIP
• Telling yourself you are a fraud.
• An inability to realistically assess your competence skills.
1. Recognise imposter feelings when they emerge
As someone that would hold their feelings in a lot, I found that talking through the negative thoughts or doubt I was having a release. Opening up to other creatives was also helpful —there may be others who feel like imposters too. It’s better to have an open dialogue rather than harbour negative thoughts alone.
OPINION // Imposter Syndrome 23 // Shillington Post
How to ImpostercombatSyndrome
My projects started getting bigger and opportunities that I had dreamed about were finally coming into fruition. I had slowly built my calligraphy brand Kyashi Writes which I always thought was just a hobby, but it became more than I expected. In 2016, I got my first calligraphy job writing for Westfield shopping centre for Father’s Day. I was amongst three other calligraphers and I remember seeing their work and thinking “Why on earth am I here?” They’re going to see I’m not that great at all and I’ll be sent home.
There was a sense of relief knowing that what I was feeling made sense to someone else—that it was real and not all in my head. But, then I started to question how did this come about? And how do I treat it? I started to research more and more and found out that even people I admired suffered from Imposter Syndrome.
• Sabotaging your own success.
I remember studying art in high school and researching artists like Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Georgia O’Keeffe and Francisco Goya. I was immersed in their works but also discovering their mental health struggles and heartbreaking stories during their creative process.
It then dawned on me that I had no desire to become a ‘struggling artist’, an extreme realisation I know, but the idea didn’t appeal to me. Yet, I still wanted to be part of the creative world. I started off studying illustration and then soon after signed up to study graphic design. Which appeared like a less daunting path, or so it seemed...
• The feeling you will get ‘caught out’.
At first I thought affirmations were cheesy but I realised how powerful they were. Starting the day being kinder to yourself really sets the tone of the day and any negative doubt seems to diminish.
Signs of Imposter Syndrome:
3. The power of affirmations
Awareness is the first step to change. Make sure you track these thoughts, what they are and when they emerge.
Me...what? Google google google!
Something I have just realised whilst doing the inner work for Imposter Syndrome is letting go of being perfect or being of a certain standard. Knowing that I’ll make mistakes, both good and bad, but forever evolving and growing—not just as a creative but as a human.
“Imposters suffer from chronic self-doubt and sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence.”
I got a big promotion at work and then I started to have these negative, doubtful thoughts come back but this time it started to get physical. My skin broke out in rashes and I felt a sense of depression and anxiety every morning that I was not used to. On top of that, I was suppressing all these feelings inside. I finally got the courage to confide in a close colleague about what I had been going through and she asked me if I had ever heard of the ‘Imposter Syndrome’?
FIRST PUBLISHED IN SHILLINGTON POST #01: FIRSTS WORDS BY JOHN PALOWSKI, GLOBAL HEAD OF COURSE CONTENT ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAN WILSON, TEACHER, LONDON
ADVICE // First Impressions 24 // Shillington Post
But you’ve come this far. There’s absolutely no point reducing your efforts now. Embrace the next part of your journey with open arms.
ADVICE // First Impressions
Let’s look at the reality…
competing for the limited number of jobs in your city. Who will be first to get their foot in the door? Those with the best work in their books? Those who contact the most studios? Those who come across best in interviews? Those with the most followers on Instagram?
There’s a single answer to all of the above: it depends. And for the most part, it’s not just dependent on you, but on one other very important, uncontrollable and overarching factor: the employer.
INGETIMPRESSIONS:FIRSTYOURFOOTTHEDOOR
Job hunting should be treated like any other brief: with a focused plan of action in place, trying out multiple routes that will hopefully lead to success. You need to communicate the message (that’s you) and how that message is suited to the intended audience (the employer). So where do you start?
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What’s the deal here, then?
You gave your portfolio your all, and you’re graduating with an amazing body of work. You’re off to a flying start. Even if you’re not feeling all that confident, don’t spend too much time worrying. All the more reason to get your work in front of an experienced designer who might find it in their heart (and schedule) to critique your portfolio and offer you some direction.
