Volunteer Art Director — AI Apps & Games for Better Human Communication

What We Do

Crossing Party Lines (CPL) provides opportunities, training, and support for civil, respectful discourse between Americans with dissimilar ideologies. Our primary offering is the CPL meetup, regularly scheduled, facilitated meetings to which all are welcome. At our meetups, attendees discuss current hot topics while facilitators focus the meetings to teach and model skills and create a safe space for members to Be heard by and listened to by people with different political views.

Express views without negative repercussions.
Learn from one another through active listening.
Develop curiosity about perspectives that may be new and unfamiliar to them.
Find connection with members who espouse different views.
Develop skills required for civil, respectful discourse.

Our Vision

In 2016, two groups named "Crossing Party Lines" started independently of one another on opposite ends of the country, only a few months apart. They joined forces to bring civil, respectful conversation to the rest of the country.

Job Overview

Crossing Party Lines is seeking an experienced Art Director to lead the visual strategy for our Apps and Agents team. In applications dealing with high-friction social and political topics, visual choices directly impact user trust, defensiveness, and engagement. You will ensure our products strike the right balance welcoming, professional, human, and clear.

Responsibilities

• Establish the visual direction, style guides, and aesthetic benchmarks across web apps, role-playing modules, and interactive exercises.
• Direct, mentor, and review the work of volunteer 2D artists, UI/UX designers, and asset creators.
• Partner with product leadership, narrative designers, and developers to ensure visual cohesion across disparate features.
• Champion accessibility, visual clarity, and ethical representation across all illustrated and interface assets.
• Bridge creative intent with technical feasibility in a lean, iterative software development environment.

Requirements

• Prior experience as a Lead Artist, Art Director, or Senior Visual Designer in games, digital products, or interactive media.
• Strong artistic vision and the ability to articulate constructive visual feedback to multidisciplinary contributors.
• Understanding of how color theory, composition, and visual framing affect user psychology and emotional safety.
• Able to approach complex, politically diverse spaces with creative neutrality, curiosity, and professionalism.

Qualifications

• Experience with interactive AI tools and serious games focused on constructive dialogue.
• Ability to lead a remote, multi-talented creative group.
• Strategic product and art direction achievements to showcase for portfolio development.

Benefits

• High-level creative ownership over the visual identity of an emerging portfolio of civic tech products.
• Leadership experience managing a remote, multi-talented creative group.
• Strategic product and art direction achievements to showcase for portfolio development.
• Professional references and direct collaboration with organizational founders.

Pay

Volunteers are compensated based on their contribution and availability.

Schedule

This is a remote volunteer position. You may complete most of the work on your own schedule. We hope volunteers can contribute approximately 8 or more hours per week, although hours are flexible.

Team

You will report to Lisa Swallow, co-founder of Crossing Party Lines and lead of the Apps and Agents team. You will work closely with other volunteers and developers and will receive background information, product specifications, and access to the CPL frameworks underlying the applications.

Equal Opportunity

We welcome applicants from different backgrounds, professions, political viewpoints, and lived experiences. Crossing Party Lines does not ask volunteers to agree politically. We ask them to approach differences with curiosity, respect, and a sincere desire to understand.