5 years since Shillington: Fred Trevor

It's been 5 years since Fred Trevor studied at Shillington. Since then, Fred has gone down the freelance route—our Managing Director Clay Allison has a chat with him about what made him decide to study at Shillington, how he stays creative and what the future holds.

Happy reading!

Clay Allison: Hey Fred. It's been 5 years since you graduated from Shillington. But let's go back, when did you know you wanted to go into a creative field?

Fred Trevor:

Thinking back to when I was very young, before you have a real understanding of a career and of the future, I was clearly driven by creativity. Drawing, painting and making were the only things that I could remain focussed on. And remain focussed on for hours. But I just saw it as play. This continued into my early teens where I managed to get hold of cracked versions of photoshop and paint shop pro! I kind of just saw them as extensions of computer games, and was totally ignorant to the concept of graphic design as a job. In my freetime I was making t-shirts with homemade stencils and spray paint, I even designed a typeface for use on an art project. I also found myself obsessed with the packaging and advertising when I was young, collecting random scraps I found (which I still have today) The problem was I was never very good at classic representational art. The "Draw this thing in front of you” art! So I was advised to pick an essay based subject for university, but spent most of my time at uni designing posters (really shitty ones!) and messing around on photoshop. I left uni and ended up, somewhat accidentally, at a music management agency back in London, and did this for 3 or so years managing a number of artists, before realising that I wasn’t too happy in that roll. Not only did I find it very stressful, but it also didn't play to my strengths. What I did enjoy was the creative direction aspect of the job. So I reflected on that being a positive driver and considered where that could push me.

CA: What made you decide to study at Shillington? Did you have a eureka moment?

FT:

I ended up being pretty unhappy in my previous career, and while I was working out what changes I needed to make I looked back at all the these moments in my life that should have pointed me towards a career in graphic design. I had a terrifying moment where I thought I might have missed my opportunity to study a field that I was far more suited to, and got so much fulfilment from. I knew I couldn’t go back to uni for a 3 year degree, so I investigated shorter courses and came across Shillington. This was my opportunity to have a crack at a discipline I’d been engaging with as ‘play’ throughout my life.

CA: Can you tell me about how you found the Shillington experience? We want the gory details...

FT:

I loved it, I can’t explain how much I got from jumping back into a learning environment. It’s an educational decision that is made solely by you, and you’re ready to soak up all you can. Met some amazing people, both students and teachers. Sure, I was bloody knackered for the entire process but its worth every early morning and late night. 

CA: What are you doing for creative inspiration at the moment?

FT:

Honestly, this is something I'm constantly trying to figure out. And I’ve realised there’s no silver bullet for inspiration. It can come from anywhere and nowhere. It could be from an art gallery, a new film, a magazine, a talk with a friend, a particularly good meeting, a street sign, a banging pie! It could even be a change of location. Some of my most creative moments have been on train journeys. I find going for a walk isn’t directly inspiring but the freedom its creates in your mind, can act as the perfect breeding ground for great creative inspiration. 

More specifically, some things that have inspired me recently are… The Noah Davis retrospective at The Barbican really inspired me. I was also in New York recently and saw a show by Christine Sun Kim, which really blew me away. Another place I go for inspiration is a antique arcade near where I live, which is a maze of disorganised objects. There’s a section with old printed matter, like vintage train tickets and butcher's posters, a wealth of inspiration that you’ll never find on Pinterest or Are.na. 

CA: And let’s think 5 years into the future—you’re living your BEST creative life... what are you up to? 

FT:

Mmm let’s Manifest! Running a small agency with lovely people, doing daring work, for caring clients! With my time split between the excitement of London and the tranquility of somewhere green with rolling hills. That feels like the ultimate recipe for a happy creative life!

CA: We're totally here for it. Thanks so much Fred.

Check out Fred's website, and his Instagram.

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