Senior Graphic Designer

Duties And Responsibilities

• Work closely with Creative Services Associate Director, Licensing team, Marketing and Brand managers in the development of creative assets.
• Support the Consumer Products Development teams ensuring alignment of brand and design vision for the Sonic the Hedgehog brand and Transmedia IP.
• Execute creative development for licensing consumer products trend and seasonal guides, product concept designs, marketing materials including printed material, emails, display banners, social media assets, seasonal and sales campaigns, event booth designs, website assets, presentation decks and other materials as needed.
• Provide constructive feedback to in-house creative team members, external contract media experts, creative agencies, illustrators, graphic designers, licensees and print vendors.
• Create and maintain brand guidelines and concept decks for Sonic the Hedgehog and Transmedia IPs across product lines, marketing, and social content.
• Provide full creative support to large-scale events including booth design, large displays, promotional items, and print and digital advertising.
• Develop creative assets for campaigns across multiple areas of the Sonic business.
• Deliver creative assets to internal partner organizations and external partners as required.
• Maintain full awareness of all aspects of the creative process, from concept to approval, working closely with the Creative Services Associate Director to ensure brand standards and deadline are met.
• Participate in design activities such as brainstorming and research sessions to support ongoing creative needs and brand development.
• Mentor designers by providing instructional technique demonstrations, encourage questions, providing recognition for strong work, and leading by example.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of creative templates and workflows to improve productivity and efficiency across the creative team.
• Champion and evolve the voice of the Sonic the Hedgehog brand for both core audiences and future generations of fans.
• Travel as necessary to meet project needs and attend industry related events.
• Conduct competitive analysis on design elements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Design or a related field required.
• Typically has 5-8+ years of hands-on experience in brand, consumer products, licensing, packaging, and graphic design.
• Experience working agency-side and/or client-side.
• Strong conceptual design skills with demonstrated experience in licensing products, trend guide, package design and design strategy.
• Experience designing across a range of product categories including apparel, bags, backpacks, bedding, bath accessories, food, beauty, and related consumer goods.
• Exceptional design taste with a strong understanding of design trends, fast fashion, and contemporary visual aesthetics.
• 360 brand design experience (i.e., print, color processing, packaging, digital).
• Proficient in Adobe products or other relevant applications (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign).
• Expert-level skills in Photoshop and Illustrator with the ability to transform concept illustrations into photo-realistic product imagery.
• Systems design thinker (packaging architecture and visual identity systems).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Highly collaborative and able to work well with cross-functional teams to deliver results while keeping others informed to avoid unnecessary surprises.
• Strong interest in and understanding of consumer products, gaming, anime, entertainment, toys, marketing & advertising trends of today’s media landscape, as well as how audiences engage with advertising.
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Illustration and motion graphics highly preferred.