Art Director (Hybrid)

Location: New York, New York • Job Type: Contract

About the Role

Our client, a leading beauty and haircare brand, is seeking an Art Director to own and evolve their visual identity across every consumer touchpoint. Operating at the center of a fast-paced creative organization, you will lead the creative execution for major campaigns, multi-SKU product launches, e-commerce, and evergreen initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Brand Visual Identity: Own, evolve, and safeguard the brand's visual identity across digital, social, print, e-commerce, and retail environments while maintaining high standards of typography, color, and craft.
• Campaign & Asset Execution: Concept and execute multi-channel creative assets, including product launch dossiers, storyboards, digital media, and in-salon merchandising frameworks.
• On-Set Art Direction: Lead end-to-end photo and video production, managing pre-production planning, casting, styling, real-time on-set decisions, and post-production retouching.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner daily with copywriters, video teams, marketing leads, and project managers to translate complex product briefs into cohesive, performant creative solutions.
• Creative Strategy & Presentation: Pitch and defend bold visual concepts to senior leadership, strategically integrating feedback while keeping creative integrity intact across all platforms.
• Trend & Cultural Leadership: Infuse current trends from fashion, beauty, and the professional stylist community into creative executions to keep the brand culturally resonant.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience as an Art Director or Senior Designer in a high-volume, omnichannel environment.
• Outstanding portfolio highlighting expertise across digital, social, print, retail merchandising, and full-scale campaign work.
• Proven track record of art directing photo and video shoots from concept through final post-production delivery.
• Expertise in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma; working knowledge of modern AI-powered creative tools for ideation and visualization.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with experience managing external freelancers, photographers, and production crews.
• Beauty, fashion, or haircare industry experience strongly preferred, with a solid grasp of hair texture, shade systems, and salon dynamics.
• Must be able to work from client's NYC office 3 days per week.

Pay

$51 - 56 per hour

Benefits

• Medical, prescription, dental, and vision insurance
• AD&D and life insurance offerings
• Short-term disability
• 401K plan (all benefits are based on eligibility)