Art Director

Campus Ink•Chicago, IL

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Campus Ink is seeking a skilled and hands-on Art Director to execute and oversee artwork production across our apparel and merchandise lines. This is a player-coach role built for someone who wants to stay close to the craft while shaping the people and process around it. You'll turn brand direction into finished, production-ready designs that show up on real products worn by real fans and athletes nationwide. Working closely with the accounts and production teams, the Art Director will manage day-to-day artwork execution, lead a team of designers and illustrators, and build workflows that keep creative output moving efficiently without sacrificing quality. A successful candidate is a strong craftsperson, a proactive problem solver, and someone who thrives on balancing hands-on design work with team leadership. If you love making things, coaching people, and seeing your work land in the hands of customers, this role was built for you.

Requirements

Portfolio showcasing production-ready apparel, merchandise, or licensed product artwork.
Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator) and production file prep for print/embroidery.
Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and hard deadlines.
Excellent communication skills, particularly in giving clear creative feedback to a team.
Self-motivated, highly organized, and detail-oriented.
Lives in the Chicagoland area and able to be in office 3 days per week.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in a related field (Graphic Design, Apparel Design, or similar) preferred but not required with sufficient portfolio strength.
Proficiency in Apparel design.
Preferred in screen printing, embroidery and digital decoration technique.
5+ years of experience in art direction or senior design roles, including at least 1-2 years managing designers or a creative team.

Responsibilities

Oversee the design process for apparel products from concept through final production, ensuring creative decisions align with brand standards and manufacturing capabilities.
Direct the creation and refinement of graphic assets across product lines, maintaining visual consistency and craft quality from initial concept through final production files.
Support the concept-to-tech-pack process for jersey and private label products, working closely with the executive team and manufacturers to ensure design accuracy and product quality.
Lead a team of designers and illustrators, ensuring appropriate delegation of projects based on team strengths, managing workload, and providing day-to-day mentorship and craft feedback.
Own and continuously improve the creative production pipeline that includes intake, revisions, approvals, and handoff to production, to reduce bottlenecks and minimize turnaround time.
Maintain strict quality control on all artwork output, catching issues before files move to production.
Partner with business development and account management to keep creative timelines aligned with partner and licensing deadlines.