Our upcoming portfolio review has been put together for anyone who’s just starting out in graphic design and branding. 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 Thursday 25th February 2021, from 5pm to 8pm GMT. 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 get into graphic design, 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.

Creatives and companies offering feedback on the day will include:

Dropbox Design
As a department of the cloud storage and online collaboration service Dropbox, Dropbox Design is made up of product designers, branding specialists, design researchers and UX designers and more. The team’s aim is to ensure that Dropbox’s services provide the best experiences in an ethical and sustainable way.

Kieron Lewis, freelance graphic designer
Kieron is a London-based graphic designer, working freelance across editorial, branding, marketing and front-end web design. His clients have included Adobe, Penguin Books, Spotify and MasterCard.

Koto
Based in London but with offices in Berlin and LA, Koto is an agency working between branding and digital. Its work includes branding start-ups from scratch, as well as working with well-known clients such as Skyscanner, The Body Coach and Coca-Cola.

Human After All
Human After All is a London-based design agency specialising in brand-led communications. The team includes experts in production, creative and copywriting, and many of their clients come from the tech or purpose sectors – industries where it’s essential to engage the right audience.

Miho Aishima, design director, Superunion
Miho is currently design director at Superunion, which has been behind branding work for Argos, BBC 2 and Nespresso, among many more. Before that, Miho also worked with agencies such as Johnson Banks, CDT Design and Macmillan Publishers. In addition, she runs creative networking event series, Rye Here Rye Now.

Pali Palavathanan, creative director, TEMPLO
Pali is the co-founder of TEMPLO, a branding and digital agency focused on creativity for change. Their work has included projects for the United Nations, Greenpeace, Migrant Help and the Committee on Climate Change. With over fifteen years of experience, Pali has worked with the likes of Virgin Atlantic, Amnesty International, Disaster Emergency Committee and the Guggenheim Museum.

Land of Plenty
Land of Plenty is a brand and design consultancy with a progressive outlook. Their client list, from start-ups to global brands, includes the likes of Nike, Crafts Council, Yard Sale Pizza and Southampton FC, and their output ranges from campaigns, websites and print communications, all the way through to pizza boxes and football jerseys.

Poonam Saini, co-founder of Kiss Branding
Poonam is the co-founder of Kiss Branding, a Leeds-based creative brand studio that started life as a side hustle alongside her day job. Before that, Poonam gained years of experience both in-house and freelance as a designer, working with established studios and brands. Now, she collaborates with companies of all sizes that have a positive message to share, to help bring their brand to life.

Zendesk Design
Based in San Francisco, but with offices worldwide, from Singapore to Berlin, Zendesk is a company supporting businesses with sales and engagement software. Its services are now used by over 160,000 people across hundreds of industries. Within the team, departments include product design, brand, design and research operations, engineering and product management

Caitlin Clancy, freelance art director and designer
Caitlin is a freelance art director and graphic designer, originally from Manchester and currently based in Lisbon, Portugal. Before that, Caitlin worked in London, and has designed for the likes of The New York Times’ T Brand Studio, CNN and in-house at The Financial Times. She also spent some time working from Antwerp in Belgium for design and creativity festival, Us By Night.

This session is open to students, grad, 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, 15th February 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!