Designer (Contract)

The Keep; Twin Cities, Minneapolis (CA, MN); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Keep is building the main street of tabletop gaming, and we want your help. The Designer shapes how The Keep looks and feels, handling the product end-to-end, plus the design system that holds it together.

You will design screens from rough idea to finished product, maintain coherence across the system, and tailor the mobile experience. This is independent contract work with milestone invoicing and flexible hours, remote with a preference for the Twin Cities.

Qualifications

• Strong design craft and a good eye.
• A portfolio of shipped work.
• Meticulous, and it shows in the corners.
• Familiar with tabletop RPGs (TTRPGs).
• Comfortable working directly with the CEO and CTO.

Responsibilities

• Design the product end-to-end, from rough idea to finished screen.
• Keep the design system coherent as the product grows.
• Design the unglamorous states (empty, loading, error) and ensure speed of iteration.

Skills

Design craft

Portfolio

Detail oriented

Tabletop familiarity

Executive collaboration

Job description

The Keep is building the main street of tabletop gaming and we want your help!

The Designer shapes how The Keep looks and feels. The Keep is where tabletop players find games, run their home tables, and get through a convention weekend without losing track of anything, and understanding how people actually move through those moments is key to the work. This engagement covers the product end-to-end, plus the design system that holds it together.

Responsibilities

01 | Product design

Design the product end-to-end, from rough idea to finished screen.

• End-to-end: design from flows and wireframes through finished screens.
• Events and coordination: design registration, scheduling, ticketing, and day-of tools.
• Layouts: design the screens and how they are laid out.

02 | Design system

Keep the product coherent as it grows.

• The system: build it and maintain it.
• Consistency: keep it visually consistent as more of it ships.
• Mobile: make the mobile version as good as the desktop one.

03 | The details

The parts nobody demos are the parts people live in.

• The unglamorous states: empty, loading, error. Design the ones nobody thinks about.
• Speed: turn rough ideas into something we can look at.

Experiences: Required

Every item below is a screen.

• Craft: strong design craft and a good eye.
• Evidence: a portfolio of shipped work.
• Detail: meticulous, and it shows in the corners.
• Tabletop: familiarity with TTRPGs, because you game.
• Working style: comfort working directly with the CEO and the CTO.

Also a Plus

Convention attendance. If you go to gaming conventions, it shows in the work.

The engagement

The terms, so there are no surprises later.

• Structure: independent contract, not employment. Fixed fee per statement of work, invoiced at milestones. Not hourly.
• Schedule: you set your own hours.
• Where: remote, with a preference for the Twin Cities so we can work together in person now and then.
• Other clients: you are free to work with them, including in tabletop, subject to confidentiality.
• Intellectual property: deliverables assign to The Keep on creation. Your pre-existing tools and libraries stay yours. You may show released work in your portfolio once it has publicly launched, based on our embargo and approval.

The Keep is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law, and we hold to the same standard in how we select and work with contractors. If you need an accommodation to take part in the selection process, tell us and we will work with you. This posting is not an offer and does not create a contract. Any engagement is independent contract work, governed by a signed statement of work.