Associate Director of Design and Creative Production

School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC is seeking an Associate Director of Design and Creative Production to lead the design function, translate objectives into creative strategy, and oversee day-to-day production. You will work with Marketing to align visual identity with enrollment and advancement goals.

The role requires 7+ years in graphic design or related fields, a bachelor’s degree, and strong leadership. The position is hybrid in Chicago, with a salary range of $70,000–$85,000 per year.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in graphic design or related field.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in graphic design or marketing communications.
• Experience leading creative projects from concept through delivery.
• Experience working in institutional, agency, higher education, arts, cultural, or similarly complex environment preferred.
• Experience developing, managing, and evolving brand guidelines and visual standards for a complex organization.
• Demonstrated skill in managing and mentoring designers or other creative professionals.
• Strong knowledge of design principles and aesthetic judgment.
• Experience with integrated print and digital design, including QA and vendor coordination.

Responsibilities

• Provides senior creative direction for brand, marketing, admissions, advancement, and institutional initiatives, developing concepts and visual approaches.
• Leads the design team’s creative process from concept through completion, providing guidance, feedback, and quality control.
• Manages and mentors design staff, including distributing work, balancing workloads, and supporting professional development.
• Owns project management and operations for the design team, establishing priorities, timelines, and processes to ensure on-time delivery within budget.
• Oversees design projects in Asana, tracking status, capacity, deadlines, and dependencies.
• Coordinates with internal partners, vendors, and external contributors to ensure timely, on-budget delivery.
• Leads hands-on design for campaigns, environmental graphics, merchandise, social media, and other materials.
• Ensures quality of final deliverables including print specs, proofs, and vendor coordination.
• Supports evolving SAIC brand guidelines and templates across platforms.
• Manages freelance designers and agencies, maintaining scope and schedule.
• Develops and improves processes, tools, and workflows to handle high-volume work.

Skills

Graphic design

Creative direction

Project management

Asana

Vendor coordination

Print & digital design

Education

Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, communication design, visual communication, art, marketing, or a related field

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Asana

Job description

Associate Director of Design and Creative Production

Job Category: President's Office

Requisition Number: ASSOC002942

• Posted : October 8, 2026
• Full-Time
• Hybrid

Locations

Showing 1 location

Chicago, IL 60603, USA

Description

About SAIC

For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top four graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, on-campus galleries and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman.

About the Department

SAIC’s Marketing and Communications team advances the School’s reputation and promotes the value of an art and design education through storytelling, brand stewardship, transparent communications, and collaborative engagement that promotes recruitment and fundraising.

Position Summary

The Associate Director of Design and Creative Production provides senior creative leadership and oversees the day-to-day operations of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) design function. Working closely with the Director of Marketing in the Office of Marketing and Communications, this position translates marketing and communications objectives into creative strategies, designs, and outcomes that support SAIC’s brand, enrollment, advancement, and institutional priorities.

Responsibilities

• Provides senior creative direction for brand, marketing, admissions, advancement, and institutional initiatives, developing concepts and visual approaches that support project goals.
• Leads the design team’s creative process from concept through completion, providing guidance, feedback, and quality control to ensure work meets a high standard of design and aligns with SAIC’s visual identity.
• Manages and mentors design staff, including assigning work, balancing workloads, establishing expectations, providing ongoing feedback, and supporting professional development.
• Owns project management and creative operations for the design team, establishing priorities, assignments, workbacks, timelines, milestones, and processes to ensure projects are delivered on schedule and within budget.
• Manages and maintains design projects in Asana, providing visibility into project status, team capacity, deadlines, dependencies, and outstanding decisions, and proactively identifying and escalating issues that may affect delivery.
• Manages the day-to-day coordination and execution of design projects, working with internal partners, vendors, agencies, and other creative contributors to ensure projects have the information, resources, approvals, and timelines needed to move forward, while partnering with the Director of Marketing and Assistant Director of Marketing on stakeholder communication and project priorities.
• Leads or contributes hands-on design for complex and high-priority projects across print and digital media, including campaigns, advertising, environmental graphics, merchandise, social media, and other marketing and communications materials.
• Oversees creative production and ensures the quality and accuracy of final deliverables, including print specifications, file preparation, proofs, vendor coordination, digital production, and quality assurance.
• Supports the development and evolution of SAIC’s brand guidelines, visual standards, templates, and identity systems, and work with internal partners to promote consistent application of the brand across projects and platforms.
• Manages freelance designers, agencies, vendors, and other external creative partners as needed, including providing creative direction, coordinating deliverables, reviewing work, and ensuring projects remain on scope and schedule.
• Develops and improves creative processes, project-management tools, templates, and workflows that increase efficiency, clarify responsibilities, reduce unnecessary review cycles, and support the team’s ability to manage a high volume of work.
• Stays current with design practices, production methods, emerging technologies, and trends in higher education, art and design, marketing, and communications, and apply relevant knowledge to SAIC’s creative work.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, communication design, visual communication, art, marketing, or a related field.
• 7+ years of progressively responsible professional experience in graphic design, creative direction, marketing communications, or a related creative field.
• Demonstrated experience leading creative projects from concept through completion, including project planning, production, and delivery.
• Experience working in an institutional, agency, higher education, arts, cultural, or similarly complex environment preferred.
• Experience developing, managing, and evolving brand guidelines and visual standards for a complex organization.
• Demonstrated skill in managing and mentoring designers or other creative professionals.
• Strong knowledge of design principles and aesthetic judgment
• Experience with integrated print and digital design
• Print production expertise, including QA and vendor coordination
• Experience developing workbacks, timelines, and project workflows, including Asana
• Strong communication and collaboration with stakeholders
• Process improvement and ability to manage multiple projects

Physical Requirements

• Periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer; must be able to remain in a stationary position
• Ability to lead and participate in meetings, onsite and virtually
• Ability to make presentations in person and virtually

• Hiring Range:$70,000 - $85,000 annually.

The expected hiring range is an estimated amount for positions based on the grade. Final offers are based on various factors, including skill set, experience, qualifications and other job-related reasons.

If you are accessing this listing from a third party, not all links to salary and benefits information may work. Please visit our career page at saic/ artic.edu/employment for complete information

Accessibility

If you are a job seeker with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply for one of our jobs, you will find the contact information to request the appropriate accommodation by visiting the following page:

The Art Institute of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits, hires and promotes qualified individuals compliant with federal and state laws. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact the Department of Human Resources at [e-mail] .

Equal Opportunity Employer
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