Posted 19 June 2023

We’ve joined forces with It’s Nice That for a portfolio review on graphic design and art direction

Together with the team at It’s Nice That, we’re bringing you a special-edition portfolio review with a focus on graphic design and art direction. So if you’re free on 11th July and would love to get to know the team and show them your work, apply below!

On Tuesday 11th July, we’ll be hosting a portfolio review for emerging graphic designers and art directors together with our sister company, It’s Nice That. We will be joined by five members of their creative and editorial teams, to connect with fifteen up-and-coming creatives.

The evening will be your opportunity to:

  • chat to the It’s Nice That team in a relaxed setting
  • get insight on what the team looks for in new design talent
  • receive one-to-one advice and feedback on your work
  • meet inspiring fellow emerging creatives

Who can apply?

This portfolio review is open to emerging graphic designers and art directors. There are 15 spots on offer for those who have a passion for graphic design, and are interested in applying their skills to a variety of creative outputs.

It’s Nice That
’s internal creative team work on projects across a broad range of different mediums. This includes everything from printed publications, art directing and commissioning illustrations for articles – to live events and large scale collaborative projects with brands.

Ideas and collaboration are core elements of the team’s work, so if you love thinking up great concepts and working alongside other creatives to make them happen, the team want to hear from you!

How it will work

The session will take place over Zoom on Tuesday 11th July 2023, 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 note that you will be required to have something to show, but this doesn’t have to be a polished portfolio. We recommend keeping this to one to two projects or pieces of work that capture what you do.

Meet the reviewers

Joining us on the night will be:

África Pombo (she/they/he), mid-weight creative, It’s Nice That
África joined It’s Nice That in December 2020 as a freelance designer and joined the team permanently in 2022 where they work predominantly across the platform’s editorial projects. África has previously worked in the branding and film industry and has a strong interest in typography, art direction, graphic and motion design.

See more from África here


Ruby Boddington (she/her), creative, It’s Nice That

Ruby joined It’s Nice That in 2017 after graduating from Central Saint Martins where she studied graphic design. She spent over four years working in the editorial team before moving to Rapha where she held the position of art director. Ruby is now a creative at It’s Nice That, working across predominantly commercial partnerships.

See more from Ruby here

Will Knight (he/him), senior creative, It’s Nice That
Will joined It’s Nice That’s creative team in 2017 where he held a variety of roles encompassing art direction, design, design direction, commissioning and more. Will is now It’s Nice That’s senior creative where he oversees the creative team across projects both editorial and commercial. Previously, Will has experience working in art direction for music, directing a number of campaigns for award-winning artist Sigrid.

See more from Will here

Liz Gorny (she/they), news writer, It’s Nice That

Liz has been at It’s Nice That since 2021. They look after all the platform’s timely news stories, covering rebrands, large-scale creative projects and other industry-focused issues. They also write about creative trends in a fortnightly forecast newsletter and contribute features on subjects like sex and graphic design and photography and class. Before that, they freelanced, writing for the design studio Evermade and at publications like Little White Lies.

See more from Liz here

Olivia Hingley (she/her), staff writer, It’s Nice That
Olivia has been at It’s Nice That since 2021. As staff writer, she interviews and platforms emerging creatives across graphic design, illustration and photography and more. She also writes long-form articles about cuts to arts education, political posters and NDAs in the design world. On top of this, she researches and programmes speakers for It’s Nice That’s events series, Nicer Tuesdays.

See more from Olivia here

How to apply

This session is open to students, grads, or those within the first year of a creative career. 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

Please note that you will be required to submit an example of your work in your application. Register your interest by 11.59pm BST, Monday 26th June via the link below.

Please note

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!

Written by Creative Lives in Progress