Art Director

About Relic+EKR

Relic + EKR is a unique agency relationship where two different agency brands share resources internally.

Relic is a tourism-focused team of holistic marketing guides dedicated to helping destinations across the country better navigate the challenges that come with advertising and marketing to both residents and prospective visitors.

EKR does not focus on serving any one industry, but prides itself on being a strategy and brand-first creative agency.

Relic + EKR is looking for a senior-level Art Director (5-10 years of experience) who can inspire and challenge the creative team to produce amazing, strategic campaigns, digital experiences and powerful brands.

The candidate needs to think critically and advocate for user experience while still having a wide range of design skills—ranging from identity, packaging, web, and campaign design. We're big on building brands from the ground up and believe that design needs to function as well as it looks. It's strategic focus paired with creative and analytical thinking that defines our approach. We know that our deliverables need to look as good as they function.

As someone who will help manage and train designers, the candidate needs to have a strong technical understanding of modern design tools, platforms and best practices in order to not only produce great work on their own, but also help their team get better at it.

About the role

• Can lead part of the creative team while working with the Creative Director

• Is strategic in their approach to campaign ideation and concept creation

• Has a strong ability to both develop and guide our team in creating strong visual identities, creative campaigns, advertising assets, etc.

• Can dive into UI

• Can facilitate collaboration between designers and development teams in web design projects

• Loves to present and interact with clients

• Can sell both their team members" work in addition to their own

• Can drive creative vision and can hold tight to project objectives, budget and deadlines

• We are looking for a leader and mentor who can help our design team grow and succeed. Send us your portfolio with a description about why you're the right designer for the job.

What you"ll do

• Launch the level of quality & output of our creative team to new heights

• Lead multiple projects for multiple clients from conception to completion in accordance with deadlines

• Evaluate and, if necessary alter, the content of projects before completion

• Evaluate the current creative team and be prepared to make any necessary changes to achieve a new level of quality of creative for the agency

• Develop and manage creative team members

• Collaborate with Team Directors to monitor team utilization, productivity and profitability

• Ensure all internal agency and client visuals are consistent with the overall brand

• Collaborate with copywriters to creating unified concepts (you may be asked to occasionally help with some writing here and there as well)

• Oversee photo or video shoots

• Assist in selecting external creative related vendors/suppliers when necessary

• Sign off projects before they are presented to the client

• Generate clear ideas and concepts based on account team direction/creative briefs

• Produce sketches, storyboards, roughs to visualize ideas

• Present completed ideas to clients/team members

• Understand marketing initiatives, strategic positioning and target audience

• Cooperate with the rest of the creative team in developing and versioning creative assets for all different media types

• Cooperate with all other agency departments in proactively completing assigned projects

• Take work from concept to final execution within established deadlines

• Manage and coordinate responsibilities with team members

• Stay on top of industry trends and maintain best practices

• Provide respectful collaboration efforts and critique on all projects

Qualifications

• Outstanding portfolio filled with relevant work demonstrating expertise in design, typography, art direction, high-level production etc.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• 1-3 years experience leading/growing a creative team

• Expertise working in the Adobe Creative Cloud Apps – Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and XD (Figma is a plus!)

• Knowledge of how to develop brand identities through multi-channel marketing

• Comfortable interacting with clients and interpreting client needs to creative team members

• Evidence of participation in ongoing professional development

• Recent hands-on experience with applying design, copy, or creative, design and advertising industry best practices

• Professional business skills, such as negotiation, project management, and leadership

• Web design experience a bonus, especially using HTML5 and WordPress

• Talent in presenting information concisely and accurately, with keen attention to detail

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