The Design Lead is responsible for conceptual development & execution of design projects in one account or group of small accounts, leads the successful implementation of design solutions for marketing/communication campaigns & digital experiences that benefit people & clients. By leading teams, aligning strategic direction with user needs & platform limitations, providing oversight & mentorship to other team members, having excellent interpersonal skills, passion for design & keeping high standards, the Design Lead drives project success, client satisfaction, inspires team members & builds our creative culture.

You will:

• Designs solutions that meet or exceed strategic objectives in a highly collaborative environment.
• Leads the creation of storyboards, mood-boards, initial visual concepts, design layouts, functional design solutions, site grids & UI demos to lead design project development.
• Leads visual design projects in all of the following areas: Print, Marketing Campaign, Social Media, Motion & Illustration.
• Directs & delegates to design team members.
• Understands, analyzes, & responds to client briefs & requests.
• Develops design estimates, directs proper casting for design projects & contributes on project allocation.
• Works closely with development teams to ensure that design specifications are implemented.
• Provides reliable quality assurance on all creative deliverables. Anticipates issues & flags situations that might impact quality or delivery success.
• Manages day-to-day communications with design stakeholders, partners, clients & offshore teams. Actively participates & leads calls & client meetings, handles IM & e-mail communication. Presents work during client presentations.
• Manages the success of a visual design scope, partnering with producers to make sure deadlines are met on schedule & on budget. Anticipates issues & flags situations that might impact quality or delivery success.
• Supervises & provide design direction to design team members to ensure design deliverables meet standards.
• Supports strategic brainstorming, design thinking & collaboration sessions, creative brief development & directs all stages of creative execution.
• Thinks creatively & justify concepts to clients & team members.
• Understands & applies the design thinking cycle to projects when is appropriate.
• Balances strategic development with client objectives.

You have: 

• Advanced English Proficiency (C1).
• 6+ yrs. experience in advertising agencies, digital agencies, design agencies, and/or startups.
• Strong design portfolio including pieces for international clients.
• Experience leading projects & teams on print, visual design, digital marketing, social media, illustration & motion areas, preferably for international clients & global brands.
• Solid understanding of interactivity & animation principles & best practices.
• Solid understanding of visual design principles, trends, systems & structures.
• Solid understanding of UX principles, trends & theory.
• Understanding of digital marketing, online advertising & business strategy concepts.
• Experience creating user interfaces for digital products.
• Ability to design & implement visual design processes & standards with a strategic approach. Ability to manage the success of a visual design scope, schedule & budget. 
• Extensive knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, & Figma.
• Solid knowledge of Keynote, PowerPoint, After Effects.
• Knowledge of Adobe Animate, HTML5 animation, Zeplin, Abstract, Principle.
• Knowledge of productivity tools: MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook), remote collaboration tools (Slack, Zoom, Drive, Box, Paper, Evernote) & workflow management tools (Jira, Trello, Asana, Basecamp).
• Knowledge of design systems frameworks such as Material Design & Human Interface Guidelines.
• Understanding of CMS & frameworks such as: Bootstrap, Foundation, Wordpress, AEM or any others.

What We Offer:

• Competitive benefits packages
• Vacation, compassionate leave, sick days, & flex days
• Access to online services for families & new parents
• End of year closure days (not deducted form vacation balance)
• Diversity & Inclusion Board with 12 affinity groups
• Internal learning & development programs
• And more

At Critical Mass, we value our employees & offer competitive compensation & benefits packages.  If youre looking for a challenging & rewarding opportunity to make a significant impact on the lives of our employees, we encourage you to apply for this exciting position today!

The Talent Team at Critical Mass is focused on ensuring we provide the best training, onboarding, & employee experience possible! Our new hires & employees are the future of our organization, & we want to set you up for long-term success. 

About Us: 

Critical Mass is a team of 1,500 inspired folks based in 12 offices around the world, providing full-service digital capabilities for the greatest brands on Earth. Our secret sauce is our uncompromising design standards, our relentless focus on customers, & an ability to put powerful new technologies to work for our clients.

We work with the bestApple, Nike, Diageo, Airbnb, BMW, BNY Mellon, Johnson & Johnson, & many morebrands who strive for connected digital ecosystems & unparalleled experiences. We help them get there by gaining deep insight into their consumers & orchestrating data, AI, design, media, & tech stacks around human stories.

Were a global agency founded in Canada, but digital is our home. If you know us, then you know were a special, quirky place that attracts big talent & tiny egos. (We actually give out a so f-n nice awardlots of them). But just because were friendly doesnt mean were not a force to be reckoned with. Were driven. Relentless. And we live our values. Were Critical Mass, but our friends call us CM. Please call us CM!

Our Values: 

• Honest - Tell the trust & make courageous choices
• Driven - Never stop trying
• Real - Never be fake
• Equal - Treat each other as equals always
• Purposeful - Make the world a better place
• Inspired - Listen & engage