Apprentice Brand Designer

The Times; Greater London; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 22,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LinkedIn Learning access

Private medical insurance

25 days holiday

Pension scheme

Volunteering days

Job summary

News UK is seeking an Apprentice Brand Designer to shape how iconic media brands express themselves across digital touchpoints. You will work with experienced designers and technologists, blending visual craft, user-centered principles, and emerging tools while earning a qualification and developing your design career.

During the apprenticeship you will earn above the national living wage and receive hands-on training, working four days a week with News UK and one day toward a fully funded

Qualifications

• Foundational craft in typography, layout, visual hierarchy and color theory for digital formats.
• Hands-on familiarity with Figma including components, auto-layout and design system structures.
• Practical understanding of basic user experience principles and digital accessibility.
• Active interest in experimenting with AI tools and new design plugins.
• Strong communication skills and ability to share ideas in a team setting.

Responsibilities

• Craft expressive brand visuals, typography, layout and color hierarchy across digital touchpoints.
• Translate brand assets into reusable components within the design system in Figma.
• Collaborate with marketing, editorial, product and engineering to ensure brand consistency.
• Explore AI-assisted tools and generative workflows to expand creative boundaries.
• Present design concepts clearly and explain rationale in critiques.

Skills

Typography basics

Layout and visual hierarchy

Figma proficiency

UX fundamentals

AI tools interest

Communication skills

Tools

Figma

Job description

Your team: The Times and Sunday Times

brand design team. We sit at the intersection of brand identity, user experience, and our evolving and newly launched design system. We collaborate across marketing, editorial, product, commercial and engineering teams to ensure our visual language communicates the value, integrity, and depth of our world-class journalism to new and existing audiences.

Your role:

As an Apprentice Brand Designer, you will play a vital role in shaping how iconic media brands express themselves across modern digital touchpoints. Working alongside experienced designers and technologists, you will blend visual craft, user-centered principles, and emerging tools while earning a qualification and developing your design career.

Being an apprentice at News UK:

During your time with us, you will earn above the national living wage while receiving comprehensive, hands-on training. You'll work 4 days a week with News UK and spend 1 day studying toward a fully funded qualification. Along with mentorship from top industry professionals, we will provide any tailored support you need to reach your full potential.

Day to day you will:

• Craft expressive brand visuals, typography, layout, and color hierarchy across digital touchpoints.
• Translate brand assets into reusable, scalable components within our overarching digital design system in Figma.
• Partner with marketing, editorial, product, and engineering colleagues to champion brand consistency and intuitive reader experiences.
• Explore AI-assisted tools and generative workflows to expand creative boundaries and optimise daily design delivery.
• Present design concepts clearly, explaining the rationale behind creative decisions in team critiques.

What we're looking for from you:

• Demonstrable foundational craft in typography, layout, visual hierarchy, and color theory applied to digital formats.
• Hands‑on familiarity with Figma, including basic knowledge of components, auto‑layout, and design system structures.
• Practical understanding of basic user experience principles, digital accessibility, and user journeys.
• Active interest in experimenting with creative AI tools and new design plugins to streamline workflows.
• Strong communication skills with an ability to share design ideas and constructive feedback in collaborative team settings.

News UK is one of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland. Our newsbrands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market‑leading local stations across Ireland. Our world‑famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month. Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multi‑format brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose, we exist to promote a fair society, freedom of speech and a little bit of fun. Rethinking continually the business of storytelling, we represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter.

Life at News

Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter. We inform our audiences so that they can make decisions based on trusted information.

We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter most. To ensure these stories resonate with as broad an audience as possible, it is essential that our organisation reflects the diversity of the people we reach. Whether through age, gender, ethnicity, disability, social class or sexuality, we are committed to representing the rich variety of voices that make up our society. And we champion a culture where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and thrive as we continue to innovate and drive long term sustainable growth. This is done through our Diversity Strategy.

At News UK, we take pride in our exceptional employee‑led networks that bring together individuals with shared interests and create a vibrant sense of community. We believe our networks play a vital role in fostering a collaborative and supportive work culture at News UK. Groups that we support include the African & Caribbean Network, Parents and Carers, and LGBTQ+ group News Is Out, and the Apprentice Society.

• Some of our benefits include:
• Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks
• Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access
• Private medical insurance including coverage for pre-existing conditions
• Discounted gym memberships, free ClassPass at Home, weekly virtual yoga classes
• 'Bikes for Work' and 'Electric Car' scheme
• Up to 60% discount on Harper Collins books
• Access to exclusive events and competitions with exciting brands such as talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK & The Times. Weekly virtual panel chats with top journalists and celebrities
• Access to wellbeing benefits such as EAP, physio/massage and counselling
• A generous pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, as well as an extra anniversary day off
• Up to 3 paid volunteering days per year to support causes you care about

We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. If you require reasonable adjustments due to a disability or health condition at any stage of your application or interview, please let us know. You can contact us at [e-mail] to discuss how we can support you to perform at your best.