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Although 3 months sounds like a short amount of time there are actually 520 contact hours on the full-time course which is comparable to some 2 year courses. It is an intensive way to study graphic design and consistently produces fantastic results. Our courses have been refined over the years in order for you to get the most out of every single hour. The combination of learning the software, understanding the theory and principles of design and working on typical briefs to realistic industry deadlines in a studio environment has been extremely successful in preparing students for their first industry role or furthering the careers of those already working as graphic designers.

Not necessarily. When employing a junior graphic designer, most employers would initially look at an applicant's portfolio to see the quality of their work. If their portfolio was poor it is unlikely they would ask that person in for an interview regardless of their academic achievements. One of the reasons that we run a Certificate 4 course is because it allows greater flexibility with the course content (i.e. we can teach what is really relevant) but students still receive a recognised qualification. At Shillington College the portfolio is paramount. It's created from the briefs that you work on during the course, each piece of work created using the Adobe design software and within realistic timeframes. The standard of work is also very high as you can see from our student work section. For more information on what employers are looking for in a graduate refer to our employers section of the website.

Shillington College was established due to a gap in graphic design education whereby new graduates were not being taught the necessary software skills needed to produce commercial work. Basically, they weren't being taught the right things!

Other graphic design courses can either be very lengthy; teaching students a lot of theory but not enough practical / commercial skills or are short courses that focus on teaching the software alone.

At Shillington College we strike a balance between learning the theory and principles of graphic design but also knowing how to use Adobe design software to produce commercially viable work.

Our studio environment prepares students in a realistic design environment enabling them to 'hit the ground running' as soon as they finish the course. Its success has allowed Shillington College to become world class, with three campuses in Australia, two in the UK and one in New York.

The key to our success is being able to update our curriculum as and when we need to. If the industry requires something we'll ensure that we write it into our course. The curriculum itself is contributed to by all our our lecturers across the world. They are all practicing graphic designers and are all talented and passionate.

As you may have read in the about us section, Shillington College started life as a graphic design studio in 1989. The first course was run in Sydney, Australia in 1997 and since then it has gone from strength to strength, opening its first international campus in 2008. The course is always being refined whilst continuously evolving in-line with the graphic design industry and will continue to do so as it is one of the main reasons for the college's success.

The lecturers at Shillington College are all passionate graphic design professionals who are keen to pass on their knowledge and experience to the next generation of creative talent. The majority of full-time lecturers continue to freelance in their spare time and our part-time lecturers all have full-time roles in the industry. All are exceptional graphic designers and great mentors. There are two lecturers per class and we occasionally swap the teachers around so that students experience lecturers from our other colleges.

All of our lecturers from our local and international campuses contribute to the curriculum ensuring that the course is current on a global scale.

On top of this are the countless guest lecturers who have inspired Shillington's students (and staff) over the years. These include (to name but a few): A Friend of Mine, Ascender, The Creative Method, Finn Creative, Greg Quinton, The Letter D, Moffit Moffit, Si Scott, Timba Smits & Toko.                              

You do not need to sit an interview or show us a portfolio of work in order to enrol on the Certificate IV Graphic Design Course. We just want you to be passionate about learning design and 100% committed. We do ask that you have excellent English skills if English is not your first language. You do not have to have used a Mac before and we don't expect you to have used the Creative Suite design programs but we do ask that you have access to a computer and the software out of college hours.                               

Unfortunately we can't ever guarantee that, as much as we would love to, but what we can say is; if you apply yourself throughout the course, listen to the advice of the lecturers and build strong relationships during your time here you will leave with the best chance of finding work afterwards. Refer to our graduates section of the website for more information.

The majority of our students go on to work in the graphic design industry after graduating if that was the purpose of their time studying with us. Sometimes we have students who want to add graphic design to the skill-set of their current role but aren't necessarily looking to change jobs. We follow-up past-students in order to obtain testimonials from them for our graduates section. We can confidently say that if our students didn't find work after the course the college wouldn't have the great reputation that it has and our graphic design courses wouldn't continuously fill.                               

Being able to source opportunities and apply for them independently is an important step to entering the workforce and is something that we encourage. However, we are regularly approached by studios that are looking for talented junior graphic designers and are always happy to recommend graduates. As the classes are small and intimate, strong friendships are formed between students and many people learn of roles through old classmates and past lecturers. We also have a blog where we post opportunities for students, a twitter account where we often retweet jobs and a facebook page where you can network under the 'discussions' section. Aside from this, a large section at the end of the course is dedicated to finding work. Throughout the course we will have encouraged you to talk about your design in the language that other designers know and understand so you should feel confident discussing your portfolio of work with any potential employer. 

