Senior Art Director

WS Development Associates, LLC; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

WS Development is seeking a Senior Art Director with a strong background in branding, illustration, and design tailored for lifestyle, retail and fashion sectors. This hands-on role requires delivering ideas from concept to completion across diverse media, including environmental design and signage.

The ideal candidate will bring a passion for retail spaces, current trends, and a drive to craft engaging experiences for shoppers, centers, events and activations.

Qualifications

• Portfolio demonstrates branding, illustration and live retail omni-channel work.
• Minimum 5–7 years of experience in brand identity, graphic design, typography, illustration and art direction.
• Strong illustration skills, including digital illustration in Procreate.
• Hands-on, experimental approach to AI in the creative process and current AI developments in design.
• Deep understanding of design and typography principles.
• Expert knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite.
• Ability to present work clearly to internal and external audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead branding and art direction across media, including environmental design.
• Collaborate with the internal agency team to execute innovative retail campaigns.
• Incorporate retail trends and consumer behavior into project concepts.
• Manage multiple projects with tight deadlines while maintaining high-quality craft.

Skills

Branding

Art direction

Illustration

Brand identity

Procreate

Typography

Design for retail

Creative communication

Collaboration

AI in design

Education

BFA/BA in Advertising, Graphic Design, Digital Media Design, Illustration, or related field

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Figma

After Effects

Prototyping tools

Wrike/Asana/Monday

HTML/CSS/JS

Job description

WS Development is looking for a talented Senior Art Director with a strong background in branding, illustration and design focused on the lifestyle, retail and/or fashion categories. This is a hands-on, craft-forward role in a fast-paced environment for a creative who thrives on carrying ideas from start to finish across a wide range of media, including environmental design. The ideal candidate has a genuine passion for retail - trends, shopping behavior, and the physical spaces where people gather - and brings that enthusiasm into every project. This is a unique opportunity to join our internal agency team, whose responsibility is to bring to life innovative and diverse shopping destinations through marketing and activation. Marketing efforts include owned, earned, and paid advertising in support of our centers, event/experiential marketing, placemaking initiatives such as partnering with artists to recast places and spaces, designing window graphics, signage and much more.

WS is one of the largest privately owned retail developers in the country with more than a hundred properties nationwide. Our mission is to create places where people want to be. These destinations include a curated mix of retail, food, and entertainment, from luxury brands to well-known apparel retailers, to unique, local finds. If you are looking for an opportunity to work alongside leading global retail brands and be a part of an entrepreneurial, innovative, and growing company, we’re excited to meet you.

ATTRIBUTES:

• You have a refined, polished eye for design, a conceptual mind, and always strive towards excellence in your craft.
• You have a passion for branding and art, and are an avid connoisseur of design, illustration, and visual culture.
• You have a genuine passion for retail - you love exploring retail spaces, following retail trends, and thinking about what makes a shopping destination feel exciting and relevant.
• You have a passion for solving complex communication challenges in a fast-paced environment through strategy, concept, and a deep understanding of consumers, trends, and retail dynamics.
• You’re a strong illustrator with a distinct point of view, and a particular love for digital illustration in Procreate.
• You’re curious about AI and eager to experiment with it in your workflow -you actively follow AI research and emerging tools in design and think critically about how they can elevate your processes.
• You’re hardworking, bring a sense of urgency, and have an enthusiastic attitude.
• You’re a clear, proactive communicator who keeps collaborators and stakeholders in the loop and can articulate the thinking behind your work.
• You strive to exceed the expectations of your team, internal clients, and end consumer.
• You embrace change and are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to connect with consumers.
• You keep up with current trends in digital design, development, and communication technologies.
• You work collaboratively and love to be part of a team.

• Excellent portfolio showcasing strong branding, illustration, and recent, live, retail-based omni-channel work.
• BFA/BA in Advertising, Graphic Design, Digital Media Design, Illustration, or a related field (or significant equivalent experience).
• Minimum 5-7 years of experience and demonstrated aptitude in brand identity, graphic design, typography, illustration, and art direction.
• Strong illustration skills, including digital illustration in Procreate.
• A hands-on, experimental approach to AI in the creative process, and a habit of staying current on AI research and developments in design.
• Deep understanding of design and typography principles.
• Expert knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite.
• Ability to present your work clearly and confidently in front of internal and external audiences.
• Ability to manage, organize and prioritize many tasks with strong attention to detail, a positive attitude, and a collaborative personality.
• Ability to work with precision under rigorous deadlines.
• Experience working with a project management tool (e.g. Wrike, Asana, Monday) is a plus.
• Knowledge of AI and UXmethods for responsive web and mobile app design is a plus.
• Experience with signage and wayfinding is a plus.
• Knowledge of After Effects is a plus.
• Experience with Figma is a plus.
• HTML, CSS and/or JavaScript skills are a plus.
• Photoshoot art direction experience is a plus.