Creative Director, Global Brand [AQ-24227]

Aquent; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 155,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent Studios is seeking a visionary Creative Director, Global Brand, to lead and unify the visual narrative across a complex portfolio. You’ll steward brand integrity, set design system standards, and guide a team of brand and visual designers to craft distinctive identities for world-changing products.

This onsite role in San Diego requires 8+ years in brand leadership, mastery of typography, grids, and color theory, and the ability to present strategic direction to senior leaders.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in brand and creative leadership.
• Expertise in designing, building, documenting, and scaling robust design systems across diverse brand touchpoints.
• Advanced typography, grids, color theory, and visual language development.
• Experience directing photography with in-house and external partners.
• Portfolio demonstrating strategic brand systems thinking beyond campaigns.
• Ability to mentor and grow a high-performing design team.
• Capable of managing interconnected identities within a complex portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Lead and inspire a team of brand and visual designers, setting high creative standards.
• Own the evolution of comprehensive design systems across sub-brands.
• Guard the visual identity: typography, color, iconography, layouts, and visual language.
• Direct photography and key visual development from concept to asset selection.
• Collaborate with marketing, product marketing, and stakeholders to align output with business goals.
• Articulate and defend design direction and rationale to senior leadership.
• Champion consistent brand application across a multi-brand portfolio.

Skills

Brand leadership

Design systems

Typography

Photography direction

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive presentation

Brand governance

Tools

Brand portals

Job description

Aquent Studios is thrilled to partner with a global pioneer recognized for spearheading technological innovation. This company shapes the future of connectivity and intelligent systems, developing groundbreaking technologies that power countless devices and experiences worldwide.

Are you a visionary creative leader ready to command the visual narrative of world-changing brands? This is a truly exceptional opportunity to step into a pivotal role where you will be the ultimate steward of visual identity and brand consistency across a complex, multi-brand architecture for an innovative technology leader. You won’t just define the aesthetic future of a foundational corporate brand; you’ll orchestrate the visual symphony of its dynamic product portfolio. This is your moment to leave an indelible mark on how cutting-edge innovation is perceived globally, inspiring a dedicated team to achieve new creative heights and directly supporting groundbreaking initiatives that touch billions of lives.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and inspire a dedicated team of brand and visual designers, setting exceptionally high creative standards.
• Drive the continuous evolution and ownership of comprehensive design systems, ensuring scalability across diverse sub‑brands.
• Act as the ultimate guardian of the visual identity, meticulously overseeing typography, color palettes, iconography, layout systems, and core visual language to uphold unwavering brand integrity.
• Orchestrate photography and key visual development, guiding the entire process from initial creative concepts to final asset selection.
• Forge strong collaborations with marketing, product marketing, and key brand stakeholders, ensuring creative output strategically aligns with business objectives.
• Articulate and present compelling creative direction, comprehensive design systems, and strategic rationales to senior leadership, confidently defending design decisions.
• Champion consistent brand application while expertly navigating the nuances of differentiation across a complex, interconnected portfolio of brands.

What You’ll Bring

• A minimum of 8 years of extensive experience in brand and creative leadership, with a proven track record of managing or leading creative teams.
• Demonstrable deep expertise in designing, building, documenting, and scaling robust design systems across diverse brand touchpoints.
• Mastery of visual identity fundamentals, including advanced typography, intricate grid systems, nuanced color theory, and compelling key visual development.
• Significant experience in directing photography, collaborating effectively with both in-house teams and external agency/vendor partners.
• A powerful portfolio that brilliantly showcases strategic brand systems thinking, extending beyond individual campaign executions.
• A proven ability to effectively manage, mentor, and cultivate the professional growth of a high‑performing design team.
• Comfort and proficiency in navigating and shaping distinct yet interconnected identities within a complex portfolio of related brands.

Ways You Can Stand Out

• Prior experience within the technology, semiconductor, or consumer electronics sectors.
• A background in enterprise or B2B brand architecture development and management.
• Hands‑on experience in building or maintaining sophisticated brand guideline systems, utilizing design software libraries or brand portals.

Client Description

Aquent Studios is a global creative studio that delivers scale, speed and efficiency to the world’s most recognized brands. We create the work that matters the most to them—work that has a real impact on their business. As an Aquent Studios team member, you’ll have the opportunity to engage with the largest and most influential companies in the world, solving design challenges and extending their brands across tactic types and platforms, including digital design, UI/UX, video, motion, content, print design, web development, and more. If you want to do work that matters in a collaborative setting that values ingenuity and personal growth, you have found the right place!

Other Requirements

Creative Director, Global Brand

Location: San Diego (Position requires being onsite in San Diego, 5 days a week)

No relocation offered.

Department: Aquent Studios

Compensation Range

Compensation Range: $155,000-$160,000 DOE

The range provided is our reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. The actual amount may be higher or lower, based on factors such as experience, knowledge, skills, abilities and location.