One thing to remember when looking for your first job is that you are not in a unique situation. There are your classmates, students from other colleges who are graduating at the same time and plenty of other entry-level designers—and they’re all
Think positively. They’re in need of a junior, and their business won’t survive for long if they don’t have talent in the pipeline. They need you.
So you have—or are working towards—a great portfolio, full of work you have spent hours refining, crafting and sweating over to get up to a standard that’s going to help you get that first opportunity. The next stage is no less of a task, and unfortunately there’s no clear-cut process to follow.
“Agilitycreativityin
• Keep up your hobbies: even if they’re unrelated to design. You never know what’ll lead you down a surprising avenue that helps your career!
Research
• A permanent position: does one actually exist?
• The people: the creative director, senior creatives, juniors, plus anybody else you might work closely with.
Other tips…
• Feedback and advice on your portfolio: is there scope for a second catch-up meeting once feedback has been actioned?
• Get around: very few opportunities come and bite you on your arse. Don’t hang around—go and hunt them down.
Once you have broken the deadlock, the hard work still isn’t over. But you guessed that, right? Here are some tips to help make the most of your first studio •experience.
Congrats, you’ve landed your first interview. It’s a good idea to set some goals before going into that meeting.•Establisharelationship—get to know them and, more importantly, let them get to know you.
ADVICE // First Impressions 26 // Shillington Post
• Always overcome defeat. Never give up, even after an unfortunate long line of knockbacks. That next push might be the winning one.
The studio: its history, ethos, location, size, client base and field and the work it produces.
The first job
• Who is the best person to contact about the job, and when is the best time to contact them?
Giving the studio a phone call might be daunting, but it’s best to get used to it early on. It’ll only get easier the more calls you make! Set yourself a key objective for the call: to speak to whoever it is that hires juniors. Then, work out three ways to meet that end objective. Ask to speak to them directly. If you can’t, when would be best to contact them? If that’s also off the cards, what’s the best way to contact them in the future?
• Make the most of it. Everything said and done during your first job should be cherished—whether it’s useful now or later. Speak to people, share ideas, share processes and don’t isolate yourself— no headphones. Revel in the creative environment you’ve yearned for.
• If there’s no job currently available, are there freelance work opportunities? Try to get on their roster for future work that might come in.
• Get on social media: no matter what stage you’re at in your career, the importance of social media cannot be overemphasised. Sign up to Instagram, LinkedIn and even TikTok if you haven’t already, and use them as tools to help with research, making connections and being first to know when opportunities arise.
• Be wary of the ‘Tea-Maker’ Internship Program! If a studio invites you in and expects you to just make brews for the whole of your time there, then they are probably not the studio you’re looking for. But if you do find yourself in that situation, think of it as an excuse to get chatting to everyone in the studio.
• Creative networking: usually a lot of fun compared to other industries. Attending design events, talks, symposia or creative meet-ups, both in person or online, can help you put names to faces and break the ice for potential future opportunities.
designer.”offlyinnovatetotherewardedthatsomethingisishighlyandabilityshiftandontheisamarkanamazing
Sending an email can be less effective than calling, but more often than not it’s a studio’s preferred method of communication. Don’t expect a timely response, and don’t get frustrated if you don’t hear back straight away. There’s nothing wrong with following up your initial email after a week or so— but don’t become a pest.
The first meeting
If you’re graduating from Shillington, you’ll be leaving with the tools to help you on your way: conceptual and technical skills and a polished portfolio. You’ll be using each of these at different stages in your job hunt, so keep them updated, tidy and ready to go at all times.
The first contact
Like any brief we teach at Shillington or any other brief you will face in your design careers, focused research is an absolute must to help you achieve your end goal. So what must you investigate for •this task?
Make yourself useful. Chances are you’re not likely to be given the dream brief you were hoping for. You might not be given a brief at all. So, use your time wisely—find out what you can do to make somebody else’s task easier. They will definitely thank you for it.
