Associate Creative Director, Art

Stein.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Stein is seeking an Associate Creative Director, Art & Design to create and lead standout work for its global B2B clients. You will concept and art direct, craft visual systems, and set high design standards while translating strategy into distinctive visual storytelling.

You will guide work from concept through production, art direct photography/film, and collaborate with writers, strategists, and senior leadership to elevate Stein's creative standards. A strong portfolio is essential.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7+ years of agency experience spanning design and art direction.
• A portfolio demonstrating exceptional personal design craft, not just work under direction.
• Background developing integrated campaign ideas from concept through execution.
• Exceptional visual taste and judgment with a strong point of view on typography, imagery, composition.
• Deep understanding of brand identities, design systems, cross-channel ideas.
• Strong conceptual thinking and collaboration with writers.
• Expert command of Adobe Creative Suite to personally create sophisticated design work.
• Experience art directing photography and film production.
• Fluency with generative AI and other new tools in creative workflows.
• Strong client-facing presentation skills to defend creative decisions.
• Experience developing creatives for global brands or multiple markets.

Responsibilities

• Develop big, ownable campaign ideas in partnership with writers and shape their visual expression.
• Create and develop key executions and visual systems from concept to polished design.
• Direct typography, imagery, identity, campaign design, and visual storytelling with exceptional craft.
• Build visual systems that extend across film, digital, social, print, experiential, and other channels.
• Translate early ideas into compelling creative presentations that persuade clients.

Skills

7+ years agency experience

portfolio demonstrates personal design

integrated campaign ideas

visual taste & judgment

brand identities & design systems

conceptual thinking with writers

Adobe Creative Suite proficiency

art directing photography/film

generative AI fluency

client-facing presentation skills

global brands / multi-market work

consumer-level creativity & craft

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

As an Associate Creative Director, Art & Design, you'll create and lead standout work across Stein's breadth of global B2B clients.

This is a hands-on creative role for someone who is as accomplished a designer as they are an art director. You'll concept and art direct big integrated ideas, but you'll also design - establishing visual systems, crafting key executions, and setting a level of design excellence others can follow.

Working closely with writers, designers, strategists, and other creative specialists, you'll translate strategic thinking into distinctive ideas and powerful visual storytelling, guiding the work from first thought through final execution.

What You'll Do

Create & Design

• Develop big, ownable campaign ideas in partnership with writers, contributing equally to the concept as well as its visual expression.
• Create and develop key executions and visual systems, bringing ideas from early concept through polished design.
• Bring exceptional craft to typography, composition, imagery, identity, campaign design, and visual storytelling.
• Create visual systems that can extend coherently across film, digital, social, print, experiential, and other channels.
• Turn early-stage ideas into compelling creative presentations that make clients want to buy them.

Lead the Work

• Guide creative development from concept through production and delivery, ensuring the idea remains as strong in execution as it was on the page.
• Art direct photography, film, illustration, motion, and other forms of visual production.
• Give clear, actionable creative direction that makes both the work and the people creating it better.
• Champion a culture of high standards, experimentation, collaboration, and craft.

Client & Strategic Collaboration

• Present ideas and campaigns persuasively to clients and internal stakeholders.
• Partner with strategists to turn business and audience insights into strategically grounded creative ideas.
• Contribute to new-business pitches and creative presentations.
• Partner with Creative Directors and senior creative leadership to deliver against, and help raise, Stein's creative and design standards.

Push What's Possible

• Bring a contemporary point of view to design, visual culture, and emerging creative technology.
• Incorporate generative AI and other new creative tools into the creative and production processes where they can make the thinking or execution better.
• Effectively direct specialists across motion, 3D, experiential, and emerging media.
• Contribute to the evolution of Stein's own visual identity and creative expression.

What We're Looking For:

• Minimum 7+ years of agency experience spanning both design and art direction, with significant hands-on experience as a designer.
• A portfolio demonstrating exceptional personal design craft, not simply work created under your creative direction.
• A background developing integrated campaign ideas from concept through execution.
• Exceptional visual taste and judgment, with a highly developed point of view on typography, imagery, composition, design, and contemporary visual culture.
• Deep understanding of brand identities, design systems, and how campaign ideas extend across channels.
• Strong conceptual thinking and the ability to develop ideas collaboratively with writers.
• Expert command of Adobe Creative Suite and fluency with the tools required to personally create and develop sophisticated design work.
• Experience art directing photography and film production.
• Fluency with contemporary creative workflows, including generative AI, and the ability to effectively direct motion, 3D, and other specialist disciplines.
• Strong client‑facing presentation skills and the ability to clearly articulate and defend creative decisions.
• Experience developing creative for global brands and/or across multiple markets is a plus.
• B2B experience is a plus. What matters most is the ability to bring consumer-level creativity, craft, and ambition to complex brands and businesses.