Design Director

At AKQA, we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to create beautiful ideas, products and services. With an entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, we design adaptive digital services and experiences that capture the imagination, delivering impressive returns for our clients. 

Creatives at AKQA apply artistry and craftsmanship to strategic insight, to create and bring to life beautiful ideas that move the world. As a member of the AKQA Creative department you will influence changes in consumer behaviour through ideas, creativity and the use of technology. 

As Design Director you will be a visionary in the creation of artistic craft. You will craft work that raises the level for design within the industry. You will reach beyond your department to influence excellence across the studio. Your impact will be measured across brand design, digital experiences, typography, motion and interaction. You will collaborate with other disciplines to imagine and build best-in-class products and services.

You will inspire, mentor and elevate the designers under your care within the Design discipline. You will lead by example - and champion the discipline in the wider agency and beyond. 

You will be an expert in the craft of design, an advocate of the latest thinking in design systems and design methodology, passionate about the art of design and the science of human behaviour. 

You will be future-facing, ahead of the latest developments, interested in emerging technologies, driven to help build the future.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

• Deliver and inspire award-winning work from your team, influencing change through ideas, creativity and the use of interactive media.
• Hold design excellence as the pinnacle, in both your own practice and through the elevation of the wider creative team.
• Consistently deliver a number of successful solutions and high-quality work to clients on time.
• Immerse within the client’s business. Identify, understand and overcome commercial and internal challenges to inspire and deliver effective solutions that consider the holistic needs of the brand.
• Contribute to strategic development of a well-defined creative brief and any additional briefing documents, speaking with client directly where necessary.
• Lead by example to consistently inspire creative colleagues to originate world-class, pioneering ideas that conceptualise world-class solutions.
• Generate useful, usable ideas across all existing and emerging digital platforms.
• Set design direction and offer hands-on guidance throughout client team projects.
• Inspire clients with opportunities, growing partnerships organically through both ideas and successes
• Learn new skills and stay abreast of technical and digital design developments, and successfully apply them to work practices to help improve processes and procedures.
• Display a cohesive understanding and execute principles that make innovative and effective digital communications, interface design and interaction design.
• Creatively lead new business pitches. Be responsible for ideas and creative work, and competently present pitches.
• Develop strategies to build a climate of trust, openness and respect; forges strong relationships to drive successful outcomes.
• Represent AKQA by delivering talks, connecting with new talent, and inspiring the next generation of creatives.
• Execute world-class innovative and effective digital communications, interface design and interaction design experiences across all digital platforms.

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS

• Fluent in English, both written and spoken.
• Extensive experience working at a Design Director level with a focus on digital, platform and product design in a similar agency environment or design studio.
• Demonstrate creative success in leading collaborative teams, including project planning, to winning a number of industry-recognised awards.
• Considerable experience of European and Global projects.
• Experience developing/leading client relationships.
• Proven track record generating new business.
• Exceptional information presentation (visual and written) experience.
• Experience in, and enthusiasm for, creating digital platforms and products from brief to delivery and beyond.
• Experience in side-by-side collaboration with UX and development teams and leaders
• A strong track record in large-scale project planning, including accurate estimation of costs and timing, with limited overruns.
• Expert knowledge of user interface, application, mobile and responsive design, using the latest prototyping and design tools.
• Experience with Figma/Sketch, Creative Cloud complimented with traditional print applications.
• Understanding of digital Design Systems, design processes and front-end implementation.
• A strong grasp and understanding of brands and their visual impact on culture.
• Creating or redesigning or refreshing a distinct identity for a product or service or company is preferred.
• Keen attention to detail and understanding of brand strategy and design.  
• Expertise of branding and understanding design in a way that it can be relayed effectively through all components of a brand.
• Expertise in detailed aspects of the role, such as naming conventions, colour logic, font pairing and recommendations etc.
• Creation of presentations to share conceptual thinking and proposals.
• Experience of Art Directing photography, illustration, typography and animation.

Explore our extensive range of benefits here.

AKQA is an Equal Opportunities Employer, we believe that diversity is vital to AKQA’s ability to provide our clients with the best recommendations and are committed to fostering a varied and inclusive work environment. Your race, colour, ancestry, religion, gender, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or veteran status have no bearing on our hiring decisions. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.