After successful reviews back in February and May this year, we’re hosting our third portfolio review dedicated to those starting out in graphic design. You can be a student, a grad or simply be within the first year of your career journey.

As you’ll know, graphic design is a wide-ranging discipline that can become a gateway into so many different corners of the industry; and to reflect that, we’ve got a varied line-up of reviewers – from independent freelance creatives to studio founders, and experts working in-house.

This is a chance to meet industry professionals, get advice and feedback, at the same time as getting to know some fellow emerging creatives.

The session will take place over Zoom on Wednesday 25th August 2021, from 5pm to 8pm BST. There are only a limited number of places available, so make sure you sign up to register your interest.

The event itself is fast-paced: In breakout rooms of three emerging creatives and one reviewer, you will get the opportunity to show and discuss work, and get advice and feedback. This will then rotate, so you get to meet several reviewers throughout the evening.

Please also note that the session is open to those looking to work in graphic design, and creatives, with no more than one year of experience. You will be required to have something to show (e.g. one to two projects or pieces of work that capture what you do), but don’t worry if this isn’t a polished portfolio.

Myles Palmer, founder and creative director, Companion Studio
Myles is the founder and creative director of digital product design studio, Companion. The studio partners with start-ups, agencies and brands to fulfil their creative and business potential. He is also an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion and runs Pair Up, a platform for creatives to offer and share their time in the spirit of learning.

Read more about Myles here, and read more about Companion here.

Mike Lamont, art director, Builders Club
Mike is a 2D and 3D designer and art director, whose work spans dimensions, culture, and brands. He works as an art director at Builders Club, a creative production company for film, 3D motion, stills and interactive storytelling. The team works with top brands such as Nike, Balenciaga and Apple, and pride themselves on creating high-end, original content.

Read more about Mike here, and read more about Builders Club here.

Catalina Velasquez, 2D senior designer, Amplify
Amplify is an independent, forward-thinking, multidisciplinary and culturally driven creative agency. The company has a philosophy of “joining the dots between people, brands and culture”, balancing boutique projects and large-scale campaigns.

Read more about Amplify here.

Mara Xenou, art director and paper consultant, G . F Smith
Mara is an art director and paper consultant at world-renowned fine paper company, G . F Smith. Over the past six years, Mara has collaborated with some of the finest design studios in the printing and advertising industry across Europe and the US, with a focus on building successful branding strategies.

Read more about G . F Smith here.

Sarah-Grace Mankarious, senior visual editor of features, CNN
Sarah-Grace is passionate about visual journalism; the intersection of digital design and storytelling, she has been at CNN Digital for over six years creating storytelling experiences on various online platforms. Her work has won a number of awards from the Art Director’s Club, Motionographer, Vimeo Staff Picks, Webby, Society of News Design and most recently she was nominated for a News and Docs Emmy for the feature she co-wrote and produced about the militarisation of US police. Sarah-Grace has been invited to speak about her work at creative festivals and conferences around the world.

Read more about Sarah-Grace here, and read her Creative Lives interview here.

Kieron Lewis, freelance graphic designer
Kieron is a south London-born freelance graphic designer and public speaker, working across editorial, branding, marketing and front-end web design. Over the years, he has designed numerous self-directed and client-based projects for clients such as Harper Collins, Penguin Books, and Levi Strauss. This year, Kieron was a judge at the D&AD Awards for the Writing for Design Jury and in October, he will be speaking at Adobe Max.

Read more about Kieron here, and read his Creative Lives interview here.

Grace Enemaku, freelance designer and illustrator
Grace is an award-winning, Nigerian-Irish, multidisciplinary designer and illustrator from Dublin. She specialises in creating brands that people want to obsess over and building rich, imaginative worlds within her work. She is also one of the founders of DesignOpp, an initiative championing diversity in Irish design.

Read more about Grace here, and read her Creative Lives interview here.

Samuel Mensah, designer and founder, Samuel Mensah Studio
Samuel is a London-based creative, whose experience spans various design and creative disciplines. He has created and been credited with crafting award-winning Campaigns and artistic treatments globally for clients such as Nike, Google, MTV, Virgin, BBC, H&M and Barclays.

Read more about Samuel here, and read his Creative Lives interview here.

DINES, creative director and founder, STUDIO BLUP
Recognised for his distinctive style and vision, DINES is the founder and creative director of creative agency, STUDIO BLUP. With a desire to create cutting-edge creative, DINES has transformed the way brands like Nike, Universal Music, Adidas, Levis, Hasbro, Sony Music and the BBC connect with the new culture.

Read more about DINES here, and read more about STUDIO BLUP here.

Sam Perkins, senior designer, Nice and Serious
Nice and Serious believes in making creative work the world needs. As a company, their pledge is to only work on projects that will help to change minds, and ultimately inspire people to demand better. For over ten years, they’ve worked with innovative, purpose-led brands including Macmillan, Greenpeace, Innocent, YMCA, Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s, The Co-op and Nandos.

Read more about Nice and Serious here.

This session is open to students, grads, or those within the first year of a creative career. Please note you are only eligible to register if you are:

• Not in full-time creative work
• Within the first year of your career
• Based in the UK
• Aged 18 and over

Register your interest by midnight, 16th August via the link below.

Registering for this event does not guarantee a place. Those invited to attend will be emailed a week before the event, and will be asked to pay a £5 deposit. This is to confirm your attendance, and will be refunded after the session.

Attendees are selected based on their eligibility, so please be assured that if you are not invited, this is not a reflection of the quality of your work.

We hope to see you there!