Art Director

Salt; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Salt is seeking an experienced Art Director to develop bold, visually compelling creative across brands, campaigns and platforms in a hands‑on, collaborative role. You’ll lead visual concepts and own art direction from concept to delivery, across digital, social, brand, and experiential projects.

The ideal candidate has a 6+ year track record in creative environments, a standout portfolio and strong skills in branding, typography and Adobe Creative Suite. UAE experience is advantageous.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in advertising or creative agency, integrated studio or similar.
• Strong portfolio showing art direction, conceptual thinking and visual design.
• Experience across multiple channels, not just traditional design.
• Strong branding, typography, composition, layout and visual storytelling.
• Ability to take a creative idea from brief through to final execution.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills; able to sell ideas.
• Experience collaborating with photographers, videographers and production partners.
• Proficient with Adobe Creative Suite; experience with motion/digital/experiential is a plus.
• Familiarity with AI-powered creative tools and how they aid ideation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead visual concepts across integrated campaigns and platforms.
• Translate briefs into distinctive visual ideas and compelling executions.
• Own art direction from concept to final delivery.
• Establish strong visual identities across multiple brands.
• Develop key visuals, layouts, moodboards, and creative guidelines.
• Art direct photography, video, CGI and content production when required.
• Collaborate with copywriters, strategists, content teams and external partners.
• Present concepts clearly to senior stakeholders and teams.
• Maintain high visual and conceptual standards across work.
• Mentor junior designers and provide constructive feedback.
• Manage multiple projects with quality and deadlines.
• Stay ahead of trends and bring fresh ideas to the team.
• Explore AI and emerging tech to enhance ideation and production.
• Contribute to pitches and wider creative initiatives.

Skills

Art direction

Branding

Typography

Visual storytelling

Conceptual thinking

Presentation skills

Multi-channel experience

Tools

Photoshop

Illustrator

InDesign

Job description

The Role

As Art Director, you will be responsible for developing bold, visually compelling creative across a wide range of brands, campaigns and platforms. You will take ideas from initial concept through to execution, bringing a strong visual point of view while ensuring every piece of work is creatively ambitious, strategically relevant and beautifully crafted.

This is a hands‑on role for someone who loves ideas, design and visual storytelling, but also enjoys working collaboratively with wider creative, marketing, content and production teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and lead visual concepts across integrated campaigns, digital, social, brand, content, events and experiential projects
• Translate creative and strategic briefs into distinctive visual ideas and compelling creative executions
• Own the art direction of projects from initial concept through to final delivery
• Establish and maintain strong visual identities across multiple brands and business areas
• Develop campaign key visuals, layouts, storyboards, moodboards, presentations and creative guidelines
• Art direct photography, film, video, CGI, motion and other content production where required
• Work closely with copywriters, designers, strategists, content teams, marketers and external production partners
• Present creative concepts clearly and confidently to senior stakeholders and internal teams
• Ensure creative work is consistently maintained to a high visual and conceptual standard
• Mentor and support junior designers and creatives, providing clear creative direction and constructive feedback
• Manage multiple projects and briefs simultaneously while maintaining quality, attention to detail and deadlines
• Stay ahead of emerging design, cultural, technology and creative trends and bring fresh thinking into the team
• Explore and utilise AI and emerging creative technologies to enhance ideation, visual development and production
• Contribute to pitches, new business opportunities and wider creative initiatives across the group

What We’re Looking For

• 6+ years of experience within an advertising agency, creative agency, integrated agency, in‑house creative studio or similar environment
• A strong portfolio demonstrating exceptional art direction, conceptual thinking and visual design
• Experience working across multiple channels rather than purely traditional design
• Strong understanding of branding, typography, composition, layout, photography and visual storytelling
• Experience taking a creative idea from brief through to final execution
• Strong presentation and communication skills, with the ability to confidently sell and explain creative ideas
• Experience working with photographers, videographers, production teams and external creative partners
• Strong Adobe Creative Suite skills, particularly Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
• Experience with motion, digital, social or experiential creative is highly desirable
• An understanding of AI‑powered creative tools and how they can be incorporated into the creative process
• Excellent attention to detail and a genuine passion for producing outstanding creative work
• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced, ambitious environment with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities
• UAE / GCC experience is advantageous

The Ideal Person

We are looking for someone who is creatively hungry, visually obsessed and excited by the opportunity to build and shape work across a diverse portfolio of brands.

You will be someone who can think conceptually but is also hands‑on, understands what makes great creative and is not afraid to challenge the brief.

Most importantly, you will have a portfolio that shows personality, originality and a strong point of view - not just polished execution.

This is an opportunity to join a business at an exciting stage of growth, work across varied and high‑profile projects, and have genuine influence over the creative direction of the group’s brands.

Seniority: Art Director

Industry: Creative / Advertising / Brand / Marketing