Our
Students

Where do you work?
Audacious, which is a charity that provides training for youth workers and summer conferences for young people in Manchester.

What is your role?
Media Director. I oversee all things related to media; video, websites, advertising, podcasts and design. Within that I do the graphic design needed to advertise all our events etc.

Did you feel confident about entering the design industry after you graduated?
Yes I did. It was a little daunting for me at first as I was going back to work with no senior designer to cover my back. However, I have a great group of people who I did the course at Shillington with, who I can email stuff to and get feedback from. Networking is the key for me. I definitely feel confident in using the software and working from briefs. Learning to work against realistic deadlines has helped massively in my role.

What were you doing before the course?
I was working for the same company but as a project manager.

Why did you decide to do the course?
At work we found that we required a lot of design but had no one to do it and so the solution was to train me. After researching all the graphic design courses, Shillington offered the best solution in terms of time and money. Most of the other courses took 1 to 3 years!

What was the most valuable thing you took away from the course?
There's no way I could pick out one thing. Right from using the Adobe Creative Suite to the Design Principles - it has all been priceless! Being able to use the shortcuts has been extremely useful too. It's like speaking a foreign language fluently!

Where do you see yourself in twelve months from now?
I'm working on building a team of designers to support me and we are looking to send someone else on the course next year. Although most of the work we currently do is for ourselves we want to start working for other clients to bring in additional money for the charity.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
What I do is very people-based. We run projects to see changes in communities so my role is just a part of that. I love standing at the other side of a project, seeing that all the hard work has paid off. My role is constantly changing according to the needs of the business but the work I’m now doing as a designer is the most exciting!