Deputy Manager - Design Lead

Target Publications Pvt. Ltd.; Thane; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 3,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Target Publications Pvt. Ltd. in Thane seeks a Design Lead to steer the marketing design function.

You will translate objectives and campaigns into high-quality visual communication across digital and offline platforms, guiding the team and ensuring brand consistency. The ideal candidate is a strong visual thinker, a hands-on designer and people manager who can balance creativity with speed and business goals.

Qualifications

• Min 4–7 years in graphic/creative design.
• 1–2 years leading or mentoring a design team.
• Experience in education, publishing, e-commerce, advertising, or consumer brands is a plus.
• Strong brand, color, and typography skills.

Responsibilities

• Own the overall creative direction for Marketing campaigns, product launches, promotions, and brand initiatives.
• Translate briefs into strong visual concepts.
• Develop creative approaches, visual themes, campaign identities, and communication systems.
• Ensure output aligns with brand guidelines and positioning.
• Push for strategic, differentiated work over execution-only design.
• Lead and mentor design team, review output, provide feedback.

Skills

Graphic design

Visual communication

Branding

Typography

Layout

Colour theory

Composition

Education

Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Figma

Premiere Pro

After Effects

AI design tools

Job description

We are looking for a Design Lead to lead the creative and design function within the Marketing team. The role will be responsible for translating marketing objectives, campaigns, product propositions, and business requirements into high-quality, impactful visual communication across digital and offline platforms.

The Design Lead will manage the day-to-day design workflow, guide designers, maintain brand consistency, improve creative quality, and work closely with Marketing, Product, Sales, Content, and other stakeholders to deliver creatives on time.

The ideal candidate should be a strong visual thinker, creative problem-solver, people manager, and hands-on designer who can balance creativity with speed and business objectives.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the overall creative direction for Marketing campaigns, product launches, promotions, and brand initiatives.
• Translate campaign briefs and marketing objectives into strong visual concepts.
• Develop creative approaches, visual themes, campaign identities, and communication systems.
• Ensure all creative output is aligned with brand guidelines and positioning.
• Push the team towards better, more strategic and differentiated creative work, rather than execution-only design.

2. Team Management

• Lead and manage the design team and allocate work based on priorities, skills, and timelines.
• Conduct regular reviews of team output and provide constructive creative feedback.
• Mentor designers and help improve their design thinking, execution quality, and productivity.
• Identify skill gaps and recommend training or development requirements.
• Build a culture of ownership, accountability, creativity, and timely delivery.

3. Campaign & Marketing Support

• Work closely with the Marketing Head and campaign teams to understand objectives and translate them into creative requirements.
• Develop creatives for:
  • Social media
  • Performance marketing
  • E-commerce
  • Product campaigns
  • School & coaching campaigns
  • Retail promotions
  • Events and activations
  • Email/WhatsApp communication
  • Websites and landing pages
  • Print and offline branding
• Create campaign-level visual consistency across multiple platforms and touchpoints.

4. Quality & Brand Management

• Review and approve creative output before publishing or delivery.
• Maintain consistency in typography, layouts, imagery, colours, messaging hierarchy, and overall brand identity.
• Establish creative quality benchmarks for the team.
• Ensure designs are not only aesthetically strong but also clear, communication-focused, and conversion-oriented.

5. Workflow & Delivery Management

• Maintain visibility of the design team's workload, priorities, and deadlines.
• Plan creative requirements around campaign calendars and business priorities.
• Ensure timely delivery of creatives without compromising quality.
• Coordinate with Content, Digital Marketing, E-commerce, Product, Sales, and external agencies/vendors where required.
• Identify bottlenecks in the design process and implement improvements.

6. Hands-on Design

• Personally handle high-priority, complex, or strategically important design projects.
• Create key campaign creatives, master designs, presentations, product communication, and brand assets when required.
• Stay involved in concept development rather than functioning only as an approval layer.
• Stay updated with current design, advertising, social media, and visual communication trends.
• Experiment with new creative formats, AI tools, motion/design technologies, and emerging content formats.
• Introduce new creative approaches to improve audience engagement and campaign performance.
• Encourage the team to test, learn, and continuously improve.
• High-quality creative output across marketing channels.
• Timely delivery of campaign and business-critical creatives.
• Strong and consistent brand representation.
• Improved design team's productivity and creative quality.
• Effective creative resource allocation.
• Strong visual concepts for major marketing campaigns.
• Reduced dependency on the Marketing Head for day-to-day creative execution.
• A structured and efficient design workflow.

Required Skills

• Strong understanding of graphic design, visual communication, branding, typography, layout, colour theory, and composition.
• Strong conceptual and creative thinking.
• Excellent understanding of digital and social media creatives.
• Ability to design for both brand building and performance/conversion objectives.
• Strong presentation and communication skills.
• Good understanding of marketing and campaign requirements.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and tight deadlines.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to give and receive creative feedback constructively.

Software & Tools

Proficiency in relevant design tools such as:

• Adobe Illustrator
• Figma
• Premiere Pro / After Effects – added advantage
• AI-assisted design and creative tools – added advantage

Education

Bachelor's degree/diploma in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Fine Arts, Advertising, or a related field preferred.

Experience

4–7 years of relevant experience in graphic design/creative design, with at least 1–2 years of experience leading or mentoring a design team.

Experience in education, publishing, e-commerce, advertising, digital marketing, or consumer brands will be an advantage.

What We Are Looking For

• A designer who thinks beyond “make this creative” and understands why the creative is being made.
• Someone who can challenge weak creative briefs and suggest better solutions.
• A leader who can manage people while maintaining high creative standards.
• Someone who can balance speed, quality, creativity, and business requirements.
• A hands-on creative leader who can both strategise and execute.