Creative Designer

DFS; Noordwes; On-site; ZAR 977,000 - 1,412,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

23 days holiday

Enhanced parental leave

Health cash plan

Employee Assistance Programme

Pension with company contributions

Life assurance

Sharesave scheme

Learning Hub access

Leadership development

Colleague discounts

Job summary

DFS Group is seeking a seasoned Creative Designer to shape visual direction across campaigns for DFS Group brands. You will develop concepts from ideation through to creative packs, collaborating with Marketing and Commercial teams to deliver cohesive experiences across digital, social, email, print, and retail touchpoints.

Candidates should have a Bachelor's in Graphic Design, 8+ years agency or in-house experience, and expert Adobe Creative Suite with After Effects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in Graphic Design or related discipline.
• 8+ years of experience in a creative role within an agency or in-house team.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating concept to final execution across campaigns.
• Expert-level proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, including After Effects.

Responsibilities

• Generate innovative creative concepts aligned with briefs, objectives and brand tone.
• Create storyboards, mood boards, and visual mockups to communicate direction.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Commercial, and Senior Creative teams to ensure feasibility.
• Pitch concepts confidently and articulate design rationale to stakeholders.
• Direct photography, video, AI-generated, and CGI content to maintain a unified vision.
• Develop platform-native, social-first concepts for multi-channel campaigns.
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate ideation while preserving quality and originality.
• Help evolve brand identities and contribute to omnichannel experiences.

Skills

Portfolio review

Adobe Creative Suite

After Effects

Visual storytelling

Brand identity

Communication

Concept ideation

Collaboration

Social-first content

Education

Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design / related field

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

After Effects

Job description

Job Type: Permanent Job Sector: Media, Design Region: North West Location: Golborne Salary Description: Competitive salary based on skills and experience Posted: 23/09/2026 Recruiter: DFS Job Ref: dfsgroup/TP/1953/747

About us

At DFS Group, we’re proud to help people create spaces they love to live in. We’re home to DFS, Sofology, and The Sofa Delivery Company: three brands with their own personalities, brought together by a shared mission.Behind our brands is a passionate Group team. From Finance and Technology to People, Marketing and Supply Chain, our Group functions power everything we do. They create the foundations that allow our brands to thrive, innovate and grow.Whether you’re supporting our brands or serving our customers, the mindset that connects us means we expect more of ourselves and each other. It means every customer is our favourite, every voice is valued, and every interaction is one we’re proud of.When you’re part of a community that shares your way of thinking, the wins feel bigger. The effort feels worth it. It’s a place where people stay because they feel valued, and find room to grow because they’re challenged.

About the role

The Creative Designer is a conceptual thinker within the Creative team, responsible for supporting the development of compelling ideas and helping to shape the visual direction of campaigns. A visual storyteller with a strategic mindset, you'll help to create campaign concepts and define the look and feel of projects, from initial ideation through to the development of creative packs that enable a seamless handover and consistent execution for the Design and Production team.Working across the DFS Group brands, you'll assist with the development of engaging creative concepts for brand, seasonal, and customer campaigns, collaborating closely with the Marketing and Commercial teams to deliver cohesive experiences across digital, social, email, retail, print, OOH, photography, and motion. You'll also support art direction, contribute to the evolution of brand identities, and leverage emerging technologies, including AI, to enhance concept development and creative storytelling.

