Design Director

Design Director

You are a Design Director at Crispin, a creative leader who believes great design can turn a good idea into something people actually want to engage with. Our Design Department works across clients and disciplines, moving fluidly from brand identity and campaigns to social, digital products, experiences, commerce, and everything in between.

You’re a designer at heart and a leader by nature. You inspire teams, challenge thinking, champion craft, and help turn ambitious ideas into work that is culturally relevant, beautifully executed, and impossible to ignore.

Responsibilities:

• Lead design at the project level, establishing a clear creative vision and pushing teams toward ambitious, distinctive work.
• Partner closely with Creative Directors, Art Directors, Copywriters, Strategists, Producers, and other disciplines from brief through final execution.
• Concept, ideate, and develop visual systems and design solutions across campaigns, brand identities, social, digital, commerce, experiential, and emerging formats.
• Translate big creative ideas into compelling visual expressions—and help teams see multiple ways an idea can come to life.
• Provide hands-on creative direction and design when the work calls for it, maintaining a high level of craft from the first sketch through final production.
• Develop and evolve design systems that are flexible enough to work across channels while maintaining a distinct point of view.
• Push beyond the expected and identify opportunities to make work more culturally relevant, surprising, and impactful.
• Know when to use the grid, when to break it, and when the best design decision is the one that creates a feeling rather than simply follows a rule.
• Lead critiques and provide clear, constructive feedback that helps designers and multidisciplinary teams elevate their work.
• Manage and develop designers, helping them strengthen both their craft and their creative point of view.
• Present work internally and to clients with passion, clarity, and a compelling narrative that connects design decisions back to the brief and business challenge.
• Build trust with clients and partners while confidently advocating for the strongest creative solution.
• Collaborate across the agency and contribute to a culture where great ideas can come from anywhere.
• Manage multiple projects and priorities without sacrificing the quality of the work.
• Work from start to finish while knowing when to bring in the right talent, discipline, or expertise to make the work stronger.

Qualifications:

• Ability to work out of our OWTC office on Tuesdays and Thursdays
• 7+ years of experience in a design or creative agency, brand, or similarly fast-paced creative environment.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating exceptional design craft, conceptual thinking, and the ability to translate ideas into distinctive visual experiences.
• A clear and confident point of view on contemporary design, culture, and creativity.
• Experience leading design across multiple mediums, including brand identity, campaigns, social, digital, commerce, experiential, and/or product experiences.
• Deep understanding of typography, layout, composition, visual systems, art direction, and design principles.
• Experience leading and mentoring designers and multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong presentation skills and the ability to clearly articulate the thinking behind creative decisions.
• A collaborative mindset and the ability to build strong relationships with creatives, strategists, account teams, production, and clients.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to give thoughtful feedback and confidently defend a point of view.
• Strong understanding of digital design, UI/UX, and how design systems translate across web, mobile, social, and emerging platforms.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma; motion, 3D, animation, or other emerging creative capabilities are a bonus.
• Curiosity, adaptability, and a genuine desire to keep learning.

Compensation Range is: $135,000 - $150,000 annually, depending on experience. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on relevant experience, job-related qualifications/skills, and geographic location. The Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. For this role, Benefits include: health/dental/vision insurance, matching 401(k), FSA and HSA accounts, flexible vacation policy, sick time, paid parental leave, paid medical leave, STD/LTD insurance benefits, and generous holiday calendar.