Our
Students

Where do you work?
Cowan Design.

What is your role?
Junior Graphic Designer.

How long did it take you to find work?
Three weeks! I emailed the head designer and didn't get a reply for ten days (so don't ever give up hope). Two days after going for an interview I was asked to come in for a trial. Keep in mind as soon as you start sending out your portfolio you need to be ready to drop everything for the new job.

When did you study at Shillington?
I studied on the full-time course in February 2010.

What were you doing before the course?
IT and a few hobbies like screen printing and stencilling.

Why did you decide to do the course?
I loved playing around with the Adobe Software to create silly images and designs for screen printing. I wanted to improve these skills and also see what jobs I could get with these design skills.

What was the most valuable thing you took away from the course?
Other than great friends, contacts in the industry and loads of great nights out, it would obviously be my portfolio. I could never have come up with the creative resolutions to the briefs if I wasn't taught how to tackle them properly.

How confident did you feel about entering the design industry after you graduated?
I liked a lot of my work but still felt it still wasn't up to scratch to send out to studios. However, after going for an interview and having the head designer tell me that my portfolio was amazing and that they could see the thought process behind it I knew that Shillington had taught me, not only the technical skills, but also how to brainstorm a brief in order to get the best out of my design skills.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
In the first few weeks at my new job I was given the fun task of looking for images on the web and making small changes to designs. Week four came and they asked me and another designer, who had five years experience under their belt, to come up with some designs. After showing the designs to the Creative Director, two out of the three designs chosen were mine! It felt so good to be chosen over a designer who had been doing it for so long. I'm sure this might not always be the case so I might as well boast about it while I can.