Art Director

Artisan Council, based in downtown NYC, is a boutique digital marketing agency empowering progressive brands in the constantly evolving social and digital landscape. Our team believes in the power of stans and fans and aims to build brand loyalty through community involvement and engagement. AC believes that having an informed community of diverse voices is the key to making an impact in today’s ever-changing world of social media and content. AC’s team members are passionate about diversity, community, content, culture, innovation, and trying things first! We’re looking for people who share our passion, for people who live and breathe beauty and lifestyle, have exceptional research, communication, and creative thinking skills, and take an empathetic approach to everything they do and enjoy helping others succeed.

Artisan Council is seeking a freelance/contract Art Director to support our creative team on an as-needed basis across campaign development, content production, and shoot execution. This role is best suited to a hands-on creative who is comfortable moving between big-picture concepting and practical production needs. The ideal candidate can help shape creative ideas, develop visual directions, storyboard content, write or refine copy, and confidently lead creative execution on set when production needs arise.

Work will be assigned on an ad hoc basis depending on client needs, campaign timelines, and shoot schedules. Some weeks may require heavier involvement, particularly in the lead-up to or during productions, while other periods may be quieter. Flexibility, responsiveness, and comfort working within shifting production timelines are important.

Outside of work, ideally you will be someone who lives and breathes internet culture, pop culture, and any subculture that will add valuable perspective to Artisan Council’s and your work.

Reporting to Artisan Council’s ECD and with a dotted line to the Executive Producer, you will be goal, timeline and analytically driven, a team player, and demonstrate leadership and ownership of your work and resilience in the face of internal and client feedback. You’ll be an integral part of our creative team, ensuring creative excellence and alignment with brand strategy, all the while developing innovative concepts for production campaigns, new business proposals, and evergreen social media content, while working collaboratively with other team members to understand client needs, feedback, and timelines.

Together, we as a team are dedicated to building each other up and helping each other grow, and achieving goals together.

Equal Opportunity

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Our mission is to create a happy, safe, considerate, and inspiring work environment for all.

What will you be responsible for?

• Partner with the ECD and Executive Producer, as well as CDs and Producers, to develop production-ready creative for campaigns, evergreen content, and new business.
• Translate concepts into clear visual direction that aligns with production scope, timelines, and platform requirements.
• Provide creative oversight across shoots and post-production, ensuring continuity from edit through final delivery.
• Create storyboards, shot lists, moodboards, visual references, and other creative production materials.
• Review and approve edits and final assets to ensure creative quality and platform best practices.
• Support campaign design, including visual systems, key art direction, social-first campaign assets, and content frameworks.
• Write, edit, or refine campaign copy, social copy, scripts, captions, supers, and other short-form content as needed.
• Lead creative direction on set, ensuring the final output aligns with the approved concept, brand direction, and production goals.
• Guide photographers, videographers, stylists, talent, and production teams during shoots.
• Partner with producers, designers, copywriters, strategists, and account leads to bring creative work from concept through execution.
• Provide clear creative feedback and direction during pre-production, production, and post-production.
• Help ensure work is visually strong, brand-right, social-first, and feasible within timeline and budget constraints.
• Identify opportunities to expand creative solutions within existing scopes.
• Collaborate with Accounts, Strategy, Production, and clients to align creative vision with objectives and deliverables.
• Create and present pitch materials, creative assets, and post-campaign insights for internal and client use.
• Stay current on platform, industry, and production trends and share relevant insights with the team.

What kind of skills should you have?

Please note carefully. Applicants without this experience will not be considered.

• 6+ years of experience in Art Direction, with a focus on creative production for beauty, D2C, or consumer brands.
• Prior experience as an Art Director, Associate Creative Director, or senior creative in an agency, production, social, or brand environment.
• Strong proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, with experience creating production-ready assets and motion mockups.
• Strong campaign concepting experience, ideally across social, digital, content, and/or integrated campaigns.
• Experience leading or art directing photo and video shoots.
• Strong understanding of production workflows, including pre-production planning, on-set execution, and post-production feedback.
• Ability to storyboard and communicate visual ideas clearly.
• Comfortable writing and shaping copy, particularly for social-first campaigns, scripts, captions, and short-form content.
• Experience with campaign design, visual identity systems, key visuals, and content look-and-feel development.
• Strong taste level and understanding of what performs well in social and digital environments.
• Ability to work independently, move quickly, and adapt to evolving briefs or production realities.
• Proven experience developing and executing social-first, short-form video content.
• Deep understanding of social platforms and digital culture, particularly TikTok.
• Strong communication, organization, and project management skills.
• Creative problem-solver able to adapt ideas to production realities and tight timelines.
• Detail-oriented, collaborative, and comfortable working flexible/ad hoc hours when production requires.
• Familiarity with commercial production practices and scopes of work.

Day rate: $350-$600

*Hourly/Daily rate is commensurate with experience and will be determined based on qualifications, skills, and relevant professional experience.