What you’ll be responsible for

• Ideation & Strategy: Generating innovative creative concepts that align with project briefs, business objectives, and brand tone of voice.
• Visual Storytelling: Creating storyboards, sketches, mood boards, and visual mock-ups to communicate creative direction before full-scale production begins.
• Collaboration: Working closely with the Senior Creative Manager, stylists, copywriters, Marketing, and Commercial teams to ensure concepts are both creatively compelling and feasible to deliver across all touchpoints.
• Presentation: Confidently pitching and presenting creative concepts to stakeholders, clearly articulating the rationale behind design decisions.
• Trend Research: Staying ahead of market trends, design innovation, emerging technologies, and cultural shifts to ensure creative concepts remain fresh, relevant, and forward-thinking.
• Feedback Integration: Refining and helping to evolve concepts based on stakeholder feedback, performance insights, and user testing to continuously improve creative outcomes.
• Art Direction: Art direct photography, video, AI-generated, and CGI content, ensuring a consistent creative vision across all still and moving-image assets.
• Social-First Content: Developing platform-native, social-first creative concepts designed to capture attention, drive engagement, and support full-funnel performance from awareness through to conversion.
• AI: Leveraging AI-powered creative tools to accelerate ideation, visual exploration, and concept generation, while applying strong creative judgement to ensure originality, quality, and brand relevance.
• Brand & Identity Design: Helping to develop distinctive visual identities for campaigns, product launches, and brand initiatives, ensuring concepts strengthen brand recognition while allowing for creative innovation.
• Omnichannel Creative: Conceptualising cohesive campaigns and customer experiences across multiple touchpoints, including digital, social, email, retail environments, print, press, OOH, motion, and emerging platforms, ensuring consistency throughout the customer journey.
• Creative Packs: Developing clear, inspiring, and comprehensive creative style packs that translate concepts into actionable design direction, enabling the Design & Production team to execute work consistently, efficiently, and with creative integrity across every customer touchpoint.

We're looking for someone who has - Essential Experience

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in Graphic Design, Creative Direction, Art Direction, Visual Communication, Fashion, Marketing or a related creative discipline.
• Professional Experience: 8+ years of experience in a creative role within an agency or in-house creative team.
• Portfolio: A strong portfolio demonstrating your ability to conceptualise ideas from a blank page through to a fully realised creative vision. We want to see how you think, not just how you refine or execute.
• Technical Proficiency: Expert-level proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, including After Effects.
• Visual Communication: Exceptional skills in sketching, illustration, visual storytelling, and layout design.
• Strategic Mindset: Ability to balance ambitious, blue-sky thinking with commercial objectives, technical feasibility, and customer needs.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the confidence and credibility to present and sell creative ideas to stakeholders.
• Agility: Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, working efficiently across digital, print, and integrated channels.
• Mindset: A passionate, proactive, and collaborative team player who thrives in a fast-paced environment, can adapt to changing priorities at short notice, and is always willing to support the wider team when needed.
• Social: Expertise in crafting engaging social content that drives full-funnel performance, from initial awareness to final conversion.

Nice to have

• Motion Graphics: Familiarity with After Effects or similar animation tools to bring concepts to life.
• AI Proficiency: Experience using generative AI tools to accelerate the conceptualization and mood-boarding process.
• UX/UI Foundation: A solid understanding of user-centered design principles.
• Copywriting: A knack for writing headlines or short, punchy copy that complements your visual designs.

Don't let it discourage you if you don't have all of this experience, it's a guideline that will help you hit the ground running. If the role sounds like it would be a great fit for you and you'reconfident that it suits you, we'd love you to apply.

Room to grow

Everyone at DFS Group begins with a structured induction designed to help you understand our brands, our culture and how we work together.From day one, you will have access to our online Learning Hub, filled with digital courses, tools and resources to support your development.For leaders, we offer virtual workshops focused on building confident, capable leadership. We also run skills-based workshops to strengthen core capabilities across the business.Colleagues can also undertake nationally recognised qualifications through our apprenticeship programmes, giving you the opportunity to gain external accreditation while you grow your career with us.

Our DFS Group benefits

• 23 days holiday, plus the option to buy up to 5 more
• Enhanced parental leave
• Health cash plan from £2 a month, with everyday cashback
• Employee Assistance Programme for support when you need it
• Extras like flu vouchers, menopause support and health check
• Pension with company contributions
• Life assurance for peace of mind
• Sharesave scheme to save each month and invest in our future
• Structured induction from day one
• Access to our Learning Hub and skills workshops
• Leadership development and apprenticeship programmes
• 30% colleague discount, plus 15% for friends and family, three times a year
• Discounts and cashback at hundreds of retailers
• SmartTech scheme to buy tech up to £1,000 through salary sacrifice
• Cycle to Work scheme for bikes and accessories up to £1,500
• Electric vehicle lease scheme with Octopus to help you save and reduce your impact
• One paid volunteering day each year

Equal opportunities

We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer, committed to building a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and makes room for different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences.We turn that commitment into action through colleague networks, trusted partnerships and recognised accessibility initiatives such as the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.

If your experience does not quite match every part of the role, we’d still love to hear from you.If you need any adjustments or additional support during the application process, please contact our Talent Team at [e-mail] and we will be happy to help.