Creative Apparel & Graphic Designer

NORdee Creative Apparel & Graphic Designer
Part-Time Trial → Full-Time Opportunity
Company: NORdee
Position: Creative Apparel & Graphic Designer
Location: Remote – Philippines
Employment Type: Independent Contractor

Initial Trial Period

Duration: 1 month

Hours: 20 hours per week / approximately 80 hours for the month

Working Hours: Monday – Friday, 09:00 – 13:00 South African time

Trial Compensation: R3,500 for the month

Potential Full-Time Position

Hours: Monday – Friday, 09:00 – 17:00 South African time

Compensation: R10,000 per month

Employment Type: Independent Contractor
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About NORdee

NORdee is a growing South African padel and lifestyle brand offering premium apparel, bespoke clothing and creative branding solutions to padel clubs, businesses, teams, events and individuals.

A significant part of our offering is custom-designed clothing, where we create unique apparel incorporating logos, graphics, colours, patterns and branding specifically for each customer.

We are looking for a creative, talented and commercially minded designer who can help us take these ideas from a basic brief through to a professional, production-ready design.
This is an opportunity for the right person to become an important part of the NORdee creative team as the business grows.
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The Opportunity

We are initially offering the successful candidate a 1-month part-time trial period.

The trial is designed to give both NORdee and the designer an opportunity to assess whether we are a good long-term fit.

Month 1 – Part-Time Trial

The trial is a defined 20-hour-per-week position, rather than an ad-hoc or on-demand freelance arrangement.

Trial compensation: R3,500 for the month

Working commitment:

• 20 hours per week
• Approximately 80 hours during the month
• Monday – Friday
• 09:00 – 13:00 South African time

The designer will be expected to be available and actively working during this four-hour daily window.

This schedule is important because the role will involve communication with the NORdee team, receiving briefs, discussing concepts, providing updates, reviewing designs and making revisions during South African business hours.

The R3,500 trial compensation is based specifically on this 20-hour-per-week commitment.

During the trial period, you will work on real NORdee design projects, including custom apparel, graphics, branding and marketing material.

We will assess:

• Quality of your creative work
• Ability to interpret a brief
• Originality and creativity
• Speed and productivity
• Reliability
• Attention to detail
• Ability to work independently
• Communication and responsiveness
• Ability to handle feedback and revisions
• Technical design skills
• Ability to create designs that work on actual clothing
• Overall fit with the NORdee brand

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Transition to Full-Time

If NORdee is happy with the quality of your work and both parties agree that the relationship is a good fit, the position will transition to a full-time independent contractor position.

Full-Time Position

Compensation: R10,000 per month

Working hours:

• Monday – Friday
• 09:00 – 17:00 South African time
• 40 hours per week

Location: Remote

Employment type: Independent Contractor

The full-time position will involve working closely with the NORdee team on an ongoing basis and taking responsibility for a significant portion of our creative and apparel design requirements.

The transition to the full-time position is subject to NORdee being satisfied with the candidate's performance during the trial period and both parties agreeing to continue.
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Key Responsibilities

Apparel & Clothing Design

You will be responsible for creating original and commercially viable designs for:

• T-shirts
• Hoodies
• Padel shirts
• Sportswear
• Caps
• Visors
• Jackets
• Teamwear
• Clubwear
• Event clothing
• Corporate clothing
• Other customised apparel

You will take customer requirements and turn them into professional designs that can be manufactured.
Bespoke Design

A major part of the role will involve creating custom designs for clients.

For example, a customer may provide:

• A club logo
• Brand colours
• A rough idea
• A reference image
• A particular theme
• A basic design brief

You will be expected to turn this information into a professional, creative and original apparel concept.

We are looking for someone who can contribute creatively rather than simply follow instructions.

Graphic Design

You will also assist with:

• Logo design and development
• Branding
• Social media graphics
• Promotional artwork
• Marketing material
• Digital advertising
• Posters and event graphics
• Product graphics
• Typography
• Patterns and illustrations
• Presentation/mockup designs

Production-Ready Artwork

You must understand how to prepare designs for real-world production.