The two courses are effectively the same, just structured slightly differently to allow for students to work as well as study if they need to. Some students prefer the intensive nature of the full-time graphic design course whereas other students learn better when they have more time to absorb and practice what they've just been taught. There's no right or wrong way, just what works for you.

The majority of students complete this course as they want the best possible chance of obtaining a graphic design role when they graduate. Therefore what you put into the course will be reflected by the quality of your portfolio.

We ask all of our students to keep a Visual Diary. This is a collection of inspirational pieces of design, textures, photos, typography, illustrations, ads etc (this is something you can start before signing up for the course).

In the full-time course the majority of work can be done during college hours although students should allow at least 4 hours a week of their own time for homework each week. In the part-time graphics course it is beneficial if students use their own time at weekends or between classes in order to research and prepare for briefs. Part-time students should dedicate 7 hours of their own time each week for homework in order to get the best out of the course. This time can vary from week to week and some weeks you might not have so much but do allow more time towards the end of the course when you're finishing off your final pieces for your portfolio.

As of September 2011 we will be introducing even more web design content to our existing course as we acknowledge the shift from print to digital.

It's becoming evident that clients and employers require designers to be able to design for digital mediums such as websites, electronic publishing and mobile devices and ti understand the contraints involved when ensuring these designs are functional.

When designing the look and feel of a website the same design principles are required as print design, and ensuring that the website not only looks good but is easy for the user to navigate is the job of the designer. A programmer / web developer can then create the code in the back-end order to make it work effectively.

We have recently developed a new Web Design Course for practicing graphic designers who want to compliment their existing knowledge of print design with web design and basic coding.

We always have a number of students who are already working as graphic designers or who have studied at other design colleges, TAFEs or Universities. Their reasons for studying vary. Some are self-taught in the software or studied a long time ago and feel that they need to up-skill, some feel that they need to get the edge back into their commercial work, some feel that their design portfolios are lacking and others may feel that their previous graphic design courses haven't taught them the real essentials of being a working designer. Whatever the reason, these students benefit enormously from studying the Certificate 4 Design Course at Shillington College even with prior design experience. We also run a Masterclass for working designers so that may be another option for you if you feel that it's just your portfolio and creative process that needs refining.

To be a graphic designer you don't necessarily have to be a good artist in the traditional sense. During the course you will need to do some rough sketches (thumbnails) in order to develop your concept before you start working on the computer but your drawing ability will not be scrutinised.

Please request more information and you will be emailed a PDF the application form for your chosen location (check your spam folder if you don't receive it straight away). This contains information on the fees and instalment plans available. All fees are in Australian Dollars.                               

We have instalment plans available to pay for our courses (no interest, no credit check). Full details of the fees and instalment plans can be found on the application forms. If you request more information you'll be emailed one right away.

Payments can be made by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), cheque, money order or cash.

Please contact the Studio Manager for more information.

The Certificate 4 Course (CUV40303) is Austudy approved if you study with us full-time. You will need to contact Centrelink for more information. Our RTO number is 3527. This is currently the only funding available.                              

At Shillington we use the Adobe Creative Suite (Design Standard). This includes InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Acrobat. We have a special agreement with Adobe so that our students can receive the student discount even though our courses are shorter than what is usually required. This means that the software is around $300 rather than $2500. As you do receive a large discount while you're a student it might be worthwhile purchasing the Design Premium version of the programs (containing Dreamweaver, Flash etc). Although we don't teach these programs on our graphic design course it still might be worthwhile having the software at home.

The company we use for our software is Vital Peripheral Supplies. They will offer competitive rates for Shillington students but by all means, feel free to shop around if you wish.

Please note that you cannot obtain a license for the programs until you have started our course. You will require a letter from us which we issue on day one. If you are keen to look at the programs before you start you can always download a 30 day free trial.

All students are asked to have access to a computer and the design software out of college hours but this is particularly important for part-time students. In order to obtain the best results you are encouraged to do more work in your own time and to practice what you have learnt between classes.

A home computer is a worthwhile investment for both during and after the course and you may be entitled to a discount on computer hardware while you're a student with us. All of our students are eligible for a discount on the Adobe Software.

At Shillington College we use mac computers and you will find that the majority of the industry use the same. However, if you already have a PC at home you can purchase the PC version of the Adobe software. There are minimal differences between mac and PC versions of programs and you may initially have an issue with the fonts but there are ways to work around this.

