Art Director

Reports to: Executive Creative Director (ECD)

Type: Full-time, Permanent

Location: Toronto, ON

Department: Design / Development

About SDI

SDI is an experiential and sports marketing agency that helps brands connect with people through live events, sponsor ships, retail experiences and integrated campaigns. We plan and deliver programs across Canada and the United States, from national tours and in-stadium activations to retail demos and community events. Our teams bring together strategy, creative, production and operations to build work that is practical, human and memorable.

SDI is looking for an Art Director to help lead our design practice and bring bold creative ideas to life across experiential, brand and integrated campaigns.

In this role, you will act as the bridge between Creative Directors and the design team. You will shape the visual direction of projects, mentor designers and still roll up your sleeves on hands‑on design when the work demands it.

What you will do

1. Concept development and art direction (approx. 60 percent)

• Translate creative and strategic direction from the ECD and Creative Directors into clear visual concepts and design systems.
• Act as the brand keeper for assigned projects, establishing the look, feel and visual language for campaigns and experiences.
• Guide designers on layouts, typography, imagery, motion and other design elements so work is cohesive, polished and on brief.
• Review and refine creative work, ensuring quality, consistency and alignment with client expectations and brand standards.

2. Design team leadership (approx. 25 percent)

• Provide day to day leadership for the art and design team, including assigning work, setting priorities and helping balance workloads.
• Mentor, coach and support designers in their craft and career development.
• Help identify resourcing needs, including freelancers and specialist collaborators, and contribute to hiring decisions when needed.
• Set and uphold standards for production quality, productivity and client service.
• Contribute to improving processes and workflows that support efficient, high quality creative output.

3. Hands on design and production (approx. 15 percent)

• Work as an individual contributor on key projects when needed, from concept through to final production.
• Develop design assets for presentations, pitches and live client work, including decks, mock ups, environmental graphics, event branding and digital elements.
• Support preparation of materials for client presentations, reviews and approvals.

Key decisions you influence

• Visual and conceptual direction on projects and campaigns.
• Resourcing recommendations for the design team, including when and how to involve freelancers and specialists.
• The quality and format of creative materials that go in front of clients.
• Recommendations on process improvements and workflows that support better creative outcomes and efficiencies.

What you bring

Education and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Approximately 5 or more years of experience working within a design team in a marketing, advertising, sports or experiential agency environment.
• Previous experience in marketing, advertising or a related field is an asset, especially in roles that combine creative and client‑facing work.
• Approximately 3 or more years of experience leading or mentoring designers, owning art direction on campaigns or managing creative projects.

Core creative strengths

• Proficiency in Creative Direction and Art Direction , from concept through to execution.
• Strong background in Branding and crafting cohesive visual identities across channels and touchpoints.
• Expertise in Graphics and Graphic Design , with a strong eye for layout, typography, color and composition.
• Sports and entertainment experience valued - you understand how creative shows up in stadiums, venues, fan spaces and live environments.
• Understanding of the experiential marketing (XM) space and how design needs to function in real‑world, live and interactive experiences.

Leadership and collaboration

• Ability to manage projects end to end, work collaboratively and lead…