Intermediate Art Director

Socket.dev; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 73,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Kitchen North America in Chicago (Hybrid) is seeking an Art Director to lead visual storytelling across social, digital, film, and integrated campaigns.

You will collaborate with writers, strategists, producers, and the creative director to translate cultural moments into award-winning work while maintaining exceptional craft and impact.

Join a dynamic team that moves at culture speed, delivering work that earns recognition and drives engagement across media.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in an Art Director or conceptually creative role.
• A strong portfolio showcasing concept-driven, culturally relevant work across multiple channels.
• Proven ability to generate original ideas both within and beyond the brief.
• Deep understanding of social-first thinking and how ideas travel across platforms.
• Exceptional design sensibility, typography, and visual storytelling skills.
• Ability to work at speed without compromising craft.
• A collaborative mindset with strong communication skills.
• Curiosity about culture, trends, and what people care about right now.
• Experience working in fast-paced agency or in-house creative environments.

Responsibilities

• Concept and execute breakthrough creative ideas across social, digital, film, and integrated campaigns.
• Partner with a writer to bring ideas to life, and work closely with strategists, and producers and your creative director.
• Translate cultural trends and real-time moments into compelling, brand-relevant creative.
• Lead the visual direction of projects from concept through execution, ensuring high craft and consistency.
• Present ideas clearly and persuasively to internal teams and stakeholders.
• Collaborate across disciplines to create work that earns attention, drives engagement, and delivers results.
• Stay ahead of emerging platforms, tools, and creative trends.

Skills

3+ years experience

Strong portfolio

Original ideas

Social-first thinking

Typography & visual storytelling

Speed and craft

Collaboration & communication

Culture & trends curiosity

Agency/in-house experience

Job description

ROLE: ART DIRECTOR

TEAM: THE KITCHEN NORTH AMERICA

LOCATION: CHICAGO (HYBRID)

ABOUT THE KITCHEN NORTH AMERICA

The Kitchen brings together a range of disciplines and capabilities. It’s a team of creatives, producers, data analysts and social experts working together to deliver remarkable ideas that live in a variety of mediums, from social to TV. This team moves at the speed of culture. It is built to respond to trends and events as they happen, coming up with ideas that transcend social media to capture the spirit of the moment, earn media impressions, and get the country talking.

Are you ready to join an award-ambitious team that's making waves in the advertising industry? Our incredible team has been recognized internationally by industry giants like Cannes, One Show and was named Campaign's Global In-House Agency of The Year, further solidifying our position as a leader in the industry. Join us and be a part of something truly special, a team that's dedicated to creating ground-breaking work and pushing limits.

At The Kitchen, we're not just looking for individuals who want to be a part of the advertising industry, we're looking for trailblazers who are ready to lead the way to the next big thing. We want individuals who are passionate about producing award-winning work and have an innate drive to their craft and are eager to generate innovative ideas both within and outside of the brief.

OVERVIEW

You're not just an Art Director, you’re a cultural observer, a visual storyteller, and a creative problem solver. You’re energized by the pace of modern creativity and thrive in environments where ideas need to happen now. You care deeply about craft, but you’re just as passionate about relevance and impact.

You’re ambitious, not just to make great work, but to make work that gets recognized, shared, and remembered.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Concept and execute breakthrough creative ideas across social, digital, film, and integrated campaigns.
• Partner with a writer to bring ideas to life, and work closely with strategists, and producers and your creative director.
• Translate cultural trends and real-time moments into compelling, brand-relevant creative.
• Lead the visual direction of projects from concept through execution, ensuring high craft and consistency.
• Present ideas clearly and persuasively to internal teams and stakeholders.
• Collaborate across disciplines to create work that earns attention, drives engagement, and delivers results.
• Stay ahead of emerging platforms, tools, and creative trends.

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS

• 3+ years of experience in an Art Director or conceptually creative role.
• A strong portfolio showcasing concept-driven, culturally relevant work across multiple channels.
• Proven ability to generate original ideas both within and beyond the brief.
• Deep understanding of social-first thinking and how ideas travel across platforms.
• Exceptional design sensibility, typography, and visual storytelling skills.
• Ability to work at speed without compromising craft.
• A collaborative mindset with strong communication skills.
• Curiosity about culture, trends, and what people care about right now.
• Experience working in fast-paced agency or in-house creative environments.

The anticipated annual base salary range for this position is $73,000–$90,000. Individual compensation within this range is determined based on job-related factors such as experience, skills, level of responsibility, internal equity, and business needs. This range represents the expected base salary for this role and does not include other elements of The Kitchen’s total rewards program.