#FridayFive with Shillington Design Teacher Fiona Martin

Inspiration can come from anywhere. So, on one Friday a month, we’re sharing some of our Shillington team’s favourite things from the past four weeks. This month, Shillington London Teacher Fiona Martin tells us what was on her radar in May.

1. To Follow: Caterina Bianchini

Caterina Bianchini is a London-based graphic designer known for her bold design aesthetic and hand drawn type. To further enhance the “hand made element” in the work, the designer creates her own textures. These textures “can be anything from scanning in a piece of paper and using the tactile flecks seen in the textural overlap; to using a Xerox scan texture over the letters.” She did an amazing talk for Nicer Tuesdays covering this very process.

2. To Read: Multi-Hyphen Method—Emma Gannon

Amazing book for creatives who want to turn their side hustle into a reality and unlock the entrepreneur within! With fantastic insights into making the life of a freelancer work: to work the hours you’d like, focus on projects your passion about and to take control of your career.

3. To Go: Birmingham Design Festival

Now in its second year, Birmingham Design Festival is a celebration of the local, national and international design industry held over three days in June in the UK’s Second City—there’s loads of free workshops and events, as well as talks from Verònica Fuerte, Craig Oldham, Alice Tonge and loads more.

4. To Listen: Creative Lives: Lecture in Progress

Conversations with people working across the creative industries—including designers, photographers, lettering artists and printmakers—exploring the journey they took to build their careers, from the great people at Lecture in Progress.

5. Wildcard: Feck Perfuction

Distinguished designer and and equally distinguished hell-raiser James Victore wants to bring you into a world of boldness and creativity whether you like it or not. His latest book, the brilliantly named Feck Perfuction, aims to guide you through the start of your creative career and the ups, downs and middles that come with it. Perfect, or maybe perfuct, for anyone no matter what stage they are in their career.

Have a look back at what’s been inspiring our team over the past few months! And for some drool-worthy visuals from our Shillington students, read 16 handmade album covers and 14 app designs.