Creative Art Director

At Idea Kraft, we connect people and brands through purposeful design and thoughtful digital experiences. We’re a tight-knit creative agency that values craft, collaboration, and doing meaningful work for a diverse range of clients.

We’re looking for an experienced Art Director to take creative ownership across a wide range of client projects — from brand campaigns and digital experiences to web design and print collateral. You’ll be a senior voice on our design team, shaping creative direction, elevating the quality of the work, and helping grow both our clients’ brands and our junior talent.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You’ll move fluidly between directing concepts and executing them, bringing strong design instincts and a collaborative spirit to everything you touch.

About You

• You have 5+ years of design experience, ideally in an agency setting, with a portfolio that spans branding, digital, and web work.
• You think at the concept level, not just the execution level. You can walk into a client briefing and walk out with a clear creative direction.
• You’re a confident presenter who can articulate and defend creative decisions to clients and internal stakeholders.
• You’re fluent in Figma and the Adobe Creative Suite, and comfortable working across both print and digital.
• You’re organized, deadline-conscious, and can manage multiple projects and creative workstreams simultaneously.
• You bring fresh thinking and stay current on design, branding, and digital trends.

Key Responsibilities

Creative Direction & Concept Development

• Lead creative concepting for brand campaigns, website projects, and marketing initiatives across a portfolio of clients.
• Develop overarching visual directions and see them through to final execution.
• Translate client briefs and business objectives into compelling, on-brand creative strategies.
• Present creative concepts to clients with clarity and confidence, incorporating feedback constructively.

Design Execution

• Design and art direct responsive web experiences, landing pages, and digital campaigns from concept through handoff.
• Create and oversee brand identity systems, visual standards, and design guidelines for clients.
• Design high-quality print and digital collateral: ads, brochures, social graphics, presentations, environmental signage, and more.
• Maintain a high creative bar across all deliverables, ensuring work is polished, on-brand, and purposeful.

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Provide creative direction and constructive feedback to junior and mid-level designers on the team.
• Review work-in-progress across projects to ensure quality, consistency, and alignment with creative direction.
• Help establish and uphold agency-wide design standards, processes, and best practices.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with strategy, content, and development teams to deliver integrated, cohesive work.

Workflow & Client Management

• Own the creative workflow for assigned accounts, from brief intake through final delivery.
• Manage and organize project files in Dropbox and tasks in Asana to keep work moving efficiently.
• Partner with the Creative Director on resourcing, scoping, and creative strategy for new and existing clients.
• Stay current on industry trends, tools, and emerging technologies to keep the agency’s creative output sharp.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of design experience, ideally in an agency setting, with at least 2 years in an art direction or senior design role.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating work in brand identity, web/digital design, and campaign work.
• Expert-level proficiency in Figma and Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign).
• Experience leading client-facing presentations and creative reviews.
• Solid understanding of UX/UI principles, responsive design, and web accessibility.
• Working knowledge of HTML/CSS; enough to collaborate fluently with developers.
• Exceptional eye for typography, layout, color, and visual hierarchy.
• Strong communication, organizational, and time-management skills.
• Degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Communication Design, or equivalent experience.

Nice to Have

• Experience with WordPress, or other CMS/web-build platforms.
• Environmental or experiential design experience.
• Experience managing a small creative team or freelancers.

Employee Perks & Benefits

• Medical and dental benefits
• Paid time off for vacations and sick days.
• Employer matching retirement plan.
• Flexible on-site/remote schedule.
• Bonus birthday day off.
• Professional development opportunities.
• Competitive compensation based on experience ($75,000–$85,000).