Associate Director, Art Direction

DEPT®

Associate Director, Creative overseeing art direction and visual narratives at DEPT®. Leading teams and ensuring impactful designs for campaigns and brand evolution.

Posted 6/10/2026full-timeRemote • California, Illinois, New York • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $122,700 - $180,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead the visual evolution of brands. You’ll oversee the art direction for pitches and flagship projects, ensuring all work meets a world-class standard of design, typography, and composition.
Guide a team of junior to mid-level Art Directors and Designers. You’ll provide specific, craft-based feedback that pushes their work further while helping them develop their own visual voices.
Take ownership of the visual narrative across multi-channel campaigns. You’ll lead the aesthetic side of "the big idea," ensuring a cohesive look and feel across film, digital, social, and physical experiences.
Lead the visual side of production, from selecting photographers and directors to overseeing color grading, retouching, and motion design, ensuring the final product matches the original creative vision.
Act as the visual authority in client meetings. You’ll present design systems and art direction with passion and clarity, helping clients understand the strategic "why" behind visual choices.
Partner with Creative leadership to evolve design workflows, establish quality standards, and identify new tools or AI-driven technologies to keep the team’s craft future-ready.
Foster an inclusive, design-forward culture that encourages experimentation, shared learning, and a relentless pursuit of visual excellence.

Requirements

What you’ll need

5+ years of experience in art direction or design within a creative agency or high-growth brand environment or related field.
Showcasing a mastery of art direction, layout, typography, and integrated visual storytelling across various platforms.
Experience leading small teams or overseeing the work of freelancers and junior creatives.
Expert-level knowledge of Figma, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.), motion design, or AI image generation.
The ability to ensure that every visual choice, from color palette to casting, serves the client’s business goals and brand identity.
The ability to articulate complex visual concepts to non-visual stakeholders and clients.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Healthcare, Dental, and Vision coverage
401k plan, plus matching
PTO
Paid Company Holidays
Parental Leave

ATS Keywords

✓ Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

art directionlayouttypographyintegrated visual storytellingmotion designcolor gradingretouchingvisual narrativedesign systemsvisual excellence

Soft Skills

leadershipteam managementcommunicationfeedbackclient presentationstrategic thinkingcreativitycollaborationinclusive cultureexperimentation