Art Director

Informatics, Inc.; Cedar Rapids (IA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Informatics, Inc. seeks an experienced Art Director based in Cedar Rapids, IA, to lead creative direction and develop brand identity systems. The role involves collaborating with teams to ensure high creative standards, designing across various platforms, and mentoring junior creatives. Candidates must have significant experience in brand design, a strong portfolio, and proficiency in design tools like Adobe Creative Suite. This position requires excellent communication skills and the capacity to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of experience in brand design, art direction, or creative direction.
• Expert-level brand identity and logo design required.
• Portfolio of original logo systems and visual identity work necessary.

Responsibilities

• Concept and design brand identity systems including logos and visual guidelines.
• Lead creative direction across brand, campaign, and digital projects.
• Produce design work across identity, campaign, and digital touchpoints.

Skills

Brand identity design

Creative concepting

Visual design strategy

Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite

UX principles

Typography

Education

Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, Fine Arts

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Relevant production software

Job description

At Informatics, we live our purpose and deliver results as a premier agency through our core values. Every single team member is responsible for living and modeling our core values of People First, Wow Our Clients, Improve and Innovate, Grow the Business, and Give Back that we have clearly defined. We use our values as a guidepost for all business decisions, balance the importance of all five values and understand that these are the foundation of our success. As a business that is built on relationships, we believe our values are our differentiator.

Role Summary & Objective

The Art Director at Informatics is a senior creative leader who translates brand strategy into visual work that is precise, purposeful, and built to drive outcomes. This role spans every client surface — identity, campaigns, digital, and beyond — with every decision made in service of the brand and the results it must deliver. Working closely with brand strategists, marketing experts, and our clients, the Art Director ensures all work meets the highest standard.

This role demands both creative excellence and collaborative leadership. The Art Director produces senior-level work while elevating those around, setting the bar for output that is outcome-driven, brand-aligned, and industry-leading.

Top 5 Role Outcomes

• Brand Identity & Visual Systems — Develop and own logo systems, visual identity, and brand guidelines that define how a client's brand looks and feels across every surface. Identity work at this level goes beyond aesthetics — it expresses positioning, builds recognition, and compounds brand value over time.
• Industry-Leading Creative Production — Concept, direct, and produce design work across campaigns, digital interfaces, and brand engagements that meets the highest creative standard. Every deliverable — regardless of format or surface — is grounded in strategy, built with craft, and designed to perform.
• Creative Team Elevation — Guide, direct, and elevate creative output across the team — working alongside designers, media producers, and brand specialists to ensure every deliverable meets the standard. Set the creative bar and help everyone around you clear it.
• Client Creative Leadership — Lead creative discovery sessions, present concepts with confidence and authority, and build strong working relationships with clients. Understand client needs deeply enough to translate them into creative solutions — and communicate those solutions in a way that earns trust and moves work forward.
• Strategy-Informed Creative — Collaborate with Brand Strategists and Brand Specialists to ensure every visual decision is grounded in brand positioning and audience insight. Creative and strategy are one process here — this role owns the visual expression of that partnership.

Key Responsibilities

• Concept and design brand identity systems — logos, visual language, typography, color systems, and brand guidelines
• Lead creative direction across brand, campaign, and digital projects from concept through final delivery
• Produce design work across identity, campaign, and digital touchpoints
• Guide and elevate the work of designers, producers, and brand specialists through clear direction and specific feedback
• Collaborate with the Brand Strategist and Brand Specialist before every project — ensure visual direction is grounded in brand positioning and strategic intent
• Design digital experiences with UX principles, conversion logic, and brand expression working together
• Lead creative discovery sessions with clients — ask the right questions, listen deeply, translate needs into creative direction
• Present creative concepts to clients with confidence — a clear strategic rationale behind every visual decision
• Review all creative output before it ships — identify what isn't working, show how to fix it
• Step into project scoping and estimation when the Brand and Creative Director is unavailable
• Stay current on design, visual culture, brand identity, and emerging creative tools
• Use AI tools to accelerate concepting, exploration, and production workflows — apply judgment to determine where AI assists and where human craft is required
• Art direct photo, video, and motion work for brand consistency
• Partner with developers to ensure design fidelity in build
• Manage and direct external creative partners when applicable

Company-Wide Core Skills and Capabilities

• People First Culture Fit
• AI Fluency and Active Adoption
• Strategic and Outcome Thinking
• Client and Business Literacy
• Project Ownership and Work Quality
• Desire to Improve and Takes Action

Role Specific Required Skills and Capabilities

• Expert-level brand identity and logo design — portfolio of original logo systems and visual identity work required
• Strong creative concepting ability — generates ideas, not just executions
• Deep understanding of how visual design expresses brand strategy
• Proficiency across design tools — e.g. Adobe Creative Suite, and relevant production software
• Working knowledge of UX principles, digital design, and responsive web environments
• Mastery of typography, layout systems, and visual hierarchy
• Proficiency in print production and digital accessibility (WCAG)
• Ability to give clear, specific, actionable creative direction across disciplines
• Confident client-facing communicator — able to present creative rationale to senior stakeholders
• Curiosity about AI creative tools and clear judgment about where they add value
• Strong organizational skills — able to manage multiple concurrent projects

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, Fine Arts, or related field — or equivalent experience
• 5–8 years of experience in brand design, art direction, or creative direction
• Agency experience required
• Portfolio demonstrating original brand identity work, campaign creative, and digital design across multiple industries
• Experience directing or mentoring other creatives required
• Client-facing presentation experience required

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times

The job description is not a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Additional responsibilities may change or be assigned from time to time due to changes in business needs.

Informatics is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against any applicant or employee on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, medical condition, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status or civil partnership/union status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, childbirth, genetic information, military and veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state or local law.