Design Director

Craft Agency Ltd; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 165,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Leadership collaboration with NY and L

Maternity and paternity leave

Annual exchange program with global-st

Budget for charitable giving

Learning and development opportunities

Long service awards

Certified Carbon Neutral business

Job summary

Craft Agency Ltd seeks a Design Director to lead branding and experience projects end-to-end, setting the creative vision and defending it before senior clients. The role drives identity, design systems, and creative platforms while mentoring designers and building a multidisciplinary team across New York and London studios.

You’ll work across brand, motion and immersive experiences, shaping work with strategic thinking and high craft, and collaborating with leadership on global initiatives.

Qualifications

• Ten+ years in branding or design, senior leadership experience.
• Proven track record leading complex identity and design-system projects.
• Experience presenting and defending thinking to senior clients.
• Experience mentoring designers and building multidisciplinary studios.

Responsibilities

• Lead branding and experience projects end-to-end from strategy through delivery.
• Develop brand identities, design systems and creative platforms.
• Present to senior clients and defend the thinking behind concepts.
• Mentor designers and help build a multidisciplinary team across studios.

Skills

Branding

Design leadership

Design systems

Client presentation

Mentoring

Stakeholder management

Creative direction

Tools

Figma

Adobe Creative Suite

Cinema 4D

Job description

This is a Design Director role at an international creative group – one that’s built on the lineage of a branding agency behind some of the most talked-about rebrands of the last decade. The group launched in 2024 through the merger of three award-winning agencies, and the New York studio is early-stage – making this a foundational hire.

The Role

You’ll lead major branding and experience projects end-to-end from strategy through to delivery, setting the creative vision and holding the bar for the business. That means developing brand identities, design systems and creative platforms, and standing in front of senior clients to present and defend the thinking behind them.

Because the group works across brand, motion and immersive experience under one roof, the work runs beyond static identity into execution across formats most branding studios outsource. You’ll also mentor designers and help build a multidisciplinary team, working directly with global leadership across the New York and London studios. Your judgment is expected to shape the work, not just polish it.

The Package

• $165,000 – $175,000
• Hybrid working
• Direct collaboration with leadership across New York and London
• Industry-leading maternity and paternity leave
• Annual exchange program with global studios, including immersion trips
• Dedicated annual budget for charitable giving
• Learning and development opportunities focused on emerging software
• Long service awards
• Certified Carbon Neutral business

The Person

You’ve spent ten or more years in branding or design, most likely as a Design Director, ACD or senior Creative Director at a recognised agency. You’ve led complex identity and design-system projects from discovery to delivery, and your portfolio pairs strategic thinking with high craft.

You’ve run and mentored teams, you’re confident with senior stakeholders, and you’re more than comfortable with the ambiguity of building a studio rather than inheriting one.