If you are buying a new computer a minimum of 4GB RAM is recommended. It's also useful if you have a large screen in order to design effectively. If you have a laptop with a small screen maybe consider hooking it up to a larger monitor.

We use a company called Vital Peripheral Supplies when we purchase our software and hardware. They offer competitive rates to Shillington students so please feel free to get in touch for a quote.

We usually have a few international students on each course. Your fees will be the same as the local students but you cannot obtain a student visa through the college. Therefore you will need to ensure that you are able to legally remain in the country for the duration of the course. You will need to liaise with your local Australian embassy in order to see if you are eligible to obtain an appropriate visa such as a three month tourist visa or a one year working holiday visa. You can find more information on visas via the Department of Immigration website.

It is essential that, if English is not your first language, your English skills are excellent. You will need to have scored at least 5.5 in the IELTS test or have had a verbal interview with the Studio Manager before enroling on the course. Our course can be fast-paced and if you are struggling to understand what is being said you won't be getting the most out of it so it's for your own benefit as well as your lecturers and fellow students.                                 

Unfortunately we cannot provide accommodation for you but you may find the links below useful:
Gumtree Sydney / Gumtree Melbourne / Gumtree Brisbane
Flatmate Finders
Domain
Real Estate.com
City Hobo
Australiawide Student Accommodation

There are 22 places on each course and applications are taken on a first come first served basis. If you are wanting to enrol it is best to get your application in as early as possible. There may sometimes be availability a couple days before a course starts but usually courses fill a month or so in advance so get in quick. We can't enrol you without a completed application form or the deposit. If you wish to go on a waiting list please email the Studio Manager stating the course and location. You will also need to include a contact number. Please note that being on the waiting list does not guarantee you a place on the course but means that if you have missed out but someone cancels or transfers, you may still be able to enrol.                               

Great! If you request more information you will be emailed an application form immediately (check your spam folder if you don't receive it straight away).
You will need to either print the application form from the email or wait for the hardcopy that accompanies the brochure in the post if that's what you have requested.
Please complete both sides and post it to:
The Studio Manager 
L3 50 Margaret Street 
Sydney NSW 2000 
This needs to be accompanied with a deposit of AUD980 made payable to Shillington College.

Alternatively you can scan the completed form and email it back to the Studio Manager but it can't be processed until your deposit has been received. Please ensure you read the terms and conditions of enrolment on the application form.                               

As long as there are places on your chosen course (always best to check with us beforehand) and you've sent in the completed application form and deposit we should be able to enrol you straight away.

You will receive a Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) in the mail. If you don't receive this within 7 days of applying please contact us to make sure there are no issues. The COE contains information of when the course starts and when the fees are due. Please note that if you wish to pay the balance prior to the course commencment date you are more than welcome to do so. Just remember to use your full name as a reference so that we can reconcile any payments.

You will receive an email from us between 14 and 7 days of the course commencing. This contains some further information about day one of the course but in short you will need:

• A note book and pen
• An A4 Folder and some A4 sleeves for your handouts
• Your initial payment.

Day one is really an induction where we go through all of the admin requirements as well as other things such as software, visual diaries, course structure etc.

As a Shillington student you will be eligible for the student discount on the software. Please note that you need to wait until the course starts before you can purchase the student version from Adobe as they require a letter from us confirming that you are a student. This will be issued on day one. The company we use for our software and hardware are Vital Peripheral Supplies and they offer some very competitive rates. Again, we provide more information on 'Shillington Specials' on day one. You're welcome to purchase from them or from a different supplier if you so choose.

Full-time students will also be eligible for a concession card for travel. Again, these are issued on day one of the course. Unfortunately part-time students are not eligble for a concession card.

Many of you are keen to get going and that's great! We love people as keen as you! We suggest that you start looking at our blog as a reference as well as the other recommended blogs listed on there. You can also start collecting examples of design that you like (press ads, business cards, colour swatches, post cards, annual reports, brochures, flyers, packaging, textiles, patterns...) whatever you find inspiring.

Each college has a library of wonderful design books and magazines which you have access to when you're here. Don't feel like you need to rush out and buy lots of books before you start the course.

We also can't recommend Social Media enough in our industry so get yourself a Twitter account and start following designers, studios and industry bodies (as well as Shillington of course). If you're not sure who to follow have a look at who we follow as a start). Also join our Facebook page as we're constantly posting inspirational links. Finally there is LinkedIn. Always good to get a head start when finding contacts in the industry.

If you have any other questions obviously feel free to get in touch but otherwise we'll see you on day one!