Art Director

Impleo; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Hornets Sports & Entertainment in Charlotte, NC, seeks an experienced Art Director to lead brand visuals across print, digital, arenas and live events. You will mentor designers, translate strategy into creative concepts and ensure on-brand delivery for all touchpoints.

Candidate must have 5+ years of design leadership, a strong portfolio, mastery of typography and Adobe Creative Suite, and comfort collaborating across teams in a fast-paced sports environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication or related field; or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of professional design experience, preferably in brand, agency, sports, or consumer-facing environments.
• Experience directing and mentoring designers or managing creative teams.
• Strong portfolio showing conceptual thinking, art direction, and multi-channel craft.
• Advanced typography, layout, color, imagery, and visual hierarchy.
• Ability to translate strategy into creative solutions across touchpoints.
• Experience developing campaign systems and maintaining brand consistency.
• Proven ability give clear, constructive feedback and manage timelines.
• Strong presentation and communication skills for stakeholders of all levels.
• Proficiency in print/digital production processes; familiarity with photography, motion, and animation is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of concepts, visual systems and campaign ideas across channels.
• Manage day-to-day creative direction for a team of designers with clear expectations and timelines.
• Review work and provide constructive feedback to improve quality and craft.
• Mentor designers through coaching and growth opportunities.
• Translate briefs into compelling visual ideas supporting sales, partnerships and marketing.
• Own initiatives from concept to delivery, ensuring on-brand and timely output.
• Clarify objectives, audiences, messages, deliverables and success criteria with stakeholders.
• Collaborate with Video, Animation and Digital teams for integrated campaigns.
• Present concepts confidently with strategic and creative rationale.
• Maintain and evolve brand standards while pushing distinctive, relevant visuals.
• Oversee production quality and channel-specific requirements.
• Improve workflows, reviews, prioritization and team effectiveness.
• Identify risks early and propose solutions.
• Stay informed on design, sports, tech and culture; bring inspiration to the team.
• Attend selected games/events to experience the brand firsthand.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Brand leadership

Art direction

Team management

Presentation skills

Typography & layout

Adobe Creative Suite

Figma

AI tools familiarity

Photography basics

Basketball branding

Education

Bachelor degree

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Figma

AI tools

Job description

Hornets Sports & Entertainment (HSE) Creative is a brand-focused, concept-driven team responsible for building, shaping and evolving the HSE brand across touchpoints. Working closely with partners across the organization, the team develops campaigns, brand systems, revenue initiatives, presentations, arena branding, digital content and live-event experiences designed to feel distinctive, consistent and connected to our fans, partners and community.

The Art Director serves as a creative leader within the team, reporting to the Senior Director, Brand Strategy & Creative, helping turn business and brand objectives into clear, compelling visual ideas and ensuring those ideas are carried through to a high standard across channels.

This role combines hands‑on creative development with leadership and management responsibilities. The Art Director will concept and execute key initiatives, direct the work of a team of designers, provide actionable creative feedback, and help establish the visual standard for Hornets Sports & Entertainment. They are accountable for ensuring all creative work consistently reflects HSE brand standards across touchpoints.

The ideal candidate is an experienced multidisciplinary designer and conceptual thinker with strong visual judgment, a collaborative leadership style and the ability to move comfortably between big‑picture direction and detailed execution. They can translate strategy into creative ideas, present and defend those ideas clearly, develop designers around them, and take ownership of projects from brief through final delivery.

Experience in sports, entertainment or large consumer‑facing brands is preferred, and agency experience is a plus.

