VCUarts Graphic Designer

Virginia Commonwealth University•Richmond, VA

9d•$62,000 - $68,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts) seeks a Graphic Designer to produce visual communications across print, digital and web platforms. As a member of the VCUarts Office of Communications, the Graphic Designer reports to and works in close collaboration with the Art Director. The Graphic Designer turns concepts into finished work—publications, direct mail, social and digital graphics and web assets—that supports the School's recruitment, development and communications goals for prospective and current students, families, alumni, faculty, staff and donors. This position is responsible for ensuring all design work has a consistent visual identity across all VCUarts materials. The Graphic Designer regularly collaborates with all members of the VCUarts Communications and Marketing team and maintains a collaborative partnership with colleagues in the VCUarts Qatar Office of Communications. In addition, as a communications and marketing professional, the Graphic Designer will collaborate closely with VCU Enterprise Marketing and Communications to align content, storytelling and brand positioning with institutional priorities and standards. The Graphic Designer works in concert with and can direct the work of student workers, interns, or hourly staff assigned to design projects.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications or a related field (B.F.A. preferred), or academic qualifications, professional experience, and technical training that equates to a Bachelor’s degree.
2+ years of professional design experience with demonstrated growth in responsibility and complexity of work.
Experience working with a creative/art director, as well as copywriters, photographers, etc.
Demonstrated knowledge of typography, layout, print production, and design for web and digital platforms and an exceptional attention to detail.
Experience using established brand guidelines in the development and design of projects with evidence of this experience and skill in professional portfolio.
Working proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) and Microsoft Office or Google Workspace.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate design choices to a wide audience of stakeholders.
Proven ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines independently in a fast-paced environment.
Portfolio demonstrating strong design work across print, digital and web platforms.
Demonstrated experience working in and fostering an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all background and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Nice To Haves

3–5 years of professional design experience.
Experience with Figma or a comparable prototyping tool (e.g., Adobe XD, Sketch).
Experience designing within a CMS such as WordPress.
Experience working for a national brand.
Experience working with a digital asset management platform (uploading, searching, tagging and downloading photo assets).
Experience working in higher education, an art school or another mission-driven or creative institution.
Experience working in a large, complex organization in a decentralized team.
Experience in illustration, animation, photo editing or motion graphics.

Responsibilities

Conceptualize and design compelling and polished layouts for magazines, viewbooks, direct mail pieces, posters, advertisements, event materials, signage and environmental graphics.
Propose and present concepts to the creative team and/or internal clients. Receive constructive feedback from clients and marketing leadership.
Manage production schedules and communicate directly with external print vendors and travel locally to meet with vendors, review proofs and perform press checks as needed.
Prepare accurate production ready files for print and digital output, ensuring correct formatting (color profiles, resolution, bleed, accessibility compliance). Perform detailed proofreading and quality checks, reviewing content, image quality, and layout integrity before final file release.
Design graphics for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms used by VCUarts and its programs, adapting campaign assets across formats and aspect ratios.
Build, improve and maintain email marketing templates and campaign graphics for recruitment, admissions, and development communications.
Design digital ads, signage for on-screen displays, and other motion-adjacent graphics as needed.
Collaborate with the VCUarts Social Media Manager to develop graphics for static and video social media campaigns.
Design and update web graphics and page layouts within the School's content management system (WordPress).
Create wireframes and prototypes in Figma to plan new page layouts or web features in collaboration with the web team.
Apply responsive design and accessibility standards (WCAG guidelines, color contrast, alt text, legible type at scale) across all digital and web work.
Participate in project kickoffs, brainstorms and development processes, contributing creative design input, suggestions and ideas.
Use project management software (Asana) to efficiently balance multiple concurrent projects and deadlines across offices and departments within the School of the Arts.
Plan and coordinate photo and video shoots with in-house and external photographers and videographers as needed.
Maintain an organized archive of files and past project assets on the Communications team shared drive.