Are you a designer based in the UK? Apply for our IRL Portfolio Review in conjunction with The Creative Lab Five

Calling all UK-based designers: This May we’re bringing you a special-edition IRL Portfolio Review in conjunction with The Creative Lab 5 at Google. We’re looking for visual designers who have a strong grasp of graphic design principles and love bringing groundbreaking ideas to life with the latest tools. If you’re excited about creating eye-catching visuals for products, campaigns, experiments, and brand innovations, we’d love to hear from you!

On Tuesday 13 May we’re hosting an in-person Portfolio Review in conjunction with The Creative Lab 5 – a one year paid gig and collaboration at Google Creative Lab. The event will be a chance to:

⏰ Applications close at 11.59pm on 27 April, and you’ll need to create a free account to apply.

What is The Creative Lab 5?

The Creative Lab 5 is a one year paid gig and collaboration at Google Creative Lab – a team of designers, writers, programmers, filmmakers, producers, and business thinkers whose mission is to remind the world what it is they love about Google.

“Fivers” work on a range of projects – some big, some small, and even first-of-their-kind within Google. They get the chance to team up with other talented creatives, get paired with a mentor, and push the boundaries of their craft. Fivers are an integral part of the Creative Lab.

You can head to the Creative Lab 5 website to look through examples of work, below are two examples of projects developed and designed by the Creative Lab in London.

Applicant criteria

Please note that you are only eligible to apply if you:

💻 What should you include in your portfolio?

As part of the application process, you will ideally be able to share a strong portfolio of visual design work that showcases your creativity, problem-solving skills and proficiency in designing for the web.

This can include both personal projects or professional work, and we recommend keeping this between two to five pieces. This could include everything from:

Please note that we’re not looking for all of the above areas – if you are particularly skilled in one of these areas, that’s fantastic! And if you don’t have formal projects but have lots of experimental works in progress, we’d still encourage you to apply.

How will it work?

📍 Where
The event will take place in-person at the Google campus on Bonhill Street, London. Please note that while we welcome applications from creatives across the UK, we are unfortunately unable to cover any travel costs.

⏰ When
9am to 1pm BST on Tuesday 13 May, 2025

💻 How
On the day, 12 creatives will be paired with four designers from Google Creative Lab.

We’ll kick things off with a short introduction from the Creative Lab Five team before breaking out into small group sessions – each made up of two or three attendees and one or two Google reviewers.

During each session, you will have the opportunity to present work, discuss your experience and receive feedback. These sessions will then rotate, so you get to meet several reviewers throughout the event.

How to Apply

Apply via the button in this article, by 11.59pm BST on 27 April, 2025.

Please note
Applying for this event does not guarantee a spot as there are only a limited number of places available. Those invited to attend will receive an email one week before the event to confirm attendance.

Please be aware that the selection criteria is different from our usual Creative Lives in Progress Portfolio Reviews. As there will be a focus on talent discovery, Google may identify strong candidates for The Creative Lab 5; however this is not guaranteed.

Not eligible or your application wasn’t successful?
We know it’s tough when applications aren’t successful. While the criteria for this opportunity is a little tighter, if you’re an emerging creative looking for advice and insight, we invite you to check out our other events.