We are the UK's leading premium publisher, home to iconic and influential media brands including Esquire, Men's & Women's Health, ELLE, Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, Digital Spy, Cosmopolitan, Red and more. At Hearst UK, we don't just create content – we shape culture.
Our workplace is driven by passion, shaped by authenticity and powered by creativity. We back bold ideas, act with an entrepreneurial mindset and continually evolve to meet the moment - while respecting the legacy that's brought us here. We believe in each other's potential and push boundaries together to create meaningful impact, both across the media landscape and in people's lives.
We're proud of our heritage - but even more excited about making history.
Hearst UK operates an in office policy with flexible Friday's. Our office is based at House of Hearst, 30 Panton Street, St James's, London, SW1Y 4AJ, where teams collaborate in person and connect across brands and functions.
Freelance Rate – The freelance rate will be dependent on experience and the scope and requirements of individual projects.
The Role…
As Freelance Art Director, you will be responsible for developing and delivering the visual direction of branded content campaigns across Hearst Made, creating high-quality work that brings creative strategy and client briefs to life.
Reporting to the Commercial Creative Director, you will work across print, digital, social and video, developing visual concepts and taking projects from initial creative development through to final execution.
Working closely with Creative Strategists, Producers, Project Managers and editorial teams, you will create treatments, moodboards, visual references and creative mock-ups, as well as art directing stills and video shoots where required.
You’ll combine strong creative instincts with a hands-on approach to design and art direction, adapting ideas across different Hearst brands and ensuring commercial content feels authentic to each brand while delivering against the client brief.
You may also support the design and visual execution of Hearst Made marketing and brand communications, contributing to a consistently high standard of creative work across the team.
Main Duties…
- Develop and deliver visual concepts – Translate creative strategies and client briefs into engaging visual ideas and executions across print, digital, social and video.
- Art direct and design commercial campaigns – Take ownership of the visual execution of assigned projects, creating work that is visually strong, commercially effective and authentic to the relevant Hearst brand.
- Art direct stills and video shoots – Create treatments, moodboards and visual references and oversee the visual execution of shoots from pre-production through to final delivery.
- Develop pitches and creative concepts – Collaborate with Creative Strategists to create visual references, mock-ups and treatments that effectively bring ideas to life for clients.
- Create across Hearst brands – Design and art direct content that reflects the individual identity, audience and editorial standards of brands across the Hearst portfolio.
- Collaborate on creative delivery – Work closely with Producers, Project Managers, editorial teams and other creatives to deliver projects on time, within budget and to a high creative standard.
- Work with creative contributors – Brief and collaborate with photographers, illustrators, stylists and other external talent to deliver the visual requirements of individual projects.
- Respond to creative feedback – Work through client and stakeholder feedback and amends, finding creative solutions while maintaining the quality and integrity of the work.
What We Are Looking For…
- Proven experience as an Art Director or in a similar creative role across editorial, branded content, agency or commercial environments, with a strong portfolio demonstrating work from concept through to delivery.
- Strong hands-on art direction and design skills, with experience working across print, digital, social and video.
- Experience art directing stills and video shoots and developing treatments, moodboards, visual references and creative presentations.
- Excellent visual judgement and storytelling skills, with the ability to translate briefs and creative strategy into engaging, commercially effective work.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with confidence working with clients, stakeholders and multidisciplinary creative and editorial teams.
- Highly organised, adaptable and comfortable working across multiple briefs and deadlines in a fast-paced creative environment.
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, with the ability to quickly understand different brand identities and create work that feels authentic to each Hearst brand.
Skills Required
- Proven experience as an Art Director or in a similar creative role across editorial, branded content, agency, or commercial environments
- A strong portfolio demonstrating work from concept through delivery
- Hands-on art direction and design skills across print, digital, social, and video
- Experience art directing stills and video shoots
- Experience developing treatments, moodboards, visual references, and creative presentations
- Excellent visual judgment and storytelling skills
- Ability to translate briefs and creative strategy into engaging, commercially effective work
- Strong communication and collaboration skills with clients, stakeholders, and multidisciplinary teams
- Ability to work across multiple briefs and deadlines in a fast-paced creative environment
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite
- Ability to understand different brand identities and create authentic brand-aligned work
Hearst Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Hearst and has not been reviewed or approved by Hearst.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical plan choice, full in-network preventive coverage, dental and vision, telemedicine, prescription coverage, and fertility resources. Mental-health resources and other wellbeing services (e.g., therapy sessions, crisis support, virtual physical therapy, and chronic-condition programs) further strengthen the health offering.
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Retirement Support — Retirement support is positioned as meaningful through a 401(k) plan with company matching and Hearst covering plan administration fees. Performance bonuses are also noted as available in some roles, adding an additional rewards component beyond base pay.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off benefits include paid holidays, paid sick days, and vacation time with a commonly cited annual range, alongside paid parental leave and family medical leave. A remote work program and flexibility signals are also included as part of the overall rewards experience.
Hearst Insights
What We Do
Hearst is a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; global financial services leader Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; transportation assets including CAMP Systems International, a major provider of software-as-a-service solutions for managing maintenance of jets and helicopters; 33 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, which reach a combined 19 percent of U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York); more than 300 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Men's Health and Car and Driver, and digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA; and investments in emerging digital entertainment companies such as Complex Networks.
