JANELL KING
SHILLINGTON HIGHLIGHT: A Story of One Woman’s Journey into Design July 2023
BEFORE DESIGN:
Hello Shillington Community! My name is Janell King, and I am 35 years old. I have my Bachelor’s in International Relations from Samford University. My career up until this point has been in human rights and international relief work involving anti trafficking monitoring and advocacy campaigns, helping manage one of the most internationally recognized refugee camps, mentoring at-risk youth, working as a project manager for multiple organizations among many other humanitarian endeavors.
Pictures from the refugee camps in Greece and Northern Iraq.
a little about yourself and
before
Tell us
your career
Shillington.
FINDING MY TRUE NORTH
DISCOVERING DESIGN:
Going from human rights to graphic design is quite a big transiton. What led you to making a career change?
Before the pandemic, I was facing severe burnout and c-ptsd from the amount of suffering, loss, and grief experienced both professionally and personally. I decided to step away from justice related work to heal, and it was during this healing sabbatical that I began to not only fall in love with design and entrepreneurship, I was also finding my true north as an artist and creative.
I had always felt this voice inside of me telling me I was an artist, but I never believed that voice as I didn’t feel I possessed any actual talent. Months before and during the pandemic as well, I decided to try any and everything creative. I attended a three month film school in LA, I taught myself how to restore and flip furniture, I dyed fabrics and sold them as textile art, I renovated and designed my mother’s new home and helped neighbors with their homes, I dusted off my Nikon and started taking photos again, and I started drawing and selling my paintings.
Not only did art begin deeply healing the trauma, but it brought restoration and joy and new life to the very core of me. Through creativity, I found that missing piece inside of myself that had been calling to me from the very beginning.
In 2016, I was working in a refugee camp in Greece when a post I wrote went viral. It was that moment that I began to glimpse the power of storytelling, and how to ethically advocate for others whose voices deserve to be heard. When I began researching graphic design as a career change, I realized just how much this skill set impacts society and can be used in vast amounts of ways to visually tell a story.
I CAN DO
MANY THINGS
CHOOSING SHILLINGTON:
Why did you choose to apply to Shillington? What are your plans for after?
I want to study design to sharpen my understanding of how to tell a visual story, to develop my craft and build a successful business, and to discover even more of what I am capable of and my DNA as an artist.
While I love learning and can teach myself many new skills, I would love the technical skills gained within a classroom learning environment combined with the professional mentorship of industry savvy teachers. As my art professor once said, “Artists cannot thrive as islands. We are collaborators, we need each other.” I need technical help to get to the next level of my art and career. I also want to grow in understanding how design can be used to impact and transform culture/pressing social issues. If I could somehow combine my love of creativity with my heart of making this world a little better and brighter, that would be the true dream.
Directly after Shillington, I would love to own my own graphic design studio, create a brand/product and see it to life, and/or work in an environment with multiple creative projects happening at every moment. Art direction is a path I would like to explore as I’m a storyteller at heart drawn to many different creative mediums, and I love the process of seeing a vision coming to life. I would also love to build a home and artists community for others like me who are still searching for their place and their people.
This scholarship would enable me to financially be able to afford going back to school again at 35, as I’m still paying off loans from my undergrad degree. It would also give me the tools to combine the passion and drive I already have to see my life and career dreams fulfilled and, in return, help others fulfill their dreams as well (both through financial investments as well as creative partnerships.) I think it would also add to the confidence boost of knowing I have what it takes to walk out this new career path as a designer.
THANK YOU
Seriously. Thank you, Shillington, for taking the time to learn about me and hear my story. And thank you for giving back all you’ve learned to other creatives like myself. We see you, and we are so grateful for your influence. Cheers! This is just the beginning of our story together!
janellkingco@gmail.com
