Director, Art Direction West North America

Nike • Los Angeles, CA

31d • Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Art Direction for North America Brand Creative leads multidisciplinary teams across multiple projects, partnering with senior leadership, creative directors, experience directors, narrative leads, studio managers, and producers to deliver innovative, well-crafted creative work. They champion design excellence across mediums, ensuring every output reflects Nike’s commitment to performance, product innovation, athlete storytelling, and cultural relevance. This role involves presenting to senior leadership with clarity and confidence, while coaching and developing emerging designers. The Director brings a deep connection to contemporary culture—sport, design, art, fashion, youth culture—and uses this awareness to drive breakthrough ideas. They will lead art direction for Nike North America, partnering with senior leadership to shape and deliver the region’s visual identity. They will guide design teams across mediums—visual systems, campaigns, photography, film, digital, and experiential—ensuring all work reflects Nike’s innovation, diversity, and cultural relevance. This role involves developing, refining, and delivering multiple visual direction systems for North America and LA in partnership with senior creative leaders, and driving NA art direction with design teams through inspiration, execution, mentorship, and clear creative guidance. They will deliver outstanding concepts, visual centres, project guidelines, photography, film content, digital design, social assets, and consumer experiences. They will build and maintain relationships with top creative partners: agencies, photographers, filmmakers, illustrators, typographers, designers, 3D artists, writers, and more. They will partner with cross-functional leaders to strategically identify and manage external creative talents. They will define and elevate art direction for NA video and photography across categories, ensuring work is on-brand, diverse, culturally resonant, and fiscally responsible. They will foster a culture of creative “firsts” and breakthrough thinking, and stay current with trends in sport, fashion, design, art, film, culture, media, and technology. Collaboration with Brand Voice, Photography, Styling, Marketing, Digital, Retail, Product Design, and Concepts teams throughout the creative process is essential. Ensuring all projects are well-planned, creatively exceptional, and delivered on time is a key responsibility. Support talent development through coaching, feedback, and performance management is also part of the role. The company offers accommodations for the interview process, including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single location for in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications as needed. Candidates requiring assistance or accommodation due to a disability should complete the Candidate Accommodation Request Form.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in product, brand, or marketing within a major brand or agency
• Bachelor’s degree in design or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education and experience, and training.
• Deep passion and knowledge of North American sport, athletes, and the cultural landscape.
• Ability to evolve and elevate North America and LA focused art direction in partnership with the creative team.
• Lead, inspire, and coach young designers, fostering growth and creative excellence.
• Build visual worlds and deliver best-in-class art direction for campaigns rooted in sport, athlete-entertainer storytelling, and product innovation.
• Oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of high-quality creative work from concept through final execution.
• Present creative concepts with strong storytelling, clarity, and stage presence.
• Maintain uncompromising standards of quality, consistency, and innovation.
• Highly proficient in design, typography, image-making, and retouching using Adobe Creative Suite and tools such as Figma.
• Cultivate strong relationships with external creative partners—agencies, photographers, directors, 3D artists, designers, animators, writers, illustrators, and more.
• Stay ahead of trends across sport, fashion, subculture, music, design, retail, film, technology, AI, and social media to ensure creative relevance.
• Partner with cross-functional leaders to strategically identify and manage external creative talents.
• Define and elevate art direction for NA video and photography across categories, ensuring work is on-brand, diverse, culturally resonant, and fiscally responsible.
• Foster a culture of creative “firsts” and breakthrough thinking.
• Stay current with trends in sport, fashion, design, art, film, culture, media, and technology.
• Collaborate closely with Brand Voice, Photography, Styling, Marketing, Digital, Retail, Product Design, and Concepts teams throughout the creative process.
• Ensure all projects are well-planned, creatively exceptional, and delivered on time.
• Support talent development through coaching, feedback, and performance management.

Nice To Haves

• 3D or motion knowledge is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead multidisciplinary teams across multiple projects.
• Partner with senior leadership, creative directors, experience directors, narrative leads, studio managers, and producers to deliver innovative, well-crafted creative work.
• Champion design excellence across mediums, ensuring every output reflects Nike’s commitment to performance, product innovation, athlete storytelling, and cultural relevance.
• Present to senior leadership with clarity and confidence.
• Coach and develop emerging designers.
• Drive breakthrough ideas using awareness of contemporary culture (sport, design, art, fashion, youth culture).
• Lead art direction for Nike North America, shaping and delivering the region’s visual identity.
• Guide design teams across mediums—visual systems, campaigns, photography, film, digital, and experiential.
• Develop, refine, and deliver multiple visual direction systems for North America and LA.
• Drive NA art direction with design teams through inspiration, execution, mentorship, and clear creative guidance.
• Deliver outstanding concepts, visual centres, project guidelines, photography, film content, digital design, social assets, and consumer experiences.
• Build and maintain relationships with top creative partners: agencies, photographers, filmmakers, illustrators, typographers, designers, 3D artists, writers, and more.
• Partner with cross-functional leaders to strategically identify and manage external creative talents.
• Define and elevate art direction for NA video and photography across categories.
• Foster a culture of creative “firsts” and breakthrough thinking.
• Stay current with trends in sport, fashion, design, art, film, culture, media, and technology.
• Collaborate closely with Brand Voice, Photography, Styling, Marketing, Digital, Retail, Product Design, and Concepts teams throughout the creative process.
• Ensure all projects are well-planned, creatively exceptional, and delivered on time.
• Support talent development through coaching, feedback, and performance management.

Benefits

• Accommodations for interview process including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single location for in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications as needed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director