Design Director

David Zwirner is seeking a visionary Design Director to provide the graphic design vision and direction for the gallery, including marketing, exhibition support, digital and various offline projects. This leader will uphold and refine a unified brand identity across all touchpoints while maintaining a discrete, artist-first approach. Experience and interest in marketing, luxury, ecommerce, UX, and digital best practices, as well as a deep-rooted passion for working with art, artists, and exhibitions will allow a brand and design-minded talent to thrive in this leadership role.

Design Director | $125k-150k commensurate with experience

Who will work well with us

• The ideal candidate is someone who is passionate and interested in the arts/larger creative arena or is eager to learn. Previous experience and a background within the commercial art world is not required, though it is preferred.
• We welcome all individuals entering the workforce, those moving into a new stage of their career or vocation, making a change, returning to work, those wanting to learn and grow within the industry, to apply. 

About the Opportunity:

Reporting to the CMO, the Design Director will oversee a small internal design team plus remote freelancers, partnering closely with Exhibitions, Sales, Marketing, Content, Digital Marketing and Digital. This role is central to supporting promotion of global exhibitions and programming, collaborating on product design and digital experiences, evolving holistic design standards for the institution, and stewarding the next chapter in the gallery’s 30-plus-year history.

As a key brand steward, the design director will provide vision, direction and leadership to the design team, while collaborating and communicating effectively to both internal and external stakeholders.

This role plays a key leadership role within the gallery, supporting all global exhibitions and working lockstep with sales, digital, and marketing-led initiatives; partnering closely with the digital product teams on design standards and alignments within web, app, and other products.

What you’ll do 

• Lead, manage, and mentor a creative team producing design for all global exhibitions, fairs, artist projects, marketing, and brand extensions.
• Manage execution and oversee workflow, provide feedback, and direct creative strategies while ensuring best-in-class design execution.
• Maintain excellence and innovation, ensure all designed materials are up to gallery standards.
• Partner directly with colleagues in Exhibitions, Sales, Operations, Content Marketing, and Digital to deliver and consult on signage, campaigns, collateral, digital projects, and more.
• Shape and evolve the gallery’s brand presence across product design, packaging, print collateral, and digital platforms.
• Keep the gallery’s design presence forward-looking by integrating digital best practices, UX, and e-commerce insights.
• Identify new ways to articulate, evolve, illustrate, and activate the gallery’s ethos and brand in all touchpoints.

Additional responsibilities

• Oversee the design and creative approach for all marketing, exhibition, sales, and gallery design needs.
• Lead, manage, and mentor in-house Creative team as well as external vendors, agencies, and partners.
• Take an active and nimble design role in key projects; closely partner with stakeholders to ideate and execute elegant design solutions to complex briefs.
• Expand upon and enforce style guidelines to inform design and messaging across all touchpoints (OOH, advertising, digital, social, collateral, signage, etc.) while continuously exploring new ways to refine and enhance our visual identity.
• Identify specialized talent or solutions to unique creative challenges as they arrive, including new printing solutions, new vendors.
• Develop, maintain and manage relationships with external creative agencies, vendors, and creative contributors.
• Bring latest best practices, trends, ideas, and innovations across platforms.
• Maintain department budgets and accounting needs.

What we would like you to have 

• B.A. as well as M.A. in Graphic Design or related experience.
• 10+ years of related experience within the arts/ art institutions, branding agencies, luxury house, etc, with significant experience in x-channel marketing campaigns.
• 5+ years of experiencing managing a team of contributors, ranging from junior to designers, studio managers, production designers, freelancers, vendors and more.
• Fluency in the fine art and design world; meticulous about typography and design standards.
• Experience building, managing, and nurturing a creative team of talent ranging in responsibilities, skill set, and career levels.
• Experience directing, producing, and creating visual assets for multiple channels and mediums including exhibition design, signage, out of home, print and digital advertisements, social media, print collateral, etc.
• Cohesive digital design expertise including user experience, product design, information design, animation, branding and identity.
• Thorough dexterity and in-depth knowledge of the latest versions of Figma, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Notion, etc.
• Thoughtful brand steward with the discipline and self-motivation to both maintain and evolve brand standards.
• Proactive problem solver, great collaborator, and strong communicator with stakeholders from a variety of departments.
• Exceptional attention to detail and passion for excellence.
• Enthusiasm for working in a fast-paced environment.
• A unique and engaging portfolio of work illustrating the above.

What you will love about David Zwirner (benefits) 

• David Zwirner has pioneered initiatives dedicated to the gallery’s long-standing commitment to kaleidoscopic storytelling, including: David Zwirner Online, David Zwirner Books, Dialogues, Utopia Editions, Consignments, Program.
• Premier Access - to private on-site and off-site events, such as exhibition previews, book signings, talks, and walkthroughs with gallery artists and estate members, and external curators and scholars.
• Staff-driven projects and fundraising initiatives. This includes David Zwirner's ongoing commitment to sustainability.
• Benefits! Flexible workplace and commuter benefits, corporate memberships to museums, including the Whitney, MOMA, and others. Summer Fridays, generous PTO and leave, Family Medical/Dental/Vision benefits. 401K savings plan with automatic employer contributions.

David Zwirner is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Gallery is firmly committed to equal employment opportunities in all facets of its operations. The Gallery makes decisions concerning hiring and terms and conditions of employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an equal opportunity employer, if you need assistance in applying to a role you may reach out to [email protected].