Design Director

Zero is a digitally native branding studio. We build brands for the digital world, with services ranging from brand strategy and naming, through visual identity, packaging, content creation, UX/UI and development. 

As a Design Director at Zero, your primary focus is to lead projects and mentor and oversee design team members. 

As a project lead, you guide and collaborate with the team in conceptualizing the emotional “why” behind brands and how to express it across all creative mediums. From brand worlds to websites, you’re responsible for creating design work that speaks the brand’s language and offers a fresh perspective within the brand’s industry. Whether developing the visual brand tone or working within a set of established guidelines, you are able to plug into the brand mindset and articulate it. You have mastered understanding and skill as it relates to typography, color theory, layout and art direction as well as the ability to develop effective visual communication to fit a variety of personas and brands. 

As a mentor to the team, you are a source of support and stability. Not only have you mastered your craft but you are able to guide others in their design process as well. You have a solutions oriented mindset and your goal as a leader is to push the team to create the most effective work possible for the clients and audiences we serve. In doing so you are required to consider the team’s diverse perspectives and communication styles and work with them to understand what they need to do their best work.         
 

Day to Day Responsibilities:

• Co-lead and contribute to the research & discovery phase through competitive audits, research, and the formulation of key take-aways and opportunities for the brand strategy
• Co-lead and develop holistic brand strategies that are unique to the market and genuine to the beliefs and vision of the brand
• Develop presentations that clearly and effectively tell the story of our work, lead the team in collaborating on those presentations, and regularly present the work to our clients 
• Develop and oversee effective designs and art direction that deliver on the brand strategies, are unique to the market and genuine to the beliefs, and vision of the brand
• Collaborate closely with copywriters and developers on brand applications such as branding, art direction, packaging, website, emails, and other mediums to support the brand world
• Working closely with Creative Directors and PMs, lead the team in developing designs and a systematic approach to the design language across mediums
• Effectively manage your own time and work closely with the design team to manage project timelines and schedule design check-ins as needed to meet internal deadlines and goals
• Approach every project with a solutions oriented mindset, clear purpose and ensure all executions meet business and user goals  
• Initiate and lead conversations with outside collaborators such as photographers and illustrators
• Mentor 3-5 design team members, establish regular check-ins to build relationships, discuss opportunities for growth and ensure their progress at Zero 
• Participate in the monthly directors meeting with leadership and partners to discuss the status of the studio and collaborate on ways to make it better
• Proactively propose and lead initiatives within the studio that you’re passionate about
• Approach opportunities at the studio with an entrepreneurial spirit