melin Sr. Art Director

Title: Sr. Art Director

Reports to: VP of Creative

Location: In-Office (San Clemente, CA)

Status: Salaried Exempt

Range: $150k - $170k

Company Overview

At melin we believe that with more thought, time and care invested into how we make our products that we can actually extend the life of our hats and the adventures we take them on. We are looking to expand our internal family and are seeking one incredible human, capable of excellence in a fast-paced work environment and eager to join an elite, yet small team of “A players”.

Job Description

The Sr. Art Director leads the design half of melin’s Creative team and owns how the brand looks everywhere it shows up: campaigns, product launches, logos and product graphics, packaging, paid and social, melin stores, wholesale and corporate partners, licensing, and new markets. This role translates the brand vision into a working visual system (brand standards, templates and reviews) that the Content team’s studio and channel content follow, so that every asset is unmistakably melin as the volume of launches grows.

The Sr. Art Director sees every shoot through from start to finish: building the concept deck and mood boards, helping the Content Director plan the production, directing the photographers and videographers on set, then the treatment, layouts and deliverables that follow, working revisions with the team. The role directly manages the design team: the Associate Art Director and the Junior Graphic Designer. The studio, film, content and performance creative team reports to the Content Director and takes the Art Director’s visual direction. The role partners closely with the Content Director, the Project Manager (intake and briefs), Marketing, Product and DTC. The ideal candidate has built and held a brand system at a premium consumer brand, art directs confidently on set, gives fast and specific feedback, and ships on the date.

Key Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following

• Art direct every campaign and seasonal photoshoot from concept to delivery: build the concept deck and mood boards, plan the production with the Content Director, direct the photographers and videographers on set, then own selects, retouch and color
• Design the treatment, layouts and the design half of every launch kit and campaign on the GTM calendar: paid, social, site and email layouts, retail and wholesale pieces, delivered on the GTM date
• Own and evolve melin’s visual identity and brand standards: the brand book, the Visual DNA, the logo system and its usage rules, in partnership with the VP of Creative
• Create and steward melin’s logos and product graphics: seasonal logo waves, collab and partner lockups, corporate and custom-program logos, and the graphics on the product
• Own packaging and hang tags with Product and Production: seasonal hang-tag waves, boxes, labels and inserts, delivered on Product’s gates and on one brand standard
• Build, publish and maintain the Visual DNA template system and keep every new design asset on it
• Run the quarterly brand check across every channel and partner, and close the gaps
• Build the kits other teams run on: store-opening kits, regional localizations, sell-in tools for the sales meetings, show kits and mockup systems for Corporate Sales, custom and MPP templates, the licensing partner brand kit, and new-market toolkits
• Turn Product’s Get Full Credit brief into launch storytelling: the problem solved, the materials, the details, the named technology
• Directly manage and develop the design team (the Associate Art Director and the Junior Graphic Designer); run the weekly design review, the revision rounds and a development plan for each
• Plan the design lane inside the intake the Project Manager runs with the Content Director: a named designer and hours for every design request, a dated design brief for every launch
• Take the monthly creative-performance read the Content Director runs with DTC and Marketing, and feed what wins into the templates and the briefs

Experience & Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional brand and campaign design experience, with 2+ years leading designers; luxury lifestyle, headwear, apparel, footwear or outdoor brand preferred
• Demonstrated art direction of photo and video shoots from start to finish: concept decks and mood boards, production planning, directing photographers and videographers on set, selects, then the layouts
• A portfolio of brand systems held across ecommerce, retail, wholesale and partners, not only finished pieces, including logo and identity work
• Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma; exceptional typography, layout, logo design, branding, production design and packaging
• Experience creating print, packaging and retail assets from concept through final production: hang tags, boxes and labels, windows, in-store, sell sheets, catalogs
• Working knowledge of performance creative for paid channels and of ecommerce imagery standards
• Clear, fast feedback and the discipline to run a review; experience developing junior designers
• Strong communication and presentation skills; comfortable aligning with senior leadership and cross-functional partners
• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design or related discipline preferred
• Passion for premium products, craftsmanship, design, and building world-class brands