Design Lead - Sports Brand

Guildford, Surrey | 3 days Office, 2 days remote

A brilliant opportunity for a Design Lead to join an independent, award-winning creative studio working across sport, technology and B2B
.

This is a senior, hands-on creative role for someone who wants to do more than simply execute a brief. You'll be expected to think, challenge, develop ideas and lead the creative direction from the initial concept through to final delivery.

The studio has built an impressive client base largely through word of mouth and reputation
, and has deliberately built a team around experienced, senior people who are trusted to manage their own work and their own diaries.

There are no layers of unnecessary management, no big agency politics and no creative egos.

Just a talented team focused on producing great work.

Around 50% of your time will be dedicated to a major global sports brand,supporting a significant brand evolution and developing brand-first, social-first campaigns.

You’ll work across:

• Brand and visual identity
• Social-first creative
• Campaign rollouts and toolkits
• Digital and social content
• Animation and motion
• Photography and video shoots
• Brand guidelines and visual systems
• Regional and global campaign rollouts

The remainder of your time will be varied, working across clients in technology and B2B clients
, including rebrands, strategic design projects, campaigns, new business and creative rollouts.

You’ll be both designer and art director, someone who can come up with the idea, develop the visual direction and then work with specialist freelancers and the wider team to bring it to life.

You’ll also have the opportunity to get involved in shoots, directing photography and video and shaping social-first content.

We’re looking for a genuinely strong creative thinker and designer who can combine great ideas with excellent execution.

You’ll ideally have:

• Strong experience working across brand and campaign projects
• Excellent design and art direction skills
• Strong social-first thinking and an understanding of how brands behave across different platforms
• Experience with brand identities, guidelines and visual systems
• The ability to take a concept from idea through to delivery
• Experience working with high-profile brands and/or complex campaign rollouts
• Confidence presenting and defending creative ideas
• The ability to direct photographers, filmmakers, animators and other creative specialists
• Figma experience would be a real advantage

Experience with in sport, particularly racket sports, would be highly desirable, although experience across other sports, technology or similarly high-profile brands will also be considered.

We’re particularly interested in people who can demonstrate depth in their portfolio, showing the thinking behind the work, the ideas developed and how those ideas ultimately came to life.

This is a small, senior team, so personality matters. We’re looking for someone who is:

Talented. Practical. Pragmatic. Commercially aware. Opinionated. Collaborative.

• You don’t need to be a "yes person". In fact, we’d prefer someone who can challenge, question and bring their own perspective.
• You should know your own worth without having an ego.
• The team is established, experienced and collaborative, so we’re looking for someone who will add to that environment rather than disrupt it.
• Ultimately, we’re looking for someone who is great at what they do and great to work with.

You’ll be joining an independent creative studio with a reputation built largely through client recommendations and word of mouth.

The business has deliberately favoured a senior, experienced model, using a trusted network of specialist freelancers across areas including animation, editing, film and photography when projects require additional expertise.

You’ll work closely with the Executive Creative Director and Design Director, with plenty of autonomy and genuine opportunity to influence the creative output of the studio.

Everyone manages their own diary and is trusted to get the job done.

• Annual profit-related bonus
• Hybrid working – ideally 3 days a week in the Guildford studio
• Senior position with genuine creative autonomy
• Major global sports brand exposure
• Opportunity to work across sport, technology and B2B
• Small, experienced and collaborative creative team
• No unnecessary layers or agency politics
• A studio where your ideas and opinions are genuinely valued