On-Call Brand and Motion Graphics Designer

Title: On-Call Brand and Motion Graphics Designer / Designer 2

Schedule Format - Location: Hybrid - San Francisco

Pay Information: Hourly Rate: $39.00 - $56.00

KQED is one of the largest and most respected nonprofits in Northern California — a 70+ year institution that generations of Bay Area residents have turned to for news, culture, and community. And yet the most exciting chapter in KQED's story is still ahead. As audience behaviors shift and competition for attention intensifies, building deeper connections with new and younger audiences isn't just a marketing goal — it's an organizational imperative, and brand is at the center of how we will get there.

The KQED Creative department plays a vital role in bringing this vision to life. As a member of our team, the On-Call Brand and Motion Graphics Designer will help shape and evolve KQED’s visual identity, developing cohesive brand systems and compelling motion graphics that connect with audiences across platforms. The ideal candidate is a multidisciplinary designer with strong expertise in brand identity systems and motion design, capable of translating strategic and creative concepts into engaging visual experiences across video, digital, social, print, environmental, and emerging platforms. The successful candidate will bring creative versatility, thoughtful collaboration, and a shared commitment to KQED’s mission of making a difference in the communities we serve.
 

KQED envisions a public media organization with a culture that centers on human dignity, equity, and belonging. This will enable us to better serve and reflect the Bay Area through diverse and inclusive storytelling. 

We value the contributions of marginalized people in society — including Black, Indigenous, and all people of color,  people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ people — and we believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do, and we strongly encourage members of these communities to apply.

KQED Code of Ethicshttps://www.kqed.org/about/code-ethics

The mission that drives us:

KQED provide citizens of Northern California with a community-supported alternative to commercial media.   We provide citizens with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions; convene community dialogue; bring the arts to everyone and engage audiences to share their stories. We help students and teachers thrive in 21st-century classrooms, and take people of all ages on journeys of exploration- exposing them to new people, places and ideas.

This role will work hybrid between working inKQED's newly renovated headquarters and working remotely. 

Essential Functions

• Understand, interpret, and apply KQED brand guidelines while completing projects according to established benchmarks and deadlines.
• Develop and extend cohesive visual brand systems and identities for KQED programs, campaigns, initiatives, and sub-brands, translating creative direction into typography, color, graphic language, imagery, iconography, layout, logos, and other identity elements.
• Apply and scale brand systems across digital, social, video, print, environmental, presentation, and promotional platforms, ensuring consistency while adapting the visual language to different audience experiences.
• Translate visual brand systems into motion, conceptualizing and producing animated typography, title sequences, logo animations, transitions, lower thirds, information graphics, explainers, social video graphics, and video packaging that establish consistent brand behavior across platforms.
• Develop reusable motion templates, toolkits, illustrations, infographics, and other graphic assets that enable consistent execution while supporting storytelling and audience engagement.
• Design and animate using Adobe Creative Suite, with particular expertise in Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects and Premiere.
• Collaborate with the Creative Director, Art Director, designers, producers, editors, and cross-functional stakeholders to develop and execute creative concepts.
• Present and articulate design thinking and synthesize creative feedback and translate it into thoughtful design refinements while maintaining the integrity of the overall system.
• Manage multiple assignments and production timelines within an on-call environment while maintaining a high standard of craft and attention to detail.

Candidate qualifications

• Minimum 3–5 years of professional design experience, with demonstrated expertise in both brand identity/system development and motion design.
• Bachelor’s degree in visual design, graphic design, motion design, or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong conceptual and visual-design skills, with the ability to translate strategy, ideas, and storytelling into cohesive brand systems that extend across multiple applications and platforms.
• Advanced motion-design skills with a strong understanding of timing, pacing, typography, composition, hierarchy, and storytelling through motion.
• Strong typography, layout, information-design, and production skills across video, digital, social, and print, including working knowledge of print production and pre-press preparation.
• Ability to move fluidly between concept development and hands-on production, managing multiple projects from concept through final delivery within limited timeframes.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, including the ability to articulate design decisions, receive and synthesize creative direction and stakeholder feedback, and work effectively with creative leadership, designers, producers, editors, stakeholders, and internal clients.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, particularly After Effects, Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign, with experience working in 3D environments or integrating 3D elements into motion design.
• The successful candidate will be required to join NABET Local 51.

Portfolio + Reel Requirements

• Brand identity and visual-system work demonstrating process and iteration—from initial exploration through a cohesive identity system and its application across multiple touchpoints.
• Motion and motion-branding work demonstrating how visual identities translate into movement, including examples of motion typography, animation, transitions, information graphics, and/or video packaging.
• Strong typography, visual hierarchy, layout, and composition skills across digital, motion, and print applications.
• Clear identification of the candidate’s individual role and contribution to collaborative projects.

Knowledge/Experience Desired

• Experience creating motion identity guidelines, animation principles, reusable motion templates, or toolkits that extend brand systems across platforms.
• Experience designing for social and short-form video platforms and adapting creative systems for evolving audience and platform needs.
• Additional craft capabilities such as hand-rendered/vector illustration and Cinema 4D, Blender, or other 3D design and animation tools.
• Familiarity with accessibility and inclusive design principles, as well as emerging creative technologies and workflows, including generative and AI-assisted design tools.

Physical Demands:

• Ability to lift a minimum of fifteen (15) pounds;
• Ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull or carry;
• Ability to use abdominal and lower back muscles over time without fatigue;
• Ability to stand and/or sit for extended periods;
• Ability to bend, stoop, stretch, twist, sit, and reach;
• Fine motor skills;
• Good visual and auditory acuity.

The physical demands described here represent those that an employee must meet to perform the essential functions of this job successfully.

 

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Employees may be required to perform other related duties as necessary to meet the ongoing needs of this organization.

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