Art Director

This is a Full Time Job

Art Director, Topic.com

The Position:

We are seeking an Art Director to manage the look and feel of our digital magazine, visual storytelling and video properties on Topic.com. The ideal candidate will have a passion for design, compelling narratives and have extensive experience creating content across multiple digital platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TV Apps (Roku, AppleTV), and Snapchat.

The Art Director at Topic.com will manage all visual representation and layouts of graphic design and video for all digital platforms (ie. key art / title art, templates, etc) while working on brand creative initiatives, editorial placement, product design, and promotional integration to create a cohesive, recognizable brand statement across all platforms. The Art Director will be required to work collaboratively and creatively with the Topic.com editorial team, including photography and visuals editors, and will be strongly encouraged to contribute fresh ideas for visual storytelling formats across multiple platforms.

We are looking for a dedicated, adaptable, collaborative and imaginative leader who lives at the intersection of platform and editorial design. The Art Director will give art and design direction for all of the site's strategic priorities including the engagement and retention of our audiences and will help to elevate the role and quality of design for Topic's brand to the consumer, creative and media/entertainment industries. This role will work closely with the Topic magazine and video editorial team, helping to form a smoothly run partnership across the organization. The Art Director will have a strong design aesthetic, but will also be be adaptable and able to solve visual problems about what's best for the brand and business.

The Art Director will be embedded with the Topic.com team and will report to the Head of Creative and Design under First Look Media's Marketing team in addition to having a dotted line to Topic.com's SVP of Editorial.

Responsibilities:

Collaborate with the editorial team on the layout, arrangement, and story structure of Topic.com's photos, visuals, video, and illustrations across all digital platforms.
Collaborate with design, editorial and marketing teams to evolve and maintain a visual identity for the brand.
Work with the Topic.com team (SVP of Editorial, Editor, Photo Editor, and General Manager of Topic.com and the First Look Media creative team (SVP of Marketing, VP of Creative and Design) to develop an aesthetic and brand that reflects Topic.com's core values and ideals.
Be highly collaborative and adaptable with teams and individuals across all of First Look Media brands to tackle new art initiatives, and meet unexpected challenges.
Participate and facilitate in creative brainstorming sessions with Creative, Marketing and Editorial teams.
Present creative work passionately and persuasively to stakeholders across the organization and externally.
Collaborate with photographers, illustrators, designers, video producers/editors, animators and other creative partners on projects of various scales that will support larger brand vision, voice and goals.
Build strong, supportive, and constructive relationships throughout the creative team and cross-functionally across the organization.
Brainstorm on campaign development, creative brief development and creative execution.
Keep the consumer and business needs at the forefront and balanced with all creative and branding decisions.
Background & Qualifications:

Minimum of 8 years of digital art design experience, preferably in publishing, entertainment, or media.
Bachelor's degree in design, advertising, fine art or related field.
Proven track record of successfully collaborating with editorial/content, marketing, creative and technical teams.
Experience with Key Art highly preferred.
Strong sense of visual storytelling and visual aesthetic.
Exceptional conceptual and design skills and a robust portfolio that shows your talent in both print and web.
Knowledge of industry standard image editing tools and processes; an expertise of the Adobe suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) - plus (ideally) an understanding of Flash, video production and motion graphics.
The ability to take feedback as a process and a means to build something even better.
Ability to work well under tight deadlines and can prioritize the needs of multiple assignments.
Ability to roll-up your sleeves and get things done in startup environment.
Ability to present ideas clearly and thoughtfully.
Strong leadership skills and the ability to communicate and work well with multiple teams.
Self-starter who is a detail-oriented, and enthusiastic team player.
Passion for working in a collaborative team in a fast-paced environment.
Exceptional design aesthetic, solid typography skills and awareness of design trends.
Public recognition from the design community and recipient of design award a plus.