Art Director

Chernoff Newman; Charlotte, Charleston (NC, SC); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Plan

401k Retirement Matching

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Paid Time Off

Family Leave

Training & Development

Job summary

Chernoff Newman is seeking an Art Director who can dream it up, make it real, and help sell it. You’ll work on integrated campaigns, rebrands and activations, operating across social, web and experiential channels.

You’ll bring sharp typography, strong layout, and a storytelling craft to every project, collaborating with copy, strategy, PR, media and production partners. Hybrid work with in-office days.

Qualifications

• Portfolio shows thinking across campaigns, digital and brand projects.
• Proficiency in design tools and a desire to explore new ones.
• Strong fundamentals in typography, layout and color.

Responsibilities

• Chase the big idea and collaborate on integrated campaigns.
• Concept, design, and guide work through final production.
• Design for digital-first experiences across social, web and experiences.
• Present work to leadership and clients with rationale.
• Partner with cross-disciplinary teams and external partners.
• Bring timely cultural insights into the work.

Skills

Portfolio thinking

Digital fluency

Strong design fundamentals

Cultural awareness

Presenting work clearly

Collaborative team player

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Figma

Claude

Job description

Charlotte, NC / Charleston, SC / Columbia, SC – Full time

If you’re the kind of creative who’s always chasing a better idea, keeping one eye on culture and tinkering with a new tool, we’d like to meet you.

Chernoff Newman is hiring an Art Director. We’re looking for an idea-driven, digitally minded art director who can dream it up, make it real and help sell it. Someone who follows the industry, stays current on culture, and enjoys the craft.

We’re an integrated agency built to move minds and the needle. We’ve got the energy of a small shop and the skills of a much bigger one, and the work we make actually matters: to our clients, to the communities they serve, and to the people on the other side of the screen. For more than 50 years, Chernoff Newman has helped brands rooted in the South say what matters — to the people who matter — in the moments that matter most. As an integrated communications agency, we don’t hand work across silos. Strategy, creative, media, digital, social and public relations sit on the same teams. And on the same brief.

What you’ll do

Chase the big idea. Concept alongside copywriters and creative leads on integrated campaigns, rebrands and activations, from long-term brand platforms to fast-moving, single-moment executions.

Make it real. Live in Adobe Creative Suite, Figma and emerging design tools. Concept, design, mock up and see the work all the way through to final production. Be comfortable in AI tools and workflows, using them to support your work – not replace it.

Think digital-first. Design ideas that live natively across social, web, experiential and emerging platforms, and know why something works on one channel and dies on another. You might be asked to craft a post, design a landing page, or be part of a large-scale web build – and you need to be comfortable with it all.

Own the craft. Bring sharp typography, layout and visual storytelling to everything you touch. Build out brand systems, and know when to stretch them.

Show your thinking. Present your work to creative leadership and clients, and explain the why behind your choices.

Play well with others. Partner with copy, strategy, PR, media and digital teams, as well as photographers, illustrators, developers and production partners. Take feedback and use it to make the work better.

Bring culture into the building. Track trends, platforms and industry developments, and bring those ideas to the table.

Who you are

You’re a current Art Director looking for a new home, or a strong Junior Art Director who’s ready for the next step. Either way, you’ve got:

• A portfolio that shows how you think. Campaigns, digital and social work, and brand projects that show your ideas as much as your design.
• Real digital fluency. You’re at home in Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Claude & more. And you genuinely enjoy tinkering with new tools, plugins and platforms to see what they can do.
• Strong design fundamentals. Type, layout, color, hierarchy. You notice when something’s a few pixels off, and it bugs you.
• A finger on the pulse. You know what’s happening in culture and in advertising, and you have opinions about both.
• The ability to talk about your work. You can walk a room through your thinking, clearly and confidently.
• A collaborative streak. You’re not precious about where good ideas come from, you take direction well, and you push back when it matters.

Bonus points (not required, but a plus)

• Motion, After Effects, or prototyping chops
• Experience with experiential, guerrilla or earned-first ideas
• Playing with AI tools in smart, responsible ways
• Work for public-sector, health, nonprofit or cause-driven brands

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Matching Plan (401k)
• Life Insurance (Basic)
• Short Term & Long Term Disability
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Holidays)
• Family Leave
• Training & Development

Our best work is achieved when we bring diverse perspectives, backgrounds and skillsets together to solve problems for our clients. In addition to diversity of thought, we value diversity of people and are committed to a workforce that’s inclusive of our community and culture.

This is a hybrid position. You’ll work in office three days a week, with flexibility to work remotely up to two days per week. Office locations: Charlotte, NC, Charleston, SC and Columbia, SC.

Pay Range: Industry competitive, commensurate with experience.