Creative Director - Experiential

Jack Morton Worldwide • San Francisco, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

At Jack Morton, we design and build head-turning, smile-inducing, impact-driving brand experiences that redefine what experiential marketing can achieve. We help our clients unlock the full value of experiences by turning bold ideas into meaningful connections. This is a place where curiosity drives what’s next, boldness raises the bar, and every win is shared. Where ownership is expected, egos are left at the door, and the work reflects the passion and talent of the people behind it. Experience without limits—in your work, your growth, and your impact. Ability to work hybrid in San Francisco or LA highly preferred; remote candidates considered. We're looking to see experiential work / conferences in your book. This Creative Director (Art) is a super star, experiential design expert and creative thinker who helps grow and sustain the creative efforts for one of our major tech clients at Jack Morton Worldwide. The Creative Director will generate innovative concepts and smart solutions, leading client projects of varying sizes and budgets. They are proficient in developing user journeys and crafting all related experiential design materials with excellence and rigor. They maintain a high level of polish and generate work that deeply engages the audience, brings the brand story to life, and drives client results. They are right at home collaborating with a diverse and multi-talented team, which includes strategists, graphic designers, environmental designers, producers, technical experts, account team members, content experts, copywriters, and creative technologists. Reporting to the VP, Sr Creative Director, the CD will help establish templates and processes for the creative work on this marquee tech account, support hiring and staffing decisions as related to their projects, and be a partner in the health and expansion of this exciting body of work with the one the world’s most innovative and established tech brands.

Requirements

• Experiential agency experience including b2b / conference work (tech clients preferred).
• Look after both art and Know what makes a great hero visual and a great headline (and the magic that happens when these disciplines work in harmony).
• Consistently elevate the work with attention to detail and out-of-the-box solutions that add value to the creative output. Consider new materials, substrates, print techniques, textiles, decor and unconventional objects.
• Share industry and cultural trends with teams for inspiration
• Stay in-the-know about the experiential industry and adjacent industries in order to deepen subject matter expertise and foster exciting new solutions
• Demonstrate high proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Teams, as well as Google Meet, Chat, Slides, Drive, Sheets, Docs and any other tools relevant to the work.
• Actively own and manage Google Slides templates and decks for all projects with a high level of polish.
• Demonstrate expert level proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, with an emphasis on expert graphic design for all print and digital needs
• Demonstrate an ability to problem-solve software needs and learn new software as needed.

Nice To Haves

• Proficiency in After Effects or other motion graphics or video tools is a plus
• Proficiency in AI-based visuals tools (Midjouney, Gemini, Runway, etc) is a plus
• Familiarity with modeling and rendering tools is a plus
• Ability to create to-scale floor plans a plus

Responsibilities

• Own the brief. Initiate creative excellence by ensuring the brief is complete and sets the team up for success with clear objectives and a clear creative scope. Join early client calls, support Q+A sessions, ask for supporting documents or insights and flesh out the brief as needed to make sure the project starts from a solid foundation.
• Define the Lead the team in developing work that is on brief, on brand and fueled by intelligent insights. Collaborate expertly with strategists in this process.
• Understand how measurement, data collection and analysis, and storytelling with data can positively impact the work. Integrate key stats into case studies, recaps, and award submissions, always telling the story with factual grounding and impressive impact stats.
• Seek to consistently and relentlessly elevate the work. Develop concepts that meet the brief, consider the audience, leverage the best elements of the brand, and add value by pushing the creative in a bold direction.
• Understand that design is communication and work with team members to bring ideas to life both visually and verbally.
• Work with all team members to push and refine creative ideas and design solutions (before sharing with creative leadership or clients).
• Inspire and Deliver pitches and new ideas with both enthusiasm and grounding, winning over the hearts and minds of internal and external teams and giving momentum to the creative work.
• Expertly present ideas to teams and clients with compelling and strategic rationale, inventive design solutions, and a client-centric level of finesse. Be ready to field questions and defend creative choices (while also being understanding of the needs and the feedback).
• Create the work. Own your craft. Generate best-in-class design work that moves your projects forward and sets an example for the team.
• Understand project requirements (budget, timeline, etc) and help manage deliverables and quality control of all creative work to meet the overarching program goals.
• Work closely with producers, technical directors, printers, fabricators and other experiential and event experts to ensure creative solutions are executed to a high standard with consideration to the client brand, cohesion across the experience journey, and attention to all fit and finish
• Build an understanding of the client ecosystem with attention to the various departments and products we work on across the client’s org.
• Help yourself and your teammates “get smart” and strategic about the client’s brands and products on all projects in order to stay competitive.
• Make in roads with the Brand Design team, always building trust and fostering partnerships with these creative experts on the client side.
• Organize brand assets internally and help establish brand excellence and consistency across the account.
• Help manage, onboard, and collaborate with expert creative freelancers, creating space for all collaborators to thrive.
• Manage creatives at the intern, associate, designer and senior designer levels to nurture the growth of the full time team.
• Provide objective feedback on creative talent, supporting their growth and informing resourcing decisions for future work.
• Lead by example when it comes to research, casting, selection of assets, and support of inclusive narratives within the creative work.
• Work with talent, project leads and senior leadership to foster a culture where all voices are heard, respected and supported.
• Be an active voice for innovative thinking, finding opportunities to challenge convention, break the mold, explore new technologies, and forge into new territory.
• Collaborate with innovative experts in the realm of creative technology, interactive, lighting design, UX/UI, scenic / production design, content and video and other disciplines to push the creative work in exciting new directions.
• Express an interest and understanding in Artificial Intelligence and various AI tools as related to the client Experiment, generate, explore, share learnings and find excellent, thoughtful use cases for AI.

Benefits

• We make our careers website accessible to any and all users. If you need an accommodation to participate in the application process, please contact us at [email protected].

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed