Head of Brand, Creative Studio

Adobe•San Francisco, CA

3d•$128,100 - $289,900

About The Position

Adobe empowers everyone, everywhere to imagine, create and bring digital experiences to life. We are looking for curious, ambitious makers who want to help define world-class creativity in this new era. Adobe Creative is Adobe’s in-house brand-creative engine, developing the ideas, campaigns, and assets that power Adobe’s brand and business. We are part of the broader Content & Creative (“C&C”) organization. This is a role for a world-class brand designer, identity architect and systems builder with exceptional taste, craft and imagination. You will own Adobe's identity architecture and core brand system across an increasingly complex portfolio of products, audiences, experiences, and surfaces. You will ensure the brand remains distinctive, coherent and unmistakably Adobe while continually evolving. Working upstream, you will define the principles, visual codes and architecture of the brand. You will translate them into adaptive tools and machine-readable systems that can be applied consistently by internal teams, external partners, templates and AI-enabled workflows. Brand leadership at Adobe extends beyond static guidelines. It includes identity, typography, color, imagery, motion, digital behavior, spatial expression, portfolio architecture, governance and the role of AI in applying brands at scale.

Requirements

15+ years of experience in brand design, visual identity or multidisciplinary brand leadership.
A world-class portfolio of identity systems for iconic global brands.
Significant experience as a Design Partner, Executive Creative Director, Global Brand Design Director or equivalent.
Meaningful industry recognition through D&AD, The One Show, ADC, Cannes Lions or equivalent.
Exceptional taste, visual judgment and systems thinking.
A track record of building identity systems that are both beautifully designed and operationally rigorous.
Experience navigating portfolio architecture, product brands and complex global organizations.
Experience building or significantly transforming an in-house brand capability.
Deep expertise in identity, typography, color, image-making and motion, with strong fluency across digital, spatial and emerging brand practices.
Experience developing modular, adaptive or machine-readable brand systems.
Experience directing brand agencies, design studios and specialist partners.
Deep fluency with Adobe Creative Cloud, Firefly and generative AI workflows.
A clear point of view on how AI changes brand creation, governance and application.
A commanding presenter who can communicate the value of brand to senior executives.
A genuine and current understanding of culture, design, technology, art, fashion, entertainment and creator communities.
A track record of building multidisciplinary teams, developing future brand leaders and maintaining a high standard through speed, ambiguity and change.

Responsibilities

Own Adobe's identity architecture and core brand system.
Establish a clear point of view on what a modern, adaptive global brand should be in the age of AI.
Define the principles, visual codes and behaviors that make Adobe unmistakably Adobe.
Own the governing principles of Adobe's verbal identity, naming architecture, nomenclature and tone of voice, partnering with the Head of Copy on creative application.
Ensure the brand remains coherent across products, audiences and experiences without becoming rigid or predictable.
Build a system capable of supporting both flagship creative expression and everyday execution.
Continually evolve the brand based on culture, technology and the changing ways people create.
Build the identity frameworks, tools and working practices that enable teams to make strong brand decisions from the start.
Translate brand strategy into practical systems across typography, color, imagery, motion, composition, behavior and verbal principles.
Create modular and adaptive tools that support speed, scale and creative flexibility.
Move Adobe beyond static guidelines toward structured, machine-readable brand logic.
Partner with Creative Technology, Product, Production and Operations to embed brand principles into tools and workflows.
Turn learning from real-world applications into improvements to the system.
Lead the development and evolution of Adobe's corporate, portfolio and product brand expression.
Shape Adobe's most visible identity systems and brand expressions across products, campaigns and real-world moments.
Partner with the Head of Design to ensure Adobe's identity system is interpreted with exceptional craft, intelligence and imagination across Adobe Creative's work.
Partner with the Head of Copy to translate Adobe's verbal identity, naming principles, nomenclature and tone of voice into distinctive creative expression across Adobe Creative's work.
Partner with the Head of Campaigns to ensure campaign platforms stretch and advance the brand without fragmenting it.
Partner with Content and Experiences leaders so Adobe's brand system supports publishing and real-world expression with clarity and flexibility.
Ensure the system performs across digital, physical, spatial, motion and emerging AI-enabled surfaces.
Hold externally produced brand-system work to the same standard as internal brand work.
Build and lead Adobe's in-house team of Brand Design Directors, Art Directors, Brand Systems Designers and Brand Designers.
Build a strong leadership bench and clear pathways for makers to grow.
Recruit exceptional brand designers with diverse perspectives, strong craft and rigorous systems thinking.
Create a culture of high standards, experimentation, direct feedback and creative generosity.
Keep senior brand leaders close to the work and protect meaningful time for making.
Build flexible teams around identity, systems, expression and emerging brand needs.
Reduce dependence on external agencies for Adobe's core brand thinking and creative authorship.
Define Adobe Creative's point of view on how AI changes identity, governance and brand application.
Build brand systems that can be understood and applied by people, templates and AI-enabled workflows.
Establish principles for evaluating AI-assisted brand output through distinctiveness, coherence, craft and human judgment.
Define where automation can support scale and where human authorship and intervention remain essential.
Partner with Product as a creative customer zero, testing how brand logic can be embedded into emerging tools and experiences.
Ensure teams understand responsible AI, provenance, creator rights and Content Credentials.
Represent Adobe's brand system and identity in executive and cross-functional forums.
Translate identity and brand decisions into clear, actionable choices.
Advocate for brand to be involved earlier in product, portfolio and business decisions.
Connect brand distinction and coherence to recognition, trust, preference and long-term value.
Present work with clarity, confidence and conviction.