Art Director
- Salary: $80,000 - $90,000
- Location: Remote (within 4 hours of Mountain Standard Time)
- Reports to: Founder
Position Overview
Do you always make the flyers for the organization you volunteer for? Is it physically impossible for you to design anything without understanding the goal of a project? Are you at a point in your career where you’re ready and excited to mentor younger designers? If that’s you, then you might be a great fit for this role!
As the first full-time Art Director at Common Guild, you will be responsible for helping our clients bring their missions to life. Since we’re a small team, the earlier stages of your role will be heavily focused on design execution. You’ll be designing brands, websites, landing pages, and marketing materials for a wide range of clients in the nonprofit space. As we grow, you’ll also be responsible for mentoring and guiding other designers, leading design strategy work, and guiding the expansion of our design team.
These are just a few of the ways you might spend your time on a given day:
- Meeting with a client in the harm reduction space to discuss their feedback on moodboards for their new brand
- Designing a landing page for an end of year giving campaign for a donor network
- Creating a pitch deck that we’ll use internally for presenting to potential clients
- Talking about your favorite video game or what you’re currently reading during our weekly team meeting
- Reviewing and giving feedback on work created by freelancers or junior designers
- Documenting our design processes and training other designers on it
- Helping a project manager brainstorm a creative solution to a client’s deadline
Note: We're primarily focused on finding the right person to join our team. We're open to adjusting roles, responsibilities, compensation, and title for the right candidate.
About Common Guild
Common Guild is a creative agency specializing in brand design, website development, and strategic communications for nonprofits and social impact organizations. Our clients include harm reduction organizations, education nonprofits, advocacy groups, and social justice foundations. We are here to help organizations tell their stories, build their communities, attract sustainable funding - and to have fun while we're doing it.
Key Responsibilities
Design (75%):
- Lead and execute brand identity, web design, and general graphic design projects
- Develop creative strategies that align with client missions and organizational goals
- Present design concepts and strategic thinking to clients and stakeholders
- Ensure creative excellence across all work
Leadership (25%):
- Mentor team members in their professional growth and skill development
- Foster a collaborative creative culture that encourages excellence
- Contribute to agency processes and creative culture
- Dedicate (paid) time to improving your skills
Required Qualifications
- 5-7 years of design experience with some formal or informal leadership experience
- Strong portfolio demonstrating strategic thinking, conceptual development, and creative leadership across brand, digital, and print
- Expert knowledge of design principles, typography, color theory, and visual storytelling
- Experience with Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and Canva
- Ability to think strategically about brand positioning and creative problem-solving
- Located within 4 hours of Mountain Standard Time for collaboration purposes
- Willing to travel once or twice a year for team meetings
Preferred Qualifications
- 1-3 years of leadership experience
- Experience at an agency or in client-facing creative roles
- Experience with design systems thinking and creating scalable brand frameworks
- Understanding of web design, UX principles, and digital best practices
- Familiarity with HTML/CSS and working collaboratively with developers
- Background in community organizing, advocacy, or non-profit work
Portfolio Requirements
Please submit a portfolio demonstrating:
- Strategic creative leadership across multiple projects from concept through completion
- Brand identity work that shows strategic thinking and conceptual depth
- Examples of how you've guided teams or evolved creative work through feedback
- Digital and print design work showing range and creative excellence
- Bonus points if you can show experience with nonprofit client work
We love portfolios that show how you think and how you work, not just gorgeous shots of completed work. Give us the dirt! Show us the behind the scenes. We care more about how you got to a final product than the product itself.
Compensation & Benefits
- Salary Range: $80,000 - $90,000 per year. Final salary to be determined based on experience, location, and finalized job description
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Unlimited PTO (subject to manager approval, starting at 90 days from hire date)
- Summer Fridays: We take Fridays off during June, July, and August
- Opportunity to create meaningful work for organizations creating social change
- Remote-first work environment with collaborative team culture
- Professional development based on your individual career goals and leadership aspirations
Application Process
To apply, please submit your resume, cover letter, and portfolio demonstrating the requirements outlined above.
Don't meet every requirement? We still encourage you to apply. Please describe any areas where you lack experience so we can assess how to best support your growth. Our priority is hiring the right person for our team, even if you don't check every qualification box.