Art Director/Lead Designer

Vanguard•Malvern, PA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

We're continuing to grow our Global Brand Marketing team and are looking for an Art Director to join Brand Creative—someone who can also lead hands-on design work across specialized disciplines. This role is critical in shaping how our brand identity comes to life across diverse channels and formats—leading conceptual development, setting creative strategy, art directing projects from brief to launch, and diving deep into execution when it matters most. As an Art Director on the Brand Creative team, you'll lead the strategic vision and creative direction of brand work—setting the conceptual foundation, guiding the visual narrative, and ensuring every touchpoint reflects our brand with clarity and intention. You'll art direct projects across digital, motion, video, and experiential applications, partnering with a close-knit team of strategists, researchers, designers, writers, and creative leaders to translate brand strategy into cohesive, compelling experiences for both internal audiences and external clients. This role isn't just about directing—it's about doing. You'll be deeply hands-on, moving fluidly between strategic leadership and craft execution. Your specialized expertise will bring senior-level craft and strategic thinking to the team while allowing you to lead and elevate work across your area(s) of strength. We're looking for deep expertise in one or more of the following disciplines: UX/UI design—creating intuitive, brand-forward digital experiences, Motion graphics and video—building dynamic visual systems and content, Environmental and experiential design—translating brand into physical spaces through environmental graphics, branded events, pop-ups, activations, and conference presence. You'll collaborate within a focused Brand Creative team, leading projects and partnering cross-functionally to deliver work that ranges from large, multi-month integrated campaigns to faster-moving, iterative projects. Work spans internal brand initiatives as well as external client-facing creative. On a typical day, you may be concepting and art directing a campaign, editing or animating video content, designing interactive experiences with UX partners, developing environmental graphics for a pop-up or event, reviewing and elevating work from other designers, or building presentations to rally stakeholders around an idea. Less typical days may include contributing to the evolution of brand systems and guidelines, defining motion or environmental design principles, developing reusable toolkits and templates, or partnering with web, product, or events teams to support larger integrated initiatives.

Requirements

7–10+ years of professional experience in art direction and design, ideally within brand, agency, studio, or internal brand teams.
Proven track record art directing and leading projects from strategy and concept through production and launch.
Experience collaborating closely with creative directors, strategists, writers, production teams, and cross-functional stakeholders in a lean team environment.
Deep expertise in one or more of the following: UX/UI design for digital-first brand experiences, Motion graphics, video editing, and dynamic content creation, Environmental, experiential, event design and/or branded activations.
Strong portfolio showcasing art direction, creative strategy, brand systems, and hands-on execution across areas of expertise—including examples of both internal brand initiatives and client-facing work.
Fluency with industry-standard tools, which may include Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, and other relevant platforms depending on discipline.

Nice To Haves

Strategic creative leader who thinks holistically about how brand shows up across ecosystems.
Strong conceptual instincts and ability to lead the development of ideas from insight to execution.
Experienced art director who can set a vision, guide others, and maintain creative quality across complex projects.
Deeply hands-on, comfortable switching between leading others and rolling up sleeves to design, animate, build, and produce.
Specialist expertise in UX/UI, motion/video, or environmental/experiential design.
Understand how to extend brand systems thoughtfully across applications.
Actively integrate AI-driven creative tools into process.
Enjoy collaborating closely in a lean, focused team environment.
Comfortable leading projects end-to-end without managing direct reports.
Confident presenting and pitching work.
Natural mentor who provides thoughtful feedback and elevates the work of designers.
Solutions-oriented mindset.
Believe great work is intentional, inclusive, and crafted end-to-end.

Responsibilities

Lead the strategic vision and creative direction of brand work.
Set the conceptual foundation and guide the visual narrative.
Ensure every touchpoint reflects our brand with clarity and intention.
Art direct projects across digital, motion, video, and experiential applications.
Partner with strategists, researchers, designers, writers, and creative leaders.
Translate brand strategy into cohesive, compelling experiences.
Lead and elevate work across areas of strength (UX/UI, motion/video, environmental/experiential design).
Collaborate within a focused Brand Creative team.
Lead projects and partner cross-functionally.
Deliver work ranging from large integrated campaigns to faster-moving projects.
Concept and art direct campaigns.
Edit or animate video content.
Design interactive experiences with UX partners.
Develop environmental graphics for pop-ups or events.
Review and elevate work from other designers.
Build presentations to rally stakeholders around an idea.
Contribute to the evolution of brand systems and guidelines.
Define motion or environmental design principles.
Develop reusable toolkits and templates.
Partner with web, product, or events teams.
Integrate AI-driven creative tools into the process.
Present and pitch work, using clear storytelling.
Provide thoughtful feedback and elevate the work of designers.
Listen well and communicate clearly.
Approach creative challenges with curiosity and a solutions-oriented mindset.
Thrive in dynamic environments where project scale and pace vary.