Job Details

Overview

We are seeking a Design Director to lead our Branded Environments Design team. You will be responsible for creating and delivering premium, innovative, physical environments that provide truly unique experiences, exceeding the promise of the brief and fulfilling the design intent. Youll be making cool things for some of the worlds best brands. We value originality and unexpected solutions that deliver positive experiences and outcomes. Youll be responsible for creating a fresh vision that you will communicate to drive projects forward to inconceivable success. Youll be expected to constantly think of ways to elevate the client, the brand, the team, and the world. But you also know when its time to wrap things up and get it out the door.

As a Design Director, your role revolves around ideating, concepting, and constantly searching for ideas that will lift the projects. You must be collaborative, inclusive, and decisive. You are a multidisciplinary creative. This doesnt mean you know everything about everything, rather, you know how to craft a vision, and youre able to connect the right people to projects and direct them to get the best results, and you're not afraid of asking questions. Sometimes you're doing the work, and sometimes youre directing the team on multiple projects simultaneously. Youll also be presenting the agencys work directly to clients and helping guide them to the right answers.

Are you a proven creative leader who can effectively manage creative output, teams, and the humans that make up those teams, mentoring and encouraging the designers to reach their true potential? If so, then we need to talk.

Responsibilities

Lead and mentor a multidisciplinary design team to deliver premium branded environments from concept through installation. Present and defend design concepts to clients and internal stakeholders. Collaborate with clients, freelancers, and internal teams to ideate quickly and solve design problems. Build and communicate a clear design vision, guiding projects from concept to final delivery and installation. Manage multiple projects simultaneously, maintaining quality and timely delivery. Build pitches and presentations to sell ideas and concepts. Maintain a high standard of creative output and brand narrative across projects.

Qualifications

• You're able to collaborate on the fly with clients, freelancers, and internal teams and ideate quickly to solve deeper design problems.
• You seek to understand the problem to be solved before exploring solutions.
• You're adept at researching and crafting informed solutions and design directions.
• You see possibilities beyond the brief, and are always searching for unexpected, innovative design solutions.
• You work on building and preparing pitches and presentations to sell in ideas and concepts.
• You are able to see a project through from concepting through to final delivery and installation.
• You confidently and clearly present work and ideas to clients, and internal teams. Your presentation skills must be super solid.
• Youre a thinker and a doer, staying close to the work and never hesitating to roll up your sleeves to make great work happen.
• Youre a flexible team player, willing to jump in to help, even if its outside of your daily responsibilities.
• Youre fluent in brand language and understand how to craft a cohesive brand narrative and consumer journey.
• Youre comfortable working in and developing a variety of design styles.
• Youre dedicated to quality as well as timely delivery. We show up on time.
• We talk fast, we move fast. You need to do the same.
• Youre highly organized and able to manage multiple streams of communication.
• You have clear, concise communications skills.
• You understand how to manage a team to quickly get to great solutions and high quality design output.
• We work together as a team, and you understand how to work both as a team leader and a team player.
• You understand how to be diplomatic and strategic, able to defuse conflict and always find the way forward.
• You are an inspiring leader, and youre able to direct a multidisciplinary team on a variety of projects.
• You are the face of our brand and you present yourself with an air of kind professionalism.
• Youre adaptable to new technologies, platforms, and ways of working, and youre willing to grow and develop your skills and proficiency.
• You have an in-depth knowledge of Adobe Creative tools, Figma, and SketchUp.

Educational, Professional, and Technical Requirements

• Bachelors Degree in related field or equivalent experience.
• 4-6 years of professional conceptual design experience.
• Fluent with Apple creative tools.

About us

Were Plastic Sunshine, an independent strategic creative agency based in Portland. Were highly collaborative and multidisciplinary, with a wide variety of clients and capabilities. Thanks for stopping by. Maybe youre here out of curiosity, but our guess is that youre probably looking for something different, something more than just a job. A place where your job title is just the starting point a place where you can realize your true potential. If thats what youre after, then youve come to the right place.

Portland, Oregon Metropolitan Area