Creative Director

Mary Square, LLC; Apex (NC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Mary Square, LLC in Apex, NC is seeking a Creative Director to translate the brand vision into compelling, commercially relevant creative across product, print, packaging, merchandising, and brand storytelling. This hands-on leader blends strategic thinking with design execution and mentors the creative team.

You will develop seasonal concepts and artwork, guide production-ready designs, and collaborate with leadership to ensure brand integrity across wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Visual Communications, or a related field preferred.
• 8–10+ years of progressive design and creative experience within consumer products, lifestyle brands, fashion, accessories, gift, home décor, or retail, including experience leading creative initiatives or teams.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating hands-on design execution, original artwork and print development, seasonal creative direction, and cohesive brand development.
• Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, with the ability and willingness to work directly in design files and produce high-quality artwork.
• Demonstrated knowledge of artwork development, revisions, production requirements, and the details needed to bring creative work to market.
• Experience providing day-to-day creative direction, mentoring designers, and managing freelance creative partners.
• Understanding of wholesale, specialty retail, and direct-to-consumer business models.
• Strong project management, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to balance creative ambition and commercial needs while meeting seasonal deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Translate Mary Square’s brand positioning, customer insights, business priorities, and emerging trends into actionable seasonal creative direction.
• Develop seasonal concepts, color stories, print directions, artwork themes, and visual references that guide product development and brand expression.
• Research trends across fashion, accessories, gift, home décor, lifestyle, color, pattern, and retail, identifying opportunities relevant to Mary Square’s customers and wholesale business.
• Balance trend relevance and creative innovation with the brand’s established identity, assortment, price points, and customer expectations.
• Identify opportunities to refresh existing creative, develop new artwork directions, and evaluate potential brand extensions, collaborations, and complementary categories.
• Partner with leadership and cross-functional teams to ensure creative decisions support seasonal priorities, product performance, and long-term brand growth.
• Ensure artwork, packaging, graphics, photography and showroom plans and visual materials feel connected across customer touchpoints while meeting the distinct needs of wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels.
• Support product storytelling through cohesive naming, messaging, packaging, and presentation.
• Mentor and guide team members while establishing clear expectations for originality, brand alignment, design quality, attention to detail, and production readiness.
• Allocate creative assignments based on team capacity, seasonal deadlines, and business needs; identify and resolve workflow or execution challenges early.
• Manage freelance creative resources and improve creative workflows, file organization, and handoff processes to support efficient, consistent execution.
• Partner with Marketing to develop integrated campaigns that effectively communicate the brand voice for all Mary Square brands.
• Provide creative direction for digital marketing, email campaigns, paid advertising, social media, influencer partnerships, and brand collaborations.
• Support key customer meetings and strategic presentations when appropriate.

Skills

Creative direction

Brand strategy

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

Mary Square is a women-owned lifestyle and apparel brand inspiring women to live their yes. We offer apparel, statement jewelry, and meaningful gifts designed to uplift and connect. With bold original artwork and a passion for quality, we proudly serve over 4,000 boutiques across the U.S.

Position Summary

The Creative Director translates Mary Square’s brand vision into compelling, commercially relevant creative across product, print, packaging, merchandising, and brand storytelling. Combining strategic thinking with hands-on design execution, this role develops seasonal concepts, creates and refines original artwork, and guides creative work from initial inspiration through production. Working closely with leadership and cross-functional partners, the Creative Director balances brand identity, customer insights, emerging trends, and business objectives. The ideal candidate is an accomplished designer and creative strategist who contributes directly to the work while providing day-to-day direction and mentorship to the creative team.

Creative Strategy & Seasonal Direction

• Translate Mary Square’s brand positioning, customer insights, business priorities, and emerging trends into actionable seasonal creative direction.
• Develop seasonal concepts, color stories, print directions, artwork themes, and visual references that guide product development and brand expression.
• Research trends across fashion, accessories, gift, home décor, lifestyle, color, pattern, and retail, identifying opportunities relevant to Mary Square’s customers and wholesale business.
• Balance trend relevance and creative innovation with the brand’s established identity, assortment, price points, and customer expectations.
• Identify opportunities to refresh existing creative, develop new artwork directions, and evaluate potential brand extensions, collaborations, and complementary categories.
• Partner with leadership and cross-functional teams to ensure creative decisions support seasonal priorities, product performance, and long‑term brand growth.
• Ensure artwork, packaging, graphics, photography and showroom plans and visual materials feel connected across customer touchpoints while meeting the distinct needs of wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels.
• Support product storytelling through cohesive naming, messaging, packaging, and presentation.

Hands On Design & Brand Strategy

• Personally design and develop original artwork, prints, patterns, graphics, colorways, typography, and other creative assets across Mary Square’s product assortment.
• Work directly in Adobe Creative Suite to create, refine, revise, and prepare production-ready artwork, applying strong judgment to composition, color, scale, repeat, and detail.
• Translate seasonal direction into cohesive visual expression across product, packaging, catalogs, merchandising, trade show environments, photography, and digital content.
• Contribute directly to creative concepts and visual assets for seasonal launches, brand campaigns, product storytelling, and key customer initiatives in partnership with marketing and other teams.
• Review artwork through development and production, including revisions, colorways, samples or strike‑offs as applicable, and final files, ensuring the creative intent is carried through accurately.
• Identify ways to elevate existing designs and improve the originality, quality, and consistency of Mary Square’s product and customer‑facing creative.
• Partner with marketing and other internal stakeholders to develop creative concepts, campaign direction, visual assets, and storytelling that reflect the brand and support business objectives.
• Maintain active involvement in day‑to‑day seasonal creative development, managing priorities and timelines in partnership with product development, sourcing, marketing, sales, and other cross‑functional teams.
• Provide clear creative briefs, references, specifications, and actionable feedback to designers and freelance partners from concept through final artwork delivery.
• Work alongside print designers, graphic designers, and other creative team members to solve design challenges, strengthen concepts, and elevate execution.
• Mentor and guide team members while establishing clear expectations for originality, brand alignment, design quality, attention to detail, and production readiness.
• Allocate creative assignments based on team capacity, individual strengths, seasonal deadlines, and business needs; identify and resolve workflow or execution challenges early.
• Manage freelance creative resources and improve creative workflows, file organization, and handoff processes to support efficient, consistent execution.
• Partner with Marketing to develop integrated campaigns that effectively communicate the brand voice for all Mary Square brands.
• Provide creative direction for digital marketing, email campaigns, paid advertising, social media, influencer partnerships, and brand collaborations.
• Support key customer meetings and strategic presentations when appropriate.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Visual Communications, or a related field preferred.
• 8–10+ years of progressive design and creative experience within consumer products, lifestyle brands, fashion, accessories, gift, home décor, or retail, including experience leading creative initiatives or teams.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating hands‑on design execution, original artwork and print development, seasonal creative direction, and cohesive brand development.
• Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, with the ability and willingness to work directly in design files and produce high‑quality artwork.
• Demonstrated knowledge of artwork development, revisions, production requirements, and the details needed to bring creative work to market.
• Experience providing day‑to‑day creative direction, mentoring designers, and managing freelance creative partners.
• Understanding of wholesale, specialty retail, and direct‑to‑consumer business models.
• Strong project management, communication, collaboration, and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to balance creative ambition and commercial needs while meeting seasonal deadlines.