What You'll Do in this Role

At HIFI, we believe art is not just decoration but the way in which we connect emotionally with audiences. And the way we see Art Direction is the ability to make intentional creative decisions about how, where, why, and through what medium a story should be told.

As an Art Director at HIFI Agency, you will operate as a creative integrator, visual storyteller, and someone who thinks across the entire agency (not just within the bounds of a single deliverable). You will develop and direct visual concepts that are grounded in client strategy, shaped by a genuine understanding of audience connection, and executed via the right medium for the proposed message. You will know when a campaign calls for motion and when it calls for stillness, when to use photography and when illustration can carry the message further.

This role sits above Senior Designer in our creative structure and is built for someone ready to lead with vision. You will collaborate closely with the creative directors, strategists, media planners, and client managers — bringing creative coherence to complex, multi-channel work while mentoring the designers around you and presenting your thinking to clients with clarity and conviction.

The following pillars outline what success will look like in this position: 

Creative Vision & Integrated Thinking

• Develop visual concepts that begin with a genuine understanding of the client's business goals, audience, and the emotional outcome the work is meant to produce — not solely with aesthetic preference.
• Think across the full breadth of HIFI's capabilities (strategy, brand, content, media, social) and consider how each discipline can contribute to a stronger, more cohesive creative outcome.
• Make intentional medium decisions: understand why a story should be told through video versus static, experiential versus digital, long-form versus a single image — and be able to articulate that reasoning clearly.
• Identify the emotional core of every project and build visual direction around it, ensuring that the work does more than communicate — it connects.
• Contribute meaningfully to creative strategy conversations, bringing a perspective that enriches the thinking of the broader team before a single asset is ever produced.

Storytelling & Brand Development

• Lead the visual narrative of campaigns and brand identities, ensuring every touchpoint carries the same strategic intent.
• Collaborate with content directors and copywriters to develop stories that work visually and verbally as a unified whole, not as parallel tracks that happen to coexist.
• Build brand visual systems that have emotional range, capable of expressing both the rational and the human dimensions of a financial services brand without devaluing either.
• Understand the shifts across the customer journey and how to shape visual storytelling to meet people where they are heading, not just where the brand wants them to be.
• Champion the idea that great creative in financial services does not mean safe creative and push for work that earns attention through genuine resonance.

Agency Collaboration & Cross-Discipline Integration

• Work across creative, content, media, and strategy teams to ensure the visual work is informed by (and informing) the full scope of the agency's efforts on a given client.
• Understand how design decisions interact with media placement, content cadence, and channel behavior, and factor those realities into your creative direction rather than treating them as afterthoughts.
• Partner with web developers and motion designers to push the boundaries of what's possible in each medium, bringing creative ambition that knows how to work within technical constraints.
• Articulate clearly to clients and stakeholders to help them understand not just what the creative looks like, but how it connects to their goals and why the medium and approach were chosen.

Brand Integrity & Quality Standards

• Direct and review the work of designers, providing feedback grounded in strategy (not just visual refinement).
• Oversee the quality and consistency of visual output across all active projects, ensuring that brand integrity and creative ambition are maintained from concept through final delivery.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects with clarity and calm, balancing creative vision with real-world constraints of timeline, budget, and resource.
• Prepare and present creative work to clients and stakeholders with the confidence to explain not just what was made, but why — and to defend it when the work deserves defending.

Who We're Looking For

We're looking for a visually and strategically driven creative with 5+ years of experience in art direction, design, or integrated creative roles — and a portfolio that demonstrates not just strong craft, but the ability to connect visual storytelling to strategy and client outcomes. This role requires someone with:

• A portfolio of campaign and brand work that demonstrates both conceptual depth and the ability to work across mediums (video, digital, print, experiential, and beyond).
• A genuine understanding of how art functions as a storytelling tool, and the ability to apply that understanding to the specific context of financial services marketing.
• The instinct to think about a problem at the agency level first — understanding how creative, content, media, and strategy work together — before narrowing in on execution.
• Proven experience directing designers and providing feedback that elevates the work, not just refines it.
• Comfort making and defending medium decisions: knowing why a message should live in video versus static, long versus short, illustration versus photography.
• Strong ability to present and communicate creative thinking to clients and senior stakeholders in language that connects visual decisions to business and audience outcomes.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma, with working knowledge of motion and digital production workflows.
• Experience in an agency or integrated marketing environment; financial services or fintech background is a plus but not required.
• A collaborative, low-ego working style with ability to lead with conviction and receive feedback with the same openness you expect from others.

Working at HIFI

At HIFI, we cherish relationships, create fearlessly, and challenge best practices. While we’re based in Raleigh, our fully remote team collaborates across locations, making time for in-person strategy sessions when needed. We believe in working flexibly in environments that best suit your lifestyle and creativity. Apply today and let’s create something remarkable together.

As a member of HIFI Agency, you’ll also receive:

> Competitive salary

> Employee health, dental and vision coverage

> Ample PTO time and generous holiday schedule

> Remote-first work style with occasional in-person strategy time

> In-home office equipment and WFH essentials

> 401k with employer match

Salary Range

This role, for someone who works in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area of North Carolina, has a salary range of $75,000 - $90,000 at HIFI Agency. Salary range is based on relevant experience and skills alignment.