The Design Lead is responsible for conceptual development and execution of design projects in one account or group of small accounts, leads the successful implementation of design solutions for marketing/communication campaigns and digital experiences that benefit people and clients. By leading teams, aligning strategic direction with user needs and platform limitations, providing oversight and mentorship to other team members, having excellent interpersonal skills, passion for design and keeping high standards, the Design Lead drives project success, client satisfaction, inspires team members and builds our creative culture.

You will:

• Designs solutions that meet or exceed strategic objectives in a highly collaborative environment.
• Leads the creation of storyboards, mood-boards, initial visual concepts, design layouts, functional design solutions, site grids and UI demos to lead design project development.
• Leads visual design projects in all of the following areas: Print, Marketing Campaign, Social Media, Motion and Illustration.
• Directs and delegates to design team members.
• Understands, analyzes, and responds to client briefs and requests.
• Develops design estimates, directs proper casting for design projects and contributes on project allocation.
• Works closely with development teams to ensure that design specifications are implemented.
• Provides reliable quality assurance on all creative deliverables. Anticipates issues and flags situations that might impact quality or delivery success.
• Manages day-to-day communications with design stakeholders, partners, clients and offshore teams. Actively participates and leads calls and client meetings, handles IM and e-mail communication. Presents work during client presentations.
• Manages the success of a visual design scope, partnering with producers to make sure deadlines are met on schedule and on budget. Anticipates issues and flags situations that might impact quality or delivery success.
• Supervises and provide design direction to design team members to ensure design deliverables meet standards.
• Supports strategic brainstorming, design thinking and collaboration sessions, creative brief development and directs all stages of creative execution.
• Thinks creatively and justify concepts to clients and team members.
• Understands and applies the design thinking cycle to projects when is appropriate.
• Balances strategic development with client objectives.

You have: 

• Advanced English Proficiency (C1).
• 6+ yrs. experience in advertising agencies, digital agencies, design agencies, and/or startups.
• Strong design portfolio including pieces for international clients.
• Experience leading projects and teams on print, visual design, digital marketing, social media, illustration and motion areas, preferably for international clients and global brands.
• Solid understanding of interactivity and animation principles and best practices.
• Solid understanding of visual design principles, trends, systems and structures.
• Solid understanding of UX principles, trends and theory.
• Understanding of digital marketing, online advertising and business strategy concepts.
• Experience creating user interfaces for digital products.
• Ability to design and implement visual design processes and standards with a strategic approach. • Ability to manage the success of a visual design scope, schedule and budget. 
• Extensive knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Figma.
• Solid knowledge of Keynote, PowerPoint, After Effects.
• Knowledge of Adobe Animate, HTML5 animation, Zeplin, Abstract, Principle.
• Knowledge of productivity tools: MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook), remote collaboration tools (Slack, Zoom, Drive, Box, Paper, Evernote) and workflow management tools (Jira, Trello, Asana, Basecamp).
• Knowledge of design systems frameworks such as Material Design and Human Interface Guidelines.
• Understanding of CMS and frameworks such as: Bootstrap, Foundation, Wordpress, AEM or any others.

What We Offer:

• Competitive benefits packages
• Vacation, compassionate leave, sick days, and flex days
• Access to online services for families and new parents
• End of year closure days (not deducted form vacation balance)
• Diversity and Inclusion Board with 12 affinity groups
• Internal learning and development programs
• And more…

At Critical Mass, we value our employees and offer competitive compensation and benefits packages.  If you’re looking for a challenging and rewarding opportunity to make a significant impact on the lives of our employees, we encourage you to apply for this exciting position today!

The Talent Team at Critical Mass is focused on ensuring we provide the best training, onboarding, and employee experience possible! Our new hires & employees are the future of our organization, and we want to set you up for long-term success. 

About Us: 

Critical Mass is a team of 1,500 inspired folks based in 12 offices around the world, providing full-service digital capabilities for the greatest brands on Earth. Our secret sauce is our uncompromising design standards, our relentless focus on customers, and an ability to put powerful new technologies to work for our clients.

We work with the best—Apple, Nike, Diageo, Airbnb, BMW, BNY Mellon, Johnson & Johnson, and many more—brands who strive for connected digital ecosystems and unparalleled experiences. We help them get there by gaining deep insight into their consumers and orchestrating data, AI, design, media, and tech stacks around human stories.

We’re a global agency founded in Canada, but digital is our home. If you know us, then you know we’re a special, quirky place that attracts big talent and tiny egos. (We actually give out a “so f-n nice” award—lots of them). But just because we’re friendly doesn’t mean we’re not a force to be reckoned with. We’re driven. Relentless. And we live our values. We’re Critical Mass, but our friends call us CM. Please call us CM!

Our Values: 

• Honest - Tell the trust and make courageous choices
• Driven - Never stop trying
• Real - Never be fake
• Equal - Treat each other as equals – always
• Purposeful - Make the world a better place
• Inspired - Listen and engage 

Critical Mass is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We do not tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. If you are an individual with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please reach out to accommodations@criticalmass.com.

We are committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within our pool of candidates, with a target of achieving at least 50% representation from underrepresented communities.

The Critical Mass Talent Acquisition team will only communicate from email addresses that use the URLs criticalmass.com and us.greenhouse-mail.io. We will not use apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or Google Hangouts for communicating with you. We will never ask you to send us money, technology, or anything else to work for our company. If you believe you are the victim of a scam, please review your local government consumer protections guidance and reach out to them directly.

If U.S. based: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams#avoidIf Canada based: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/finance/consumer-affairs.htmlIf U.K. based: https://www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rightsIf Costa Rica based: https://www.consumo.go.cr/educacion_consumidor/consejos_practicos.aspx