Experience with some or all of the following is highly beneficial:

• DTF printing
• Sublimation
• Screen printing
• Embroidery
• Vinyl
• Heat transfer
• Large-format printing

You should understand concepts such as:

• Vector artwork
• Resolution
• Bleed
• Colour profiles
• Pantone/brand colours
• Print sizing
• Artwork placement
• File formats
• Production specifications

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Software & Design Platforms

You should be highly comfortable working across professional design platforms.
Experience with:

• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe Photoshop
• Canva
• Figma
• CorelDRAW
• Other professional design software is beneficial.

You do not need to use every platform listed above, but you should be highly proficient in the tools you use and comfortable learning new platforms when required.
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We are looking for someone who is:

Creative – You have strong visual taste and can develop ideas rather than simply execute instructions.

Commercially minded – You understand that designs must work on real products and appeal to paying customers.

Proactive – If you receive a brief, you think about how to make it better rather than simply doing exactly what was written.

Detail-oriented – Small mistakes in logos, typography, spacing, colours or artwork can affect the final product.

Fast and reliable – NORdee operates in a fast-moving environment, and we need someone who can meet deadlines and communicate clearly.

Open to feedback – Designs will often go through several revisions. You must be comfortable receiving feedback and improving your work.

Independent – As a remote contractor, you need to be able to manage your workload without constant supervision.
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What We Expect From You

You should be able to take a brief such as:

"We need a premium padel shirt for a South African club. It needs to incorporate their logo and colours, but we want something modern, creative and different from a standard sports shirt."
…and turn that into a strong visual concept.

We don't want someone who simply places a logo onto a template.

We want someone who can say:

"Here are three creative directions I think would work."

That creative thinking is extremely important to this role.
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Requirements

Essential

• Strong graphic design portfolio
• Demonstrable creative ability
• Experience designing for clothing/apparel
• Strong understanding of typography, composition and branding
• Ability to work with logos and brand guidelines
• Ability to create professional mockups
• Strong attention to detail
• Good English communication
• Ability to work independently
• Reliable internet connection
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Availability Monday–Friday, 09:00–13:00 South African time during the trial
• Commitment to 20 hours per week during the trial

Highly Advantageous

• Apparel/fashion design experience
• Sportswear or teamwear experience
• Padel/tennis/sports design experience
• Printing/garment production knowledge
• Experience with embroidery artwork
• Experience with sublimation
• Experience creating repeat patterns
• Experience designing logos/brands from scratch
• Experience working with international clients

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Portfolio

Your portfolio is extremely important to us.
Please provide examples of:

1. Clothing/apparel designs
2. Logo/branding work
3. Creative graphic design
4. Sportswear or teamwear if available
5. Any bespoke/custom projects
6. Mockups showing how your designs look on actual products

Please do not only send examples of Canva templates or basic social media posts.
We want to see your creativity and design thinking.
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Trial Project

Shortlisted candidates may be asked to complete a small paid design test before the final selection.
The test will be based on a realistic NORdee apparel brief and will allow us to assess your:

• Creativity
• Design quality
• Ability to interpret a brief
• Apparel design ability
• Technical skills
• Attention to detail

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Compensation
Initial 1-Month Trial
R3,500 for the month

This is based on:

• 20 hours per week
• Approximately 80 hours for the month
• Monday – Friday
• 09:00 – 13:00 South African time
• Independent contractor arrangement

This is a structured part-time trial and not an ad-hoc freelance arrangement.
Successful Completion of Trial
If NORdee is satisfied with your performance and both parties agree to continue:
R10,000 per month

Full-time independent contractor position:

• Monday – Friday
• 09:00 – 17:00 South African time
• 40 hours per week

The full-time role will be subject to a separate contractor agreement.
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How to Apply

Please send:

1. Your CV or short professional profile
2. Your design portfolio
3. Examples specifically showing apparel/clothing design
4. A brief description of your