Freelance Art Director

Critical Mass; Calgary; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 80,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading creative agency in Calgary is seeking a Freelance Art Director to develop and execute innovative visual designs. You will lead projects from concept to delivery while mentoring a team. Ideal candidates have over 8 years of experience in interactive design, a strong portfolio, and leadership skills. This is an excellent opportunity to work in a dynamic and collaborative environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in agency or in-house roles focused on interactive visual design.
• A strong digital portfolio showcasing design concepts and processes.
• Experience mentoring and leading a creative team.

Responsibilities

• Accountable for the visual creative direction of projects.
• Review creative work and align it with group activities.
• Art direct interactive projects from concept to delivery.
• Solve design problems collaboratively with the team.
• Communicate design rationale effectively to stakeholders.

Skills

Pixel-perfect design

Leadership experience

Interactive visual design

Collaborative work style

Effective communication

Job description

As the Freelance Art Director, the conceptual development and execution of creative deliverables is your focus—including creating and communicating concepts, implementing marketing strategies, and developing interactive design solutions. Balancing creative thinking with interpersonal skills, you champion creative concepts to clients and project teams alike. There’s a line between creative expression and commercial reality—but you’ve got that covered. You want to keep learning, but you want leadership experience, too.

You Will:

• Be accountable for successful conception and execution of visual creative direction.
• Regularly review creative work with the group’s senior creative staff to get feedback on direction, and to ensure the work is aligned with other activities in the group.
• Deliver the art direction of an interactive project, from concept to iterations to final development and delivery.
• Develop innovative and on‑strategy designs and experiences that meet the objectives of the assignment.
• Solve problems conceptually in collaboration with the broader interactive team, including writers, UX designers, creative technologists, and developers.
• Present and articulate design rationale.
• Communicate effectively, verbally and in writing, with other creatives and product managers, fostering trust and respect.
• Manage the work of interactive designers and art direct photographers and illustrators as necessary.

You Have:

• A drive for pixel‑perfect design and visual communication.
• 8+ years of agency and/or in‑house experience specializing in interactive visual design for web, mobile, app.
• A digital portfolio that showcases your end‑to‑end concepts through final designs and launch.
• Numerous examples expressing your design process and concepts – hand sketches, digital comps, rapid prototyping, 3D rendering, wireframes, iterations, etc.
• A collaborative work style and you’re comfortable mentoring in a group environment.
• Knowledge on how to bring out the best in the cross‑functional team; digital design, copy, UX, and development.
• Insight and experience setting design pace on projects; from casting vision, to communicating and delegating the details, and solving the work in a deep and meaningful way.
• Experience leading a team of designers, production specialists and writers to creative excellence.

Critical Mass is an equal opportunity employer.

We will only communicate from email addresses that use the URLs criticalmass.com, omc.comandus.greenhouse-mail.io . We will not use apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or Google Hangouts for communicating with you. We will never ask you to send us money, technology, or anything else to work for our company. If you believe you are the victim of a scam, please review your local government consumer protections guidance and reach out to them directly.

Aboriginal Peoples Definition:

Aboriginal Peoples means persons who are defined as: Indians (more commonly referred to as First Nations), Inuit, or Métis.

Members of Visible Minorities Definition:

Examples:

• Black (e.g. African, Caribbean, Other)
• Arab (e.g. Middle Eastern, North African, etc.)
• Asian and Southeast Asian (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thais, etc.)
• West Asian (e.g. Armenian, Iranian, Persian, Egyptian, Turkish, etc.)
• Other (e.g. Latin American, Pacific Islander, etc.)

Persons with Disabilities Definition:

Persons with Disabilities means persons who have a physical or mental impairment or medical condition that substantially limits a major life activity, or if you have a history or record of such an impairment or medical condition.

As set forth in Critical Mass’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.