Responsibilities

• Participate in brand research and discovery: consumer surveys, market and cultural insight work, competitive audits, and client immersion sessions.
• Plan and participate in brand workshops with clients, supporting the CCO and copywriter in translating what surfaces into a clear strategic direction.
• Understand and contribute ideas to the brand strategy on assigned accounts – positioning, brand platforms, brand architecture, and the strategic rationale that everything downstream is built against.
• Define the creative direction that translates strategy into a visual and verbal world: the concept, the territory, the unique point of view.
• Brief the Senior Designer on toolkit development (color, logo systems, graphic elements, typography, pattern, illustration, photography style) and direct, critique, and approve that work as it develops. Support in the brand design execution when necessary or when time allows.
• Hold the through-line across every touchpoint, ensuring the brand reads as one intentional system rather than a set of individually good pieces.
• Approve brand guidelines and toolkits before they reach a client, ensuring the built system faithfully expresses the strategy behind it.
• Set the art direction (concept, mood, and styling) for photo and video shoots
• Brief the Designer or Design Intern on shoot guide development (shot lists, mood boards, outfit guides, logistics), then review and approve before the shoot.
• Support CCO in leading on-site shoot days, directing the photographer, videographer, and models.

Requirements

• Proven Creative Leadership
• 7+ years in branding and design, with at least 2–3 years directing the work of other designers. Experience taking full ownership of accounts.
• Deep Passion for Brand Building
• A strong, informed passion for building brands with longevity and meaning, particularly within hospitality, placemaking, F&B, and CPG.
• Strategic & Conceptual Thinking
• Able to move fluidly between strategy and craft: translating research, positioning, and audience insight into brand platforms and visual directions that hold up over time.
• Portfolio Depth
• A portfolio demonstrating complete brand systems: identity, toolkits, guidelines, environmental and packaging applications, campaigns, and launch collateral.
• Client Command
• Confident and credible in front of clients. Comfortable leading meetings, presenting and defending creative rationale, navigating feedback, handling difficult conversations, and keeping relationships strong without deferring upward.

Benefits

• Salary: $90,000 – $100,000
• Medical, dental & vision insurance
• Competitive company Holidays
• Unlimited PTO
• Remote with in-person opportunities
• 401K w/ Company match