Creative Strategist & Visual Design Lead – Remote
Embark on the next step in your career journey with Direct Travel!
The Visual Design Lead will be responsible for conceptualizing and executing visually stunning graphics that align with the overall vision of our client’s experiences. This role involves individual design work, engaging a team of staff and freelance graphic designers, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and ensuring all visual materials meet the highest standards of creativity and excellence.
Expedition Expectations
- Collaborate with experience strategy, experience design, product, sales and marketing teams to understand project objectives, target audience, and key messages.
- Create compelling visual concepts that enhance the impact of the communication experience and align with brand guidelines which also meet the functional requirements of the project and related team
- Present visual design ideas and concepts to stakeholders, incorporating feedback and refining visual designs as needed.
- Engage a team of staff and freelance graphic designers, providing direction, feedback, and support to achieve visual design and thematic excellence in every given project experience.
- Develop and maintain visual design standards and best practices to ensure consistency across all visual materials.
- Stay up-to-date with industry trends and incorporate innovative visual design techniques into our work.
- Oversee the production of high-quality visual materials for various communication components, including speaker support graphics, PowerPoint presentations, stage designs, signage, digital displays, print collateral, and more.
- Ensure all visual design deliverables meet project deadlines and budget constraints.
- Utilize industry-standard graphic design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), Sketch, Figma, and other relevant software to create and refine designs.
- Utilize broadly-accepted and utilized communication tools such as PowerPoint and Keynote and design these tools for high levels of adoption and utilization by colleagues and clients alike.
- Implement and manage digital assets, ensuring proper file organization and version control.
- Work closely with the operations team to ensure seamless integration of visual design elements into the overall logistics and experiences they deliver.
- Communicate effectively with suppliers and partners to ensure the accurate production and installation of assigned visual design elements.
Coordinate with client’s marketing team to align event graphics with promotional materials and campaign strategies.
Conduct thorough reviews of all visual design materials to ensure accuracy, consistency, and adherence to brand guidelines.
Manage and oversee the proofing process, making necessary adjustments based on feedback from stakeholders.
Ensure that all visual materials are optimized for both print and digital formats of varying formats and sizes.
Proactively seek out new visual design technologies and methodologies to enhance the creative process and improve efficiency.
Address and resolve any visual design-related challenges that arise during the project lifecycle.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Passport to Success
- Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Arts, or a related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in graphic design, with at least 2 years in a leadership role.
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), Sketch, Figma, and other relevant design tools.
- Strong portfolio demonstrating a range of creative projects, including graphic designs that support events.
- Excellent understanding of visual design principles, typography, color theory, and layout techniques.
- Experience in the event design industry is a plus.
Going the Extra Mile
- Must reflect organization’s Vision and Core Beliefs.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and client service orientation to work effectively with internal teams, suppliers, and partners.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and presentational skills to present ideas and concepts to stakeholders.
- Strong client requirement-gathering skills
- Good listening skills to understand project objectives, target audience, and key messages while collaborating with Experience Design, Product, and Marketing teams, and to meet client’s objectives for the program.
- Strategic, forward-thinking and with critical thinking skills to create compelling visual concepts and provide direction, feedback, and support to achieve visual design and thematic excellence.
- Strong organizational skills to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines, and attention to detail. Self-generated learner with orientation toward continuous process improvement.
- Strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple clients/projects simultaneously.
- Good listening skills to understand and be able to meet client’s objectives for the program.
- Positive, solution-based approach with a bias towards action.
- Flexible and open to change.
- Ability to work independently, while thriving in a team environment
Benefits Onboard
In addition to Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits Direct Travel offers an employee rewards and recognitions program, Total Rewards Package which includes Wellness, Sustainability, DE&I initiatives, and Mental Health Support.
Our Brand Voyage:
About Creative Group and Direct Travel
A subsidiary of Direct Travel, Creative Group designs global programs and experiences that reward excellence and inspire people to reach their full potential – we call it Thrivability. Creative Group is a full-service performance improvement company specializing in meetings and events, group incentive travel, employee engagement and recognition, sales incentives and channel loyalty programs. Creative Group serves a client roster of Fortune 500 companies in a broad range of industries.
Direct Travel is a leading provider of corporate travel management services. The company has been providing travel management for over 40 years, working with clients to develop highly customized travel programs. By leveraging both the expertise of its people and innovative solutions, Direct Travel enables clients to derive the greatest value from their travel program in terms of superior service, progressive technologies and significant cost savings. Direct Travel has offices in over 70 locations across North America and the UK and is currently ranked 13th on Travel Weekly’s Power List. For more information, visit www.dt.com.
Direct Travel is an EOE/AA/Veteran/People with Disabilities employer
If you're ready to chart a new course and advance your career with the valuable moments and travel experiences that await, we welcome you to submit your resume for consideration at Direct Travel.