Brand Designer

About the role

The role is a contract position starting immediately, with the possibility of transitioning to full-time. The location is New York or remote (EST preferred). The contract rate is $80–$125/hr, and the full-time base salary range is $85,000–$125,000 (base).

Why This Role Exists

Founders need to move faster, spend more efficiently, and still deliver work that feels considered, credible, and differentiated. Modern brand design involves creating systems that carry intent forward as companies grow, teams change, and products evolve. This role focuses on delivering brand systems that work for both humans and machines.

About Little Plains

Little Plains is a modern brand and product studio that works primarily with early-stage companies, often from pre-launch through Series A. We operate as an embedded creative partner, building brand, product, and go-to-market work into cohesive systems that can scale as companies grow. Our work spans healthcare, biotech, SaaS, and consumer products.

What You Will Do

• Lead brand design on your projects end to end
• Create brand worlds from strategy through visual systems, not just surface-level identities
• Define brand DNA: typography, color, layout, motion, and structure that produce consistent yet flexible expression
• Design systems that translate across websites, products, content, and real-world use
• Think in systems, not just outputs
• Use AI tools to accelerate visual exploration and concept development without outsourcing the design decisions that require judgment
• Explore widely and quickly, then make clear, confident design decisions
• Work closely with strategy to align narrative and visual systems
• Collaborate with developers to ensure systems hold up in real builds
• Translate high-quality, hands-on design work into systems that scale over time

How We Work

Design is developed in context, alongside strategy, product, and interaction decisions. Work is shared through live artifacts and evolving systems, not static presentations. AI is part of how we work. We care more about the judgment you bring to it than the tools you are using.

The Bar for Craft

This role requires strong visual judgment, typographic rigor, and the confidence to make decisions. Systems should feel intentional, durable, and considered, not trendy or over-engineered.

What We're Looking For

• Demonstrated ability to build brand systems, not just logos or assets
• Strong instincts for typography, layout, and visual structure
• Can zoom in and zoom out: craft-level attention to detail while holding the macro vision
• Ranges from break the formula in exploration, then bring rigor and organization in production (workflows, files, handoff)
• Able to iterate, curate, and move quickly in sprint cadences
• Fluent in Figma and Adobe Creative Suite (motion and art direction experience is a plus)
• Excited to work in AI-informed workflows (e.g. Flora, Weavy, MidJourney, Claude, Paper) without outsourcing taste or judgment
• Able to take responsibility and move work forward

Benefits (Full-Time)

• Quarterly profit share tied to studio performance
• Equity participation for long-term team members
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (50% employer-covered)
• 15 days PTO (Year 1, increases by 2 days/year)
• One week paid office closure every summer
• Paid office closure between Christmas and New Year's
• Prenatal leave: 20 hours paid per year
• $1,000/year craft and tools stipend
• $200/month coworking stipend

What to Submit

• Resume or LinkedIn profile
• Portfolio showing brand systems across applications
• A short note on the kinds of brand problems you want to work on next

Equal Opportunity & Fair Chance

Little Plains is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law, including the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws. In accordance with the NYC Fair Chance Act, we consider applicants with criminal histories. Any background check will occur only after a conditional offer of employment has been made.