Assistant Art Director — Elevate Brand Visuals (Digital & Print)

Socket.dev; Charlottesville (VA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

University Communications seeks an Assistant Art Director or Art Director to join the Brand Studio, delivering high-quality design and art direction in support of the UVA brand across digital and print media.

Reporting to the associate creative director, the role translates strategy into visual concepts, manages projects, and collaborates with photographers, video producers, illustrators, and vendors to maintain brand standards.

Qualifications

• Strong command of design principles and current digital and print practices.
• Knowledge of digital accessibility requirements and accessible design principles.
• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, particularly InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop.
• Proficiency with project management software such as Asana or similar.
• Working knowledge of Figma and Microsoft Office.
• Demonstrated ability to develop concepts, articulate strategic thinking and design rationale and maintain high visual standards within an established brand.
• Experience owning projects from concept through final production, including knowledge of prepress, printing and proofing.
• Ability to collaborate and provide visual direction to photographers, illustrators, video producers or other creative partners on assigned work.
• Collaborative, deadline-driven work style; sound judgment; attention to detail and ability to manage competing priorities.
• Experience with responsive web design, HTML/CSS or website prototyping and wireframing.

Responsibilities

• Concept, design and deliver content for marketing, digital, licensing, environmental usages across print and digital media for a range of audiences and platforms.
• Translate communication strategy and organizational goals into original visual concepts, coherent design systems and polished executions.
• Provide art direction for assigned photo, video, illustration, animation, and environmental design components; develop mood boards, visual references, shot concepts and production guidance.
• Own assignments and lead small-to-medium projects from brief through final delivery, including production details, file preparation, coordinating creative and internal review, coordination with internal production partners and vendors, version control, and proper cataloguing and archiving of files.
• Apply advanced layout, typography, composition, color and asset-selection skills to articulate the University brand in fresh, effective and accessible ways.
• Use and interpret University graphic standards and style guides; recommend practical refinements when needs arise to improve consistency or usability.
• Collaborate with writers, developers, photographers, video producers, designers, marketing professionals, licensing partners and University stakeholders.
• Present multiple concepts and design rationales to project teams and partners, integrate feedback and guide work toward agreed communication goals.
• Prepare production-ready files, coordinate with internal vendors to ensure proper reproduction of work.
• Track day-to-day work, manage several assignments concurrently and deliver work on schedule and within established budgets.

Skills

Strong design principles

Typography

Accessible design

Project management (Asana)

Figma

Collaboration

Deadline-driven

Education

Bachelor’s degree in design or related field

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop)

Figma

Asana

Microsoft Office

Job description

University Communications seeks an Assistant Art Director or Art Director to join the Brand Studio, delivering high-quality design and art direction in support of the UVA brand across digital and print media.

Reporting to the associate creative director, the role translates strategy into visual concepts, manages projects, and collaborates with photographers, video producers, illustrators, and vendors to maintain brand standards.