Creative Director

The Role

We are seeking a hands-on Creative Director to lead the visual and digital design function supporting Design Marketing Studio and its US-based marketing agency client. (Note: the DMS website is not client-facing so the standards here are much lower than our client-facing platforms).

You will provide strategic direction and quality oversight across website design, UI/UX, graphic design, social media imagery, and other visual projects. You will establish clear creative standards, guide designers through execution, and ensure that work is visually strong, technically appropriate, and aligned with business and client objectives.

This role combines creative leadership with practical design expertise. You will remain close enough to the work to evaluate concepts, identify design problems, and provide specific direction, while using the broader design team for execution.

You will work closely with marketing, content, development, advertising, and project-management teams to move creative work efficiently from brief through delivery. And, you will use AI tools to enhance the speed and consistency of our design outputs.

What You’ll Work On

• Own the creative direction and visual quality of websites, UI/UX, graphic design, and social media assets
• Translate business, marketing, and client objectives into clear creative direction
• Establish and maintain design standards, visual systems, templates, and quality-control processes
• Guide website structure, user experience, visual hierarchy, and responsive design decisions
• Review concepts, wireframes, layouts, graphics, and final creative before delivery
• Lead, mentor, and improve the performance of designers across multiple projects
• Coordinate creative priorities, workloads, timelines, and project requirements
• Collaborate with developers to ensure design intent is implemented accurately
• Align creative work with content, advertising, messaging, and conversion goals
• Improve creative workflows, tools, documentation, and production efficiency

You will be encouraged to:

• Raise the visual and strategic quality of the organization’s creative output
• Provide clear, constructive, and actionable feedback
• Balance originality with usability, consistency, timelines, and business objectives
• Build systems that help the team produce high-quality work more efficiently
• Use AI thoughtfully to support ideation, exploration, production, and quality control

Tools & Technical Mastery

Strong candidates demonstrate advanced proficiency in:

• Figma for website design, UI systems, prototyping, and team collaboration
• Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
• Responsive web-design principles and common desktop, tablet, and mobile breakpoints
• Design systems, component libraries, templates, and brand-guideline development
• Typography, composition, color theory, image selection, and visual hierarchy
• Wireframing, prototyping, and developer-ready design handoff
• Graphic production for websites, social media, presentations, campaigns, and digital assets
• File organization, version control, asset libraries, and collaborative review workflows
• Accessibility, usability, and conversion-focused design fundamentals
• AI-assisted visual research, ideation, image exploration, and production support

Experience with tools such as Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Canva, Webflow, or other relevant creative platforms is valuable but not required.

Strong technical fluency should be paired with the ability to evaluate whether creative work is visually effective, practical to produce, and appropriate for its intended platform.

Who This Role Is For

Strong candidates typically:

• Have 8+ years of relevant experience in UI/UX, website design, graphic design, digital creative, or a related field
• Have led designers, reviewed creative work, or directed multi-project design delivery
• Have a strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality website, UI/UX, and graphic-design work
• Can translate broad objectives into clear visual direction and actionable briefs
• Demonstrate strong judgment in typography, layout, hierarchy, usability, and visual consistency
• Can provide constructive feedback that improves both the work and the designer
• Understand how creative decisions influence marketing performance and user experience
• Can balance multiple projects, priorities, deadlines, and stakeholders
• Collaborate effectively with developers, marketers, writers, advertisers, and project managers
• Have a strong AI workflow already in place
• Communicate clearly and professionally in English

A related degree is preferred, but portfolio quality, leadership experience, and demonstrated creative ownership are valued more highly than a specific qualification.

What You’ll Gain

• The opportunity to shape the organization’s visual and digital creative standards
• Direct exposure to US-market creative and digital-experience standards
• The opportunity to improve creative systems, workflows, and team capabilities
• Performance-based financial upside tied to agreed creative and delivery goals
• A high-trust environment focused on ownership and thoughtful decision-making
• Support for AI implementation, creative-tool development, and professional growth
• Flexibility around genuine personal and family needs, with disciplined working hours that protect evenings and weekends

How We Evaluate Fit

We care less about formal titles and more about:

• The quality and range of your design portfolio
• Your ability to establish clear and effective creative direction
• Your judgment across website design, UI/UX, graphic design, and visual communication
• Your experience leading and improving the work of designers
• Your approach to creative review, quality assurance, and constructive feedback
• Your ability to connect design decisions with audience, usability, and business objectives
• Your experience collaborating across marketing, content, development, and project teams
• Your ability to balance creative ambition with timelines and technical realities
• Evidence of successful creative outcomes from previous work
• Your willingness to embrace AI in all facets of your work

The process includes:

• Résumé or LinkedIn profile review
• Portfolio review
• A short video introduction
• A conversation focused on creative leadership, design judgment, and team management
• A paid practical assignment

How to Apply

Email jobs@designmarketing.biz with the subject line:
Creative Director

Include:

• Why you are a great match for this position
• Current (or last) and expected salary
• Resume/CV (PDF, no Docs)
• Supporting materials (LinkedIn URL, portfolio, etc.)
• Video intro (see below)
• 1–3 LinkedIn profile (or portfolio) URLs of professionals you believe are an exceptional match for our agency, with whom you would most want to work alongside

We value candidates who recognize and attract strong talent around them.

If there’s alignment, we’ll take the next step.

VIDEO INTRO

So you reviewed our site, including our About Us and Why DMS Advantage pages, and are interested in working with us? Great!

We want to get a more personal understanding of you. To help us do so, please record a 5-minute video introduction of yourself using a free app such as Vidyard or YouTube unlisted sharing (which is private) or add it to your Google Drive and share the link.

Send a streaming link—no downloadable files.

Please do NOT read a script.

We want to hear you discuss yourself in your own voice.

In the video, please answer the following questions:

1. Give us an overview of your professional background and share your greatest professional achievements: What do you believe you can bring to the table and what would you most enjoy doing?
2. Explain the challenges of your job and how you approach them. Take a moment to discuss the specifics so we can better understand your working style and capabilities.
3. Share how you use AI as part of your workflow. Discuss your interest in AI.
4. Discuss your availability for work: What are your preferred work hours, and do you have any other personal or professional responsibilities that may impact your availability?
5. If applicable, explain why you are leaving your current job or why you stopped working at your last position.
6. Share your current salary or most recent wage and what your salary expectations are.
7. Looking ahead, where do you see yourself professionally in five and ten years from now?