Meet Bella Thomas, Shillington Sydney Graduate

Bella Thomas knew a 3+ year university degree wasn’t for her. She’d already completed a diploma in business and was working for a celebrity stylist (whilst cultivating a impressive Instagram following!), but didn’t have the skills to truly bring her creativity to life. Enter: Shillington. A friend recommended the graphic design course, and Bella decided to take the plunge.  As she says: “If you have the passion and/or want to find your passion, you won’t know until you try!”

Find out how Shillington taught Bella the power of design thinking, prepared her for her dream job and in general, was “one of the biggest highs” of her life.

Congrats on landing a design role so quickly after graduation. Tell us about it!

Thank you so much! Wow—this role came around as such a surprise and the job description almost sounded too good to be true. I work as a Creative at Blacklist, they do exclusive art prints and stationery. My role involves helping curate ideas for new collections, assisting the creative director Nathan on new ways we can grow the brand and expand our creative nature, and creating unique content for social media channels. All of the above is where I feel most suited to at the moment and I am learning so much!  

You have such a stunning Instagram showcasing your love of art, fashion, design and people. Why do you love Instagram? Do you use it for inspiration or networking?

🙂 Art, fashion, design and people <3 … my favourite things alongside green tea and Anzac biscuits. I see Instagram as one of the ways to truly get your name out there in ones own unique way.

I see my Instagram as a place I can just show people my creative mind and how I see the world and what I take most from it.

I see art in the way people dress, I see design in the classic paintings (I love matisse) and the way people think. I just think Instagram has so much power for those wanting to get their name out there to the right people. It doesn’t matter about your followers or how many likes you get—I hate to think like that—what really matters is what you show is honest, beautiful and consistent. It’s great for networking, I’ve connected with so many people I would have never in “the real world”, though it is a great space I go to for inspiration. Mainly to choose my outfit every morning.

Where else do you find creative inspiration? Any favourite blogs, artists or designers?

I find creative inspiration from my friends who are also creatives. I look to designers like Phoebe Philo (Celine) and Raf Simons, both of whom are on a constant quest for innovation, always producing pieces that have people looking twice or even away, not afraid to take risks. My favourite artists are Matisse, Basquiat…. ahhh pressure, I have so many more but I have brain block!

What was your favourite brief during the course? Why? Walk us through your approach!

Oooo, this is very tough. Probably a toss up between Black Rabbit and Som Da Luz. I’ll take you through Black Rabbit. 

My brief was to brand a magic store opening in Sydney’s CBD. The client wanted it to be mysterious, exclusive and contemporary. I wanted to really hone in on the mysterious nature of the store and keep the magic store quite exclusive. To be completely honest when I first got this brief I was so not excited as I know nothing about magic (other than my love for the harry potter series). In the real world I knew nothing other than a few card tricks. So my research for this brief took quite a bit longer than my other peers. 

Through a lot of trial and error with different type packages and curating ideas about how I could make this story not just another magic store I established the launch for this brand. I wanted to make the lead up very mysterious. My inspiration for this was Lister the street graffiti artists (or someone like Banksy). I wanted to have contrast between my type package which stood very modern and clean, so I created business cards from used or found bits of paper or cardboard. 

I ended up loving this brief because I realised I could literally do whatever I wanted, the options were endless! I even did some of my own graffiti (smirk emoji). 

What were you up to before Shillington? Why did you take the plunge and enrol?

Before Shillington I had finished a diploma in Business (specialising in Fashion Public Relations), and I was working as a social media manager for a celebrity stylist. This was great for networking and the perks of clothes here and there. I loved it, though I never felt my creativity was being challenged. I had Photoshop on my computer, though I did a lot of my own fun arty graphics with free apps on my phone—just for Instagram. I started a website to display my creativity through fashion, art and design though I still felt I was lacking professional skill. I never felt like I was quite ready to do much with what I had. My friend had just completed the course in Brisbane and couldn’t stop talking about it, pretty much within the next month or so I was enrolled! Definitely a risk as I didn’t even quite know what the term “graphic design” meant, but well worth it. 

Why Shillington? What made our design course stand out from the rest?

I honestly wanted a course that I could do quick. I’m not one for spending 3+ years at uni… sometimes I really wish I was, but the thought kinds sickens me. I wanted the same quality of learning but fast! Shillington honestly gave me that and more—I didn’t think I would be so set up for the real world after the course.

Shillington sets you up so well for the industry. And I made so many amazing friends! If I could, I would seriously do the course all over again.

How did the course build your skill set in design software and design thinking?

Before Shillington, I totally didn’t realise how much design thinking comes with graphic design, I honestly thought we just made things look pretty. But no—it’s so much more than that and honestly the design thinking part became my favourite bit.

Our teachers Jason and Fi taught us so well how to think and not to underestimate the power in an idea. Sometimes the most simplest design can be the best as the meaning behind it—like an iceberg under water.

I loved learning about this and sometimes even spending a whole day in class just researching and coming up with ideas. This can sometimes be the longest part of the design process. 

If you could give one piece of advice to someone considering studying at Shillington, what would it be?

Take the risk! If you have the passion and/or want to find your passion, you won’t know until you try.

Shillington was truthfully one of my biggest highs in my life so far, I found out so much about myself. Those three months were intense but so so so fulfilling at the same time. 

Huge thanks to Bella for sharing her story! Be sure to visit her website and follow her on Instagram.