Design Director — Packaging & Brand Studio Lead

Olberding Brand Family; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401k plan with company contributions

Paid time off and holidays

Career development opportunities

Job summary

Olberding Brand Family in the United States seeks a Design Director to lead multiple brands’ packaging and digital design, shaping creative direction and client storytelling. You will mentor a design team, present work to clients, collaborate with Brand Leader partners, and drive complex projects from concept to production, maintaining standards and brand identity.

The role requires 12+ years in design, a standout portfolio, and agency experience; expert Adobe Creative Suite skills and

Qualifications

• Strong ability to create, collaborate, design and direct within the packaging and digital workspace.
• Excellent project management and organizational skills.
• Deep knowledge of consumer products packaging, creative design, and production artwork.
• Able to articulate rationale behind design choices and defend decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple brands day-to-day and manage concurrent projects.
• Present work to clients and build strong relationships.
• Drive conceptual development and design WIP sessions with the team.

Skills

Packaging design

Project management

Brand design

Adobe Creative Suite

Illustration

Motion graphics

Portfolio

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe InDesign

Job description

Founded in 1919 as Phototype and recently rebranded as the Olberding Brand Family, we are a family company focused on delivering the highest quality and client service in the graphics design, management and printing industry. We Design, Optimize and Protect Brands. Our clients are primarily consumer products companies and printers and we help them by delivering a broad range of services from brand strategy and packaging design, to adaptive design across various print and digital platforms, all the way to color management and the production of printing plates. With our world headquarters located in Cincinnati, we have over 450 employees throughout the United States and offices in Europe and Asia.

The Design Director will work with our cross-functional internal team to support our client in helping to market the brands they produce and consumers have come to love. Design Directors design within an established brand identity for some of America’s favorite CPG brands, specifically for their packaging and digital presence.

Leading multiple brands from a design standpoint, expected to be excellent presenters and storytellers of the work and client facing, expected to lead a design team on projects, actively working on projects, displays mastery of the craft to share with other designers and clients, expected to adhere to the overall creative direction and standards set by the CDs. You will/may be expected to have direct reports.

Duties and Responsibilities Include:

• Support the organization of all files and assets created
• Takes on the most complex tasks and conceptual work
• Skilled wielder of design craft
• Empowered to, and expectation of decision making autonomy
• Looked to for expertise from fellow designers
• Master storyteller
• Expected to lead design WIP and work sessions to drive conceptual development
• Leads multiple brands day-to-day
• Manages multiple concurrent projects
• Maintain and build client relationships and present work to them
• Help forge and stabilize new client relationships
• Collaborate seamlessly with Brand Leader partners
• Manage and guide teammates in their career/craft development
• Participate in crafting cross-disciplinary workflows
• Take on new assignments and the most complex work
  
  
  

Management of our employees is extremely important to us since without our employees we wouldn’t be here! It’s expected of people managers that they take the time to listen, support and guide our employees through their career adventure with OBF. Below are our key manager expectations:

• Inspire and produce great work across virtual environments from all team members
• Develop team goals, prioritize and delegate work effectively across team
• Build a team that exhibits trust and positively collaborates cross-functionally
• Review employee strengths and gaps in order to develop them for our current and future business needs
• Understand and ensure employees adhere to our company policies, procedures and compliance
  
  
  

Qualifications Include:

• Ability to create, collaborate, design and direct within the packaging and digital workspace
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Strong knowledge of consumer products packaging, creative design, and production artwork
• Ability to articulate rationale behind design choices
• Ability to diplomatically give and receive feedback on their work and work of fellow designers
• 12+ years’ experience
• Amazing portfolio
• Agency experience preferred
• Expert level in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign)
• Motion Graphics / Animation, photography, and/or illustration skills are a plus
  
  
  

Why Choose Olberding Brand Family?

When you join Olberding Brand Family, you’re not just taking a job; you’re becoming part of a legacy of excellence and innovation. We offer a supportive and dynamic work environment where your expertise in pre-media will be highly valued. We believe in supporting our employees' well-being and offer a competitive benefits package that includes:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance to keep you and your family healthy
• A 401k retirement plan with company contributions to help you plan for your future
• Generous paid time off (PTO), personal time, and volunteer time off, in addition to 8 observed holidays
• Parental leave to support growing families
• Career development opportunities
  
  
  

The Olberding Brand Family is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes individuals of diverse talents and backgrounds.

For fastest consideration, please apply online to the Careers section of our website www.olberdingbrands.com. Only applications received through this process will be considered. No phone calls please.

Salary range for this role is $85k - $115k