Art Director

Critical Playground LLC; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Electric Theatre Collective is seeking an Art Director for its Creative Studio. The role focuses on turning concepts into visually arresting development and execution across multiple mediums.

You’ll shape design systems, lead treatment decks, and mentor junior designers, driving a culture of experimentation and excellence. You will collaborate with the creative team to push a distinctive voice in campaigns, VFX, and interactive experiences while staying tuned to trends and the industry’s

Qualifications

• Able to respond to complex briefs with original, thoughtful design across a range of mediums.
• Experience shaping brand identities and visual narratives with clear point of view.
• 2–3 years’ experience in a relevant role with editorial and artistic direction.
• Polished, energetic body of work demonstrating craft and versatility.
• Formal training in design or equivalent qualification.

Responsibilities

• Lead visual and strategic development of high-end design, animation and static projects across multiple mediums.
• Generate original concepts for commercial and internal studio projects.
• Demonstrate a world-class eye for design principles including composition and lighting.
• Push innovation across tone of voice and cultural relevance.
• Work with Creative Directors on editorial direction and design language for treatments.
• Collaborate with the wider ETC creative team on ideation and concepts.

Skills

Concept Versatility

Brand & Visual Direction

Past Experience

Portfolio

Design Education

Education

Design Education

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

3D

Illustration

Generative AI

Data Visualisation

Job description

SUMMARY

An Art Director at Electric Theatre Collective’s Creative Studio is a key component of our creative practice. As an ideas-first studio, our ADs are the framework for concept through to visual development and execution; multi-disciplinary visionaries who are able to think holistically yet with laser sharp design-led focus. We are looking for art direction brains that have a vision and drive already being applied to their own body of work, people for whom the work itself is just part of the(ir) bigger picture as an artist. This role is pivotal and will be a cornerstone of how we continue to grow as a creative voice in the industry.

There is no typical project here: our gamut spanning long-form broadcast storytelling to high-end VFX commercials, from out of home experiences and full campaign packages to bespoke video games. The one thing that connects all our dots is the passionate innovation, precision and tastemaking that we pride ourselves with at ETC. As a moving image and design business, some experience in motion would be ideal, but we’re open to practitioners from any medium as we believe true creative excellence transcends the platform.

This is an exciting opportunity that is coming at an important time in the ETC journey.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Creative Leadership: Lead visual and strategic development of high-end design, animation and static projects across multiple mediums
• Concept Development: Generate original concepts for commercial and internal studio projects spanning design, animation and experimental art.
• Aesthetic Insight: Demonstrate a world-class eye for the principles of design including composition, colour theory, perspective, and lighting.
• Tastemaking: Have a finger firmly on the pulse of current and new trends, pushing innovation across our tone of voice, and with a passion for working on culturally relevant projects.
• Design Systems & Principles: Using extensive understanding of pure design principles and systems - across type and image - to push what we are doing in the creative space.
• Treatment Design: Work with Creative Directors and the wider team on both editorial direction and the design language / motion aesthetics for external and internal treatment decks.
• Creative Collaboration: Partner with the wider ETC creative team on ideation and concepts across the broad spectrum of output.
• Brand Development: Leading voice on campaign and multi-platform branding projects to grow the Creative Studio and wider ETC identity.
• Technical Innovation: Explore new workflows, technologies, and techniques, looking for opportunities to apply them to projects.
• Editorial Lead: Support wide-ranging research for treatments and pitches, sourcing imagery, themes and ideation to define the editorial direction of our work.
• Creative Mentorship: Act as a "creative sponge" and mentor, fostering an environment of continuous learning and artistic growth.
• Personal Upskilling: Continuously expand practical skills across diverse software and hands‑on techniques

REQUIREMENTS

• Concept Versatility: Ability to respond to complex briefs with original, thoughtful design across a range of mediums.
• Brand & Visual Direction: Experience shaping brand identities and visual narratives, using research, references and imagery to build a clear creative point of view.
• Past Experience: 2–3 years’ experience in a relevant role, with proven ability to shape editorial and artistic direction.
• Portfolio: A polished, energetic and exciting body of work that demonstrates strong craft, versatility and a clear point of view.
• Design Education: Formal training or education in design, ideally a degree in Graphic Design or an equivalent qualification.

TECHNICAL SKILLs

• Expertise in writing and designing high-end creative treatments and pitch decks.
• Advanced knowledge of design concepts across various digital, animation, and experimental art platforms.
• Expert level user of Adobe Creative Suite applications, and we’d like to see additional skill(s) in some aspect of the following: 3D, illustration, generative AI, data visualisation.
• A thorough understanding of design grid principles and the methodology of design.
• Experience in end-to-end print and digital platform production.