Art Director

Art DirectorRooted in education, Campus Ink is a leading collegiate apparel company specializing in licensed merchandise and athlete partnerships. With a commitment to creating higher earning opportunities for students, Campus Ink's unparalleled design program trains students in design, marketing & sales while The NIL Store (Name, Image & Likeness) empowers student-athletes to recognize their potential and elevate their brand through merchandise sales.Campus Ink is seeking a skilled and hands-on Art Director to execute and oversee artwork production across our apparel and merchandise lines. This is a player-coach role built for someone who wants to stay close to the craft while shaping the people and process around it. You'll turn brand direction into finished, production-ready designs that show up on real products worn by real fans and athletes nationwide. Working closely with the accounts and production teams, the Art Director will manage day-to-day artwork execution, lead a team of designers and illustrators, and build workflows that keep creative output moving efficiently without sacrificing quality. A successful candidate is a strong craftsperson, a proactive problem solver, and someone who thrives on balancing hands-on design work with team leadership. If you love making things, coaching people, and seeing your work land in the hands of customers, this role was built for you.Key Responsibilities:Apparel Design Management: Oversee the design process for apparel products from concept through final production, ensuring creative decisions align with brand standards and manufacturing capabilities.Graphic Design Management: Direct the creation and refinement of graphic assets across product lines, maintaining visual consistency and craft quality from initial concept through final production files.Production Support: 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.Team Management: 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.Workflow Ownership: Own and continuously improve the creative production pipeline that includes intake, revisions, approvals, and handoff to production, to reduce bottlenecks and minimize turnaround time.Quality Control: Maintain strict quality control on all artwork output, catching issues before files move to production.Cross-Team Coordination: Partner with business development and account management to keep creative timelines aligned with partner and licensing deadlines.