• Be confident; be your (best) self; don’t pretend; be honest. Be unforgettable (only for good reasons of course).
Here’s how to answer the most important brief of your career…
Unfortunately these don’t exist for most people. Those who have a friend, relative or contact in a position of power at an ideal studio should not hesitate to get in touch. But the worst thing to do in this situation is to take a job offer for granted. Treat it like any other potential opportunity and show your worth.
Trap doors
Speakeasy agencies keep themselves hidden away from the main strip but are worth the effort to find. They can offer advice, guidance and much more. Absolute treasures, but only if you spend the time seeking them out.
Know your doors
Revolving doors
They’ll take you in, chew you up and spit you back out where you came from. You might not be right for them or you might have hit them on a bad day. Get back to your feet quickly, dust yourself off and move on.
Doors that lead straight to the living room
Automatic doors
Out of the blue you get offered a position you feel you have to take. Then you realise (when you eventually find the light switch) that it wasn’t the best move for your long-term plans, and that you need to find a way out before you get stuck forever.
Secret doors
There might be instances where you are offered a chance to meet and show your work immediately. Don’t be caught off guard; be ready for it and make the most of it.
The job itself might be relatively easy to find, but you might find that a chance to go for an interview is a long way away—weeks, months, even years down the line. Don’t hang around. Move onto the next.
The jobs everyone goes for. The famous, most talked-about, award-winning agencies. Easy to hit, and easy to be lazy. Every designer and his dog will be aiming for these guys, so make sure you stand out from the crowd.
Doors with long hallways
ADVICE // First Impressions 27 // Shillington Post
Barn doors
OPINION // People are your passport HOW NETWORKDIVERSEA CAN HELP GLOBALCAREERYOURGO PEOPLE ARE PASSPORTYOUR 28 // Shillington Post
Shillington Post
is invaluable. I’d go as far as to say game-changing. You’ll probably already have people like this in your class, who you’ve clicked with and who you help when they’re struggling too. Keep hold of these people, we all need a hand sometimes. The second big change was that over time, I started to get the kind of work that I’d wanted all along. For me, that usually comes in the form of projects for partner brands. By making the effort to build relationships with the people who I wanted to work with and by better understanding their needs, along with ensuring that they know my motivations, I had the necessary foundations to successfully pitch exciting projects, for good money.
Crushing it IRL (In Real Life) and OL (Online)
You might get some freelance or junior work from another graphic designer, to help ease their workload, but everyone needs graphic design right? Whatever your hobbies or passions are, connect with people in those spaces, learn more about the things you love and as they get to know that you’re a graphic designer, they’ll ask you about their brand, see what your take is and find work for you. Imagine how less competitive some of those niches are, rather than waiting for another designer to hand you an opportunity, you can be offered it in the first place.
It’s not something that happens overnight, like all relationships, those in your network need to be nurtured, but you have to remember that it’s not a chore. If you’re linking up with people who genuinely inspire you, catching up with them should be a pleasure. Just because something doesn’t feel like work, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t work. Talking of inspiration, I’d encourage all of you to look far beyond graphic design when building your own networks. What are your passions beyond this craft, are you really into space exploration? Maybe you’ve got a thing for independent filmmaking, cross-fit, cartography, performance art or bee-keeping? These interests should also guide the makeup of your network. I often see graphic design students spending their time looking to connect with established graphic designers—and that’s fine—but that often comes at the detriment to all of the opportunities they could be unlocking.
good chance as well that you’ll have the opportunity (should you want it) to further broaden your skill set. That might sound like a grand claim, but it’s true. Think carefully about who you want to hook up with and what the best way is to start a conversation with them. Keep an eye out for local events that cover any topic that you’re intrigued by. When you go to an event, stick around at the end and try to get five minutes with the speaker who really blew you away. Connect with them on social media, post afterwards and tag them in it. Work on an ‘elevator pitch’ that quickly explains who you are and what you do. I use the structure ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ for my elevator pitches and I practice them with friends until they become instinctive. Don’t overlook the power of connecting online. Direct messages on Instagram can be a great conversation starter, depending on context and LinkedIn (which I used to dismiss) can help put you in touch with people who share your interests, just be sure to post some content on there to start conversations.
