Jr. Art Director

Position: Jr. Art Director
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Status: Full-time; exempt
Compensation: Competitive salary DOE, Health, Dental, Vision, and matching 401k benefits, 3 weeks PTO, generous paid holiday schedule, weekly work from home days, mobile phone allowance, automobile allowance
Education: BA in Graphic Design, Visual Communications or related field, 3+ years of experience in a senior design role in an agency or client environment.

ABOUT OUR AGENCY:

Defero is a digital marketing agency with Headquarters in Phoenix, AZ.  We help brands create meaningful offline and online conversations with their customers.  Our current client roster includes local, regional, national and publicly traded entities across a wide spectrum of industry verticals. Each of our clients expect us to move the business needle towards their stated goals.  And we like to think this is a pretty rad place to work!

PRIMARY ROLE:

A Jr. Art Director at Defero doesn’t just push pixels or paint by numbers. You are a creative strategist above all else. You think first, and then you design. You take the essence of our clients’ brands and you create the right kind of material to make them shine for their audience. You work and play well within cross-disciplinary teams: account managers, designers, developers and more. A strong understanding of Adobe Creative suite is a must. A good background in brand messaging, voice and creative direction is a big plus. You have a good understanding of both digital and print. You are an outside-the-box thinker who can brainstorm campaigns, content, messaging and creative direction that makes sense for the client and business given the industry and competitors. A Jr. Art Director is confident in speaking and presenting in front of a client in a professional and knowledgeable manner. Jr. Art Directors at Defero can find themselves working on Brand Messaging, Creative Direction, Content Brainstorming, Social Media, Emails, Website builds, Video, Photography, Branding and more.

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:

  • Exceptional critical thinking, reasoning and creative thinking skills
  • Become intimately familiar with the needs of multiple brands and be able to design and think creatively to varying specifications based on individual client needs
  • Create designs and ideas across a variety of media based on creative briefing with clients and account managers
  • Strong understanding of design principles including typography, layout, etc.
  • Big idea thinking and brainstorming on how to position a client from a creative or messaging standpoint
  • Good background and understanding of Adobe Creative Suite
  • Knowledge of User Experience and responsive design principles in web design
  • Ability to take and give constructive criticism without ego or personal attachment
  • Ability to make sound design decisions and explain them to teams and clients
  • Perform under pressure and a fast-paced work environment
  • Work as a team member, work as a team leader
  • Work autonomously, but know when to ask for help
  • Meet deadlines, expectations and the highest quality assurance standards
  • Present ideas, designs, updates on projects, etc. to clients and account managers
  • Digest, retain and share the latest industry news and apply it to client projects as necessary
  • Create a fun, inspirational environment and mentor individuals in a fast paced and dynamic culture
  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills
  • Outstanding organizational skill
  • Impressive project and resource management
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Ability to speak in front of a group and lead conversation
  • Exceptional attention to detail

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:

Work hard, play hard is so cliché; but we are incredibly driven, and incredibly fun people, so maybe we can throw it out there one more time. We’re all on each other’s team and support one another fully. We love food. We love to dance. And we are incredibly passionate about strategic, integrated marketing (read: we’re kind of dorks). We hate divas, egos, and bad attitudes, so negative Nancys need not apply.

Please provide a cover letter, resume, and digital portfolio or work samples. Applicants missing any of these three items will not be considered.