Freelance Social Designer

Critical Playground LLC; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 56,000 - 73,000; Full time

Job summary

OLS is seeking a conceptually strong Social Designer to support our Pinterest ad work for global CPG brands. You’ll craft editorial-style collage, social ads, and on-brand packshots that feel native to how people scroll, save and share.

We value a current visual culture sense and the ability to work autonomously with high standards. The role is a rolling freelance brief, paying a day rate of £350, with potential flexibility for exceptional candidates.

Qualifications

• Portfolio showing cultural fluency and Gen Z work.
• Strong composition and product handling.
• Confident Photoshop skills.
• Ability to work autonomously to a high standard.

Responsibilities

• Design social ads from brief to completion (static and collage).
• Create updated product visuals and packshots from brand assets.
• Build on-brand collages with texture, color and type.
• Use GenAI tools to generate on-brand assets with IP care.
• Take ownership of projects and collaborate with Creative Leads.

Skills

Editorial collage

Strong composition

Autonomy

Photoshop

GenAI tooling

Tools

Photoshop

After Effects

Figma Weave

Job description

About Us

OLS is a creative studio for brands that refuse to blend in. Since 2007 we have worked as an embedded creative partner to in‑house teams at brands including Pinterest, Workday, Calm and WHOOP. On Pinterest, we work alongside their in‑house team making social‑first creative for some of the world’s biggest CPG brands, built for how people actually discover, save and shop. We’re an employee‑owned studio, and that shows in how we work with freelancers: clear briefs, a collaborative team and work everyone cares about.

The Role

We’re looking for a conceptually strong Social Designer with razor‑sharp taste and a genuine feel for trends, to support our Pinterest account making ads for a roster of global CPG brands. You’ll know what resonates with a culturally switched‑on audience, especially Gen Z, and make work that feels native to how people actually scroll, save and share.

A big part of this is collage: editorial and organic, nothing that reads as stock or overly polished. If you have a strong, current sense of visual culture and you love that kind of work, we’d like to see it.

The Work

• Design social ads from brief to completion, mainly statics and layered editorial‑style collage, with simple motion where needed
• Composite packshots and product visuals, turning a small set of brand assets into content people actually want to share
• Build collages that rely as much on your eye as your craft: sourcing images and elements that genuinely suit each brand, combining texture, colour and type with real style. On brand, but never brand‑heavy
• Use GenAI tools (e.g. Figma Weave) to generate on‑brand lifestyle assets, with real care for brand IP accuracy
• Take ownership of projects, working closely with our Creative Leads across multiple brands

You Have

• A portfolio with real cultural fluency - work made for a Gen Z audience, not adapted for them. Collage, editorial or moodboard‑style work is a strong advantage
• Strong composition and confident product handling
• Confident Photoshop skills
• An eye for what’s visually relevant right now, and the instinct to know when something is on‑trend versus dated
• The ability to work autonomously to a high standard

Nice To Have

• Motion and video skills (After Effects)
• GenAI experience (Figma Weave or similar)

How We Work

We move fast and hold ourselves to high standards.

The day rate for this brief is £350. For someone exceptional, there may be some flexibility.

This is a rolling freelance brief rather than a single booking. We’re building a group of designers we can come back to regularly, so if the work suits you, we’d like to work with you again!