Art Director

Campus Ink

Art Director overseeing design production for collegiate merchandise at Campus Ink. Managing a creative team and ensuring high-quality artwork for apparel and branding.

Posted 7/28/2026full-timeChicago • Illinois • 🇺🇸 United StatesLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in Apparel Design and Art Direction, with a strong focus on managing creative teams and ensuring high-quality production standards. Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite and skilled in project management to meet tight deadlines.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Apparel DesignArt DirectionTeam ManagementAdobe Creative SuiteProject Management

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Apparel DesignArt DirectionGraphic DesignProduction File PrepScreen PrintingEmbroideryDigital Decoration Technique

Soft Skills

Excellent CommunicationSelf-MotivatedHighly OrganizedDetail-Oriented

Tools & Technologies

Adobe PhotoshopAdobe Illustrator

Industry Keywords

Creative Production PipelineQuality ControlConcept-to-Tech-Pack ProcessVisual ConsistencyMerchandise Artwork

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Oversee the design process for apparel products from concept through final production, ensuring creative decisions align with brand standards and manufacturing capabilities.
Direct the creation and refinement of graphic assets across product lines, maintaining visual consistency and craft quality from initial concept through final production files.
Support the concept-to-tech-pack process for jersey and private label products, working closely with the executive team and manufacturers to ensure design accuracy and product quality.
Lead a team of designers and illustrators, ensuring appropriate delegation of projects based on team strengths, managing workload, and providing day-to-day mentorship and craft feedback.
Own and continuously improve the creative production pipeline that includes intake, revisions, approvals, and handoff to production, to reduce bottlenecks and minimize turnaround time.
Maintain strict quality control on all artwork output, catching issues before files move to production.
Partner with business development and account management to keep creative timelines aligned with partner and licensing deadlines.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's degree in a related field (Graphic Design, Apparel Design, or similar) preferred but not required with sufficient portfolio strength.
Proficiency in Apparel design. Preferred in screen printing, embroidery and digital decoration technique.
5+ years of experience in art direction or senior design roles, including at least 1-2 years managing designers or a creative team.
Portfolio showcasing production-ready apparel, merchandise, or licensed product artwork.
Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator) and production file prep for print/embroidery.
Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and hard deadlines.
Excellent communication skills, particularly in giving clear creative feedback to a team.
Self-motivated, highly organized, and detail-oriented.
Lives in the Chicagoland area and able to be in office 3 days per week.

Benefits

Comp & perks

401(k) matching
Paid time off
Paid training
Health insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Life insurance