Design Director

Job Title: Design Director

Location: New York, NY

Salary: $130-140k

Position Overview:
The Design Director will play a pivotal role in shaping the visual identity and creative direction of the Bubble brand. You’ll lead a talented team of designers and collaborate closely with marketing, product development, and executive leadership to ensure cohesive, impactful design that aligns with our mission and resonates with a global audience. Your leadership will drive the creative excellence that supports our product launches, digital presence, packaging, and overall brand experience.

The Design Director reports to the VP of Brand.

Key Responsibilities:

• Creative Leadership: Lead and inspire the design team to produce innovative, on-brand, and best-in-class design across all touchpoints (packaging, digital, print, packaging, retail, etc.). 
• Be a clear delegator, knowing when to join in to be hands-on.
• Management: Mentor and guide the design team, providing feedback and fostering a collaborative, innovative, and growth-oriented environment. Be someone who motivates our junior people, someone for them to look up to and learn from. 
• Have a very strong point of view, being open to other people’s ideas. 
• Brand Vision & Strategy: Collaborate with the VP of Brand & Creative to define and evolve Bubble’s creative vision, ensuring consistency and clarity across global markets. Be a master of our audience and the category, with strong ideas as to how Bubble can continue to evolve the brand.
• Empathetic Design Philosophy: Maintain a strong focus on the consumer experience, ensuring that our designs resonate with our target audience and enhance the customer journey, both online and offline.
  • Be an expert in our audience, demonstrating expertise in strategic design over personal taste.
• Craft & Design Execution: You are a master of your craft, with a strong ability to weigh in on the other creative disciplines. You will oversee the design and development of key brand assets, including packaging, website, retail displays, experiences.
• Stay on top of industry trends, emerging design technologies, and consumer insights to ensure Bubble’s design language remains fresh, modern, and competitive.
• Quality Control: Ensure all design materials meet the highest standards of quality, consistency, and attention to detail, and uphold brand guidelines across all channels.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with product, retail, marketing, and e-commerce teams to ensure seamless execution of design across all platforms and touchpoints.
• Bring your presence, to develop as a creative leader who’s starting to master great communication skills. 
• Maintain a high standard for the work, no matter the timelines or restrictions
• Adaptable: Collaborative work style You can adapt to every situation and challenge, and you’re very comfortable with ambiguity, creating clear paths forward for the larger design team.
• Initiative: You are business-oriented, understanding the impact of design. You push projects forward without hand-holding or play-by-play instructions.

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience, with at least 3-5 years managing a design team. 
• A strong portfolio demonstrating experience working on modern CPG brands across various mediums, including 3D, packaging, digital, and print.
• Expertise in design software, including Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Sketchup, and other relevant tools.
• A deep understanding of user-centered design principles and experience creating engaging consumer experiences, particularly for a global audience.
• Proven ability to work in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving environment while maintaining a high level of creativity and attention to detail.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate design concepts and strategies to both creative and non-creative stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of print, retail environments, digital marketing, e-commerce, and social media best practices as they relate to design and brand identity.