Associate Design Director 2D/Brand/Digital

Imagination

With roots going back to 1968, Imagination is an independent creative agency with 13 offices and award-winning results worldwide. We are a dynamic organization, evolving in response to clients' changing needs. Our name is our promise delivered by our people, drawn from every discipline to work for one common purpose. We are united by a belief in the creative power of the mind and the transformative value of experiences. We create more effective engagement that builds relationships between people and brands, products and services, towards delivering greater value for our clients. We do so by transforming business through creativity.

Role Overview

This is a key senior creative position within the team. In this role, you will collaborate with both established and emerging clients. Your responsibilities will include defining brand identities, leading visual design efforts, and creating content for large-scale environments and small devices. You will oversee and mentor our 2D design team in New York. You’ll have the initiative and passion to help push Imagination’s creativity whilst delivering inspiring and award-winning work for our clients. 

 Detailed responsibilities:

• Display a cohesive understanding of the principles that make innovative and effective communications, brand design, and large-scale graphic and digital design (from typography to art direction to UI ).
• Work with 3D designers, animators, copywriters and other creatives to produce inspiring communications ideas that transcend print, digital, experiential and social channels.
• Provide consistent, enthusiastic and motivational creative leadership to the 2D and wider creative team.
• Ensure the highest conceptual, strategic and design standards are delivered across the 2D team.
• Support the conditions for an outstanding and inspiring team culture 
• Help in the recruitment process by developing contacts within the 2D community, whether for permanent hire or freelance support.
• Seek and help lead new business opportunities and initiatives
• Partner with Planners/Producers to provide clients with estimates, budgets and timelines for the creative portion of each project
• Liaising with the production team to ensure the best creative solutions are realized, implemented and delivered
• Ensure best practices in the work process and tools are adhered to for business continuity purposes
• Maintain an Interest in the results and metrics of all deliverables to ensure insights are developed and incorporated into future projects

Experience and skills required:

• Significant agency experience holding a senior Creative position
• Exposure and knowledge of a broad range of marketing media/communications
• Excellent leadership and organizational skills, coupled with being an approachable team member 
• Excellent communications skills, both written and spoken
• Significant design experience, preferably in an agency environment, with a bias towards a Visual Identity, graphics and brand experience background.  Candidates are likely to be degree qualified in Graphic Design, Visual Communications or Digital design.
• Experience working on more broad communications, including integrated communications, 3D and digital
• Experience in presenting to and working with clients to achieve the best solutions for their brands.
• Knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma and Indesign preferred.  Should also be capable proficient in Microsoft Office packages: word, excel, PowerPoint

Residency requirements:

Candidates must be authorized to work in the US in order to apply.

Salary:

The salary band for this position is $120k - $150k annually.

The range listed is just one component of Imagination's total compensation package. Other rewards may include individual and business performance incentive plan based bonus, paid time off, health and life insurance, 401k match etc. 

Imagination:

Imagination is an experience design company founded on the principle of Independent Creativity.

Independent of mind, spirit and action, we remain free to find the right answers to our clients’ strategic and creative challenges.

We build strategies, develop ideas and deliver at scale, creating experiences that change the status quo for some of the world’s most exciting brands - across our core offers of Consulting, Destinations, Content and Live.

To get to groundbreaking ideas, we start with unexpected combinations. Research shows that the greatest accelerator of creativity is the diversity of talent in the team, and we actively recruit for unique individuals who embody our core beliefs and demonstrate the behaviors that underpin Independent Creativity.

Our Core Beliefs:

We have identified four foundational beliefs that underpin Independent Creativity. More powerful than generic corporate values, they motivate us to act, to foster the behaviors that lead to success:

• We believe curiosity is the root of original insights and ideas... so we look at the world with fresh eyes, we experiment, invent and up-end conventions.
• We believe rigor results in better choices... so we ask precise, provocative questions.
• We believe bravery tames the unknown... so we demand ambition, confident that together we can meet ‘never been done before challenges’.
• We believe respect builds stronger teams and continued success... so we recognize the uniqueness and unique potential in each individual, we are accountable to each other, we play as a team.

Imagination is an equal opportunity employer, committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION STATEMENT:

Imagination believes that diversity, equity and inclusion are more than just words, and more than a legal framework or a moral obligation - they are guiding principles that, when acted upon, make us stronger, more innovative and more creative as an organization.

We commit to not only significantly increasing our efforts to effect change today, but also to ensure that our efforts will be sustained for the long-term. To support us on this journey we have appointed a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board to help shape our plans to bring about positive change, to help us learn and keep us all moving forward together.

We believe the responsibility for a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace ultimately rests with all of us.

We believe that all employees should feel a sense of belonging at Imagination - regardless of their race, national origin, religion or belief, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, disability or background.

We believe racism has no place within our workplace or our work culture and we reject all forms of hatred, prejudice, intolerance and discrimination.

We believe that Black Lives Matter and it is our expectation that all employees become actively committed to making unbiased choices and are anti-racist in everything they do.

Our Imagination community must share and live these beliefs, as diversity makes us stronger.

Our priority is humanity and our efforts toward a more diverse, more equitable and more inclusive workplace are never done.