Lead Designer
| Department: | Client Facing |
|---|---|
| Location: | United States |
| Posted: | 14 February 2019 |
Description
?What If! drives human-powered experimentation engines, partnering with businesses to solve their most difficult problems in an innovative way. We provide the safe adventure that helps to de-risk ideas, accelerate impact, and empower people and organizational transformation by using the best mechanism of learning in the world — experimentation. At ?What If!, “Design to Learn / Design to Launch” is the driving philosophy behind our approach to design, ensuring we create impact through experimentation and impact in the real world. We Design to Learn by creating concepts and visuals to test with consumers, and Design to Launch by iterating designs based on deep human insights to launch them into the world for our clients. This means you’ll not only be bringing ideas to life through design, but will also have a hand in developing the value proposition and strategy behind the design.
We’re looking for a Lead Designer to join our New York office and lead a team of passionate designers in creating breakthrough work for clients. As a Lead Designer, you’ll be a champion of our Design to Learn / Design to Launch philosophy, driving projects forward through our experimentation-led approach. With a knack for understanding human insights, you’re equally strong at strategic thinking as you are designing and can naturally flex between the two disciplines. You can clearly articulate an experimental approach to design and are comfortable communicating our business offering and methodology to clients. In addition to managing multiple projects simultaneously, you support and inspire our design team through day-to-day collaboration, direction, and planning of deliverables, while also investing in their career and talent development.
Requirements
You will:
- Create audacious, breakthrough work backed up by strategic thinking
- Design concepts and deliverables in a variety of media, including but not limited to print (e.g. books, packaging, brand identities) and digital (e.g. websites, apps, products)
- Effectively communicate concepts, ideas, and design rationale, both verbally and visually
- Cultivate and maintain strong client relationships and internal relationships
- Effectively sell the value of our design to bring in new business on projects, proposals, and pitches
- Communicate your full understanding of the ?What If! methodology to current and prospective clients
- Be an advocate for exceptional design and a trusted partner to the business, including our clients, Directors, and Lead Inventors
- Oversee the design team and manage simultaneous projects from start to finish
- Act as a thought partner to the Creative Director and a mentor to the design team
- Support and inspire team members by actively investing in their career and talent development
- Lead design critiques and provide direction to senior, mid-level, and junior Designers
- Work with internal teams to effectively scope project timelines, budgeting, and resourcing
You have:
- 7-10 years of design industry experience
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in graphic design, visual arts, or an equivalent degree
- Compelling design portfolio demonstrating extensive experience across print and digital media, including digital product design and development
- Experience managing a team of designers as well as freelancers in both design and related industries (e.g. illustration, industrial design, architecture, digital developers, copywriters)
- Strong leadership and people management skills with a proven ability to mentor junior team members
- Exceptional interpersonal and client management skills
- Proven aptitude for quick creative problem solving and sharp attention to detail within a fast-paced work environment
- Experience in digital prototyping with a comprehensive understanding of UI/UX design
- Strong verbal, written, and visual presentation skills, demonstrating an ability to clearly articulate ideas and present work both internally and in front of clients
- Fluency in industry-standard design applications (i.e. Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Sketch, InVision, PowerPoint)
Benefits
?What If! is an innovation company and we help organizations engineer themselves to become future ready by transforming them into Experimentation Engines. We believe that in a world changing so fast, the most valuable capability will be experimentation and the winners will be those who test and learn the fastest. Who can ‘do’, not just ‘think’.Our values are embedded in our DNA and inform all of our decision making, not the least of which is recruitment.