Senior Art Director Location: London (hybrid, 3 days in the studio: Mon, Wed, Thu) Type: Permanent or freelance Salary: £80,000–£85,000 (permanent) Reports to: Head of Design
The opportunity:
Our client is a young, fast-growing London creative studio working with global brands across campaigns, brand platforms, social, content, film and experiences. Strategy, creative, design and production work as one team, so the visual world you build stays intact from concept to delivery.
They're looking for a Senior Art Director with a strong graphic design foundation: someone who concepts, designs and crafts the work themselves, not just directs it. One day it's the visual world for a global campaign; the next it's a pitch treatment, a brand system or a shoot.
What you'll do
- Turn creative ideas into visual concepts clients immediately understand and get excited about
- Lead the visual development of campaigns, social-first content, brand identities and creative platforms
- Create key visuals, layouts, treatments, moodboards and design systems yourself
- Partner with copywriters on integrated ideas and first responses to briefs
- Art direct photography, film and content shoots from pre-production to delivery
- Run visual workstreams from brief to delivery, keeping several projects moving and the work consistent across owned, earned and paid channels
- Present work confidently, explaining the thinking and the craft
- Mentor junior creatives and help shape the studio's design standards and culture
What you'll bring
- Substantial experience in a creative agency, design studio or in-house brand team
- Exceptional graphic design skills and a sharp eye for typography, composition, colour and imagery
- A portfolio of beautifully executed work across branding, campaigns, social, content and film, showing where you were hands-on
- Experience art directing photography, film and content shoots
- Strong hands-on skills in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma
- Experience giving direction and feedback to designers, motion designers, retouchers and photographers
- Motion skills are a bonus but not essential
Why this studio? It's small, senior and growing fast, so you'll help shape the work, the team and the culture. The best ideas win, people get real ownership, and they hold high standards without expecting anyone to burn out for them.