Assembling your crew
Understand the value
That new outlook paid off in two major ways. Firstly, I started to actively build a trusted circle of people who make my day-to-day more manageable. This is key as a freelancer as working on your own can be tough. Having people who you can turn to for some quick advice, a second opinion or feedback
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN SHILLINGTON POST #07: INTERNATIONAL WORDS BY ALEC DUDSON (INTERN). INTERN-MAG.COM @THISISINTERN
Whether you’re currently studying or deep in the game, your skill as a designer or creative will continue to develop throughout the course of your career, but skill alone won’t get you the freelance work, the job in an amazing studio or ensure that you work on the most exciting, purposeful and fulfilling projects. The key to all of those things is the network that you build. Ask any superstar designer how they got their break and almost without fail, they landed a job through someone they knew. It’s how the world works and if that sounds daunting, don’t worry, it needn’t be.
No need for nerves
With an openness to building a diverse network, you can work around the globe, over a variety of industries, specialisms and interests. There’s a
You’re involved in the creative industries at a time where practically every brand and company on the planet has to take visual communication seriously. There are no longer any short cuts. Brands must have an online presence and the tone, aesthetic and delivery of that can make or break them. As such, your prospective client base is almost entirely free of boundaries. At some point, everyone, everywhere is going to need some graphic design services as they look to elevate their game, personal brand or the fortunes of their business. The only thing stopping you from being the person to help them with those things, is that you don’t know them yet.
This network is yours. It’ll be different to anyone else’s and as such, it’s incredibly valuable, not only to you, but to potential clients, collaborators and people who, down the line, want to be doing what you’re doing. As you start to work with bigger clients and on bigger jobs, you’re going to need a team. If you’ve already got coders, filmmakers, producers, animators and an eclectic range of influencers in your circle, there’s not going to be much that you can’t pull off. As you gain a reputation for delivering varied, quality projects, you’ll get to pick and choose the work that you do even more. This network is your passport to working anywhere and on anything and it’s a vital tool in your career, so build it just the way you want it to be.
OPINION // People are your passport
Start by drawing up a ‘circle of influence’. Aim for a dozen names to start you off, only two of them graphic designers. Make the rest people who you are intrigued by. Find contact details online and make your intro online or via post. Let them know what it is that you love about what they do and how that ties into your interests. Where possible try and arrange face-to-face meetings—failing that, a video chat can build an initial familiarity. Don’t think about the reasons that they might not be interested, think about all the reasons that you’d be a great person to get to know. It can seem like a big step, but before you know it, you’ll be having some cool af conversations and getting to put these design skills to work in amazing ways.
Networking is a term that often makes people feel uneasy. I always used to envision a room full of ‘suits’ who wouldn’t ‘get me’ and didn’t want to know me, unless they could figure out how to extract value from me. I used to dread the idea of going out and trying to start conversations with these imagined bloodsuckers, sure that it would not just be a waste of time, but leave me open to being ripped off. Over time, I realised that networking is something that you retain complete control over and, as such, can happen on your terms. The way I think of it now is ‘getting to know people who I find fascinating, and would love to learn from and work with’. It’s a pretty dramatic change of perspective, I’ll admit, but one that came about when I realised that I’d been networking since I started Intern. I’d just enjoyed it so much that I’d never stopped to label it as such.
Alec Dudson is Founder and Editor-in-chief of Intern, a platform for and by the creative youth that empowers the next generation through content, support and training.29//
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PROCESS // Good Shape Studio Cover Art
SCAN THIS AND SEE THE 25 COME TO LIFE
PROCESS // Good Shape Studio Cover Art 31 // Shillington Post
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