Senior Art Director

Description

Agency:

Critical Mass

Job Function:

Creative

Job Subfunction:

Art Direction

Great art direction starts with a great idea. But it's made real through the work — the mood board that captures a feeling no one had words for, the storyboard that makes a client lean forward, the prototype that feels inevitable. As a Senior Art Director at Critical Mass, you develop the concept and drive it all the way through. From the first reference pull to the final comps, you hold the standard.

You're the kind of art director who's always watching, always collecting, always finding the reference that cracks the brief open. You see the world as a constant source of material. You pull from fashion, film, architecture, subculture, street level and high art. And when you bring that into a room, the work gets better because of it.

Responsibilities

• Ideas & Vision
• Concept across campaigns, experiences, and platforms — and take ownership of the visual direction on a project from brief to final delivery
• Build and present mood boards, visual territories, and design directions that give ideas a tangible form
• Turn a brief into a visual point of view. Set the creative direction before production begins.
• Art direct photo and video shoots, guiding talent, wardrobe, set, and composition to match the creative vision
• Step into a creative lead role when needed — owning the art direction on a project without an ACD in the room
• Craft & Execution
• Design with intention across deliverables — layouts, storyboards, prototypes, and final comps
• Apply and contribute to visual systems and design language, holding consistency across every deliverable
• Use AI tools to accelerate ideation, generate visual references, and explore creative directions faster
• Retouch and composite images with a careful eye for quality and brand alignment
• Push the work into new formats — motion, interaction, and whatever's coming next
• Selling & Communication
• Present concepts clearly and confidently to clients, taking on more direct client communication as your experience grows
• Articulate the thinking behind visual decisions — not just what it looks like, but why it works
• Respond to feedback constructively and evolve the work without losing the idea
• Help junior creatives prepare for and navigate client presentations
• Account & Project Leadership
• Manage your own workload across multiple projects, hitting milestones and flagging risks early
• Collaborate closely with copywriters, strategists, UX designers, and producers to keep work moving
• Contribute to — and at times lead — creative briefs, helping set the visual direction from the start of a project
• Team & Culture
• Formally mentor designers, offering structured feedback and guidance on their craft development
• Contribute to a creative culture where taste, curiosity, and standards are taken seriously
• Share references, spark conversations, and bring energy that raises the room

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in art direction, design, or a related creative discipline
• A portfolio that shows strong concepts executed with care — across campaigns, digital, and production
• Demonstrated ability to lead visual direction on a project independently
• Proficiency in Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and familiarity with motion tools (After Effects preferred)
• Experience with AI tools for creative work — ideation, image generation, or workflow acceleration
• Hands-on experience with photo or video production, comfortable leading a shoot
• Comfort presenting work and defending creative decisions directly with clients
• Strong understanding of design systems and how visual language scales across touchpoints
• Comfort managing your own workload across multiple projects, with a clear sense of priorities and deadlines
• A genuine curiosity about culture, craft, and what makes an idea land

Benefits

• Global maternity and parental leave.
• Competitive benefits packages.
• Vacation, compassionate leave, personal/sick days, and flex days.
• Access to online services for families and new parents.
• Early Dismissal Friday’s (off at 3:00 PM local time every Friday).
• 12 affinity groups.
• Internal learning and development programs.
• Enterprise-wide employee discounts.
• Our new hires & employees are the future of our organization, and we want to set you up for long-term success. In an effort to do so, we expect our team to work from an office a minimum of 2 days a week.
• Please note, you are applying to an active job opening.
• &xa;&xa;
• $100,000 - $120,000
• Omnicom’s policy requires employees to work in the office for a minimum of three days a week, unless additional in-office days are directed by their agency or manager. Our objective is to increase this requirement over time, and many of our agencies as well as Omnicom’s corporate group already require five days of in-office attendance.