Hornets Values

• We operate with the highest level of integrity, driven by moral standards that guide us in everything we do.
• We communicate with full candor; openly, honestly, and respectfully with clarity.
• We work in the spirit of one team, committed to one vision, shared values, and an inclusive culture that ensures every person feels valued and respected.
• We hold ourselves accountable, and responsible to raise high levels of expectations of ourselves and our team.
• We compete at the highest levels and strive to be the best at everything we do
• We act with resilience and thrive in the face of challenges bringing others along with us.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the development of creative concepts, visual systems and campaign ideas for Hornets Sports & Entertainment across print, digital, social, environmental, apparel, presentation and live‑experience touchpoints
• Manage and provide day‑to‑day creative direction for a team of designers, establishing clear expectations, priorities, timelines and quality standards
• Review creative work before it is shared with stakeholders, providing clear, constructive and actionable feedback that improves both the work and the designers creating it
• Mentor and develop designers through regular coaching, feedback and opportunities for professional growth
• Translate strategic and creative briefs into compelling visual ideas that support Ticket Sales, Partnerships, Marketing, Arena Marketing and other areas across the organization
• Own assigned creative initiatives from concept through completion, ensuring work is strategically aligned, visually strong, accurate, on brand and delivered on time
• Clarify project objectives, audiences, messaging, deliverables, timelines and success criteria with stakeholders before creative development begins
• Collaborate with Video, Animation, Digital and other creative partners to develop integrated campaign ideas and cohesive brand experiences across channels
• Present creative concepts and recommendations clearly and confidently, articulating the strategic and creative rationale behind the work
• Maintain and evolve HSE brand standards while identifying opportunities to push the brand forward in fresh, relevant and distinctive ways
• Oversee production quality and ensure final creative is appropriate for the realities and requirements of each channel.
• Help strengthen creative operations by improving workflows, review processes, project prioritization and overall team effectiveness
• Proactively identify creative challenges, resource needs, dependencies and risks, communicating them early and recommending solutions
• Stay informed on developments in design, sports, entertainment, technology and culture, bringing relevant inspiration and thinking back to the team
• Attend select games and live events to experience the brand firsthand and identify opportunities to strengthen the fan experience through design
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Skills, Experience and Abilities

To perform the job successfully, you will have or demonstrate the following skills and abilities:

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
• 5+ years of professional design experience, preferably within a brand, agency, sports, entertainment or consumer-facing environment
• Previous experience providing direction, mentoring designers or managing creative team members
• A strong portfolio demonstrating conceptual thinking, art direction, visual storytelling and a high level of craft across multiple channels and formats
• Advanced understanding of typography, layout, color, imagery, composition and visual hierarchy
• Demonstrated ability to translate business objectives, audience insights and creative strategy into compelling creative solutions
• Experience developing or evolving campaign systems and carrying a creative idea consistently across multiple touchpoints
• Ability to provide clear, constructive creative feedback and help designers strengthen both ideas and execution
• Strong presentation and communication skills, including the ability to explain creative thinking and recommendations to stakeholders at multiple levels of an organization
• Strong knowledge of print production, digital production, file preparation and retouching processes
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite
• Familiarity with Figma and collaborative digital-design workflows preferred
• Working understanding of AI tools and emerging creative technologies, with curiosity around how they can strengthen the creative process
• Experience creating polished mockups, presentations and creative narratives for internal and external reviews
• Working knowledge of photography, motion and animation principles is a plus
• Strong interest in basketball, sports culture and the Hornets brand preferred

Leadership and Professional Abilities

• Lead through expertise, accountability, collaboration and example
• Create clarity for designers by establishing priorities, expectations, deadlines and next steps
• Coach and develop designers while remaining open to feedback and continued personal growth
• Balance conceptual ambition with the practical requirements of timelines, budgets, production and business objectives.
• Maintain a high level of professionalism, consistency, attention to detail and follow-through
• Demonstrate a positive, solutions-focused mindset in a fast-moving and collaborative environment
• Ability to occasionally work extended hours, including Spectrum Center events, Hornets home games, nights, weekends and holidays

Additional Information

This is a full-time, benefit‑eligible position. HSE is dedicated to creating and upholding a welcoming environment that celebrates diversity.

HSE provides valuable benefits and competitive time off policies to help you and your family lead healthy, balanced lives.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. All requests for medical or religious accommodations to perform the stated job duties will be considered.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.