Role: Mid-Weight (Strategic*) Designer
Location: Guildford, Surrey
Start Date: ASAP
Salary: £28,000
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Position Clarification
* Junior Designer
* Mid-weight Designer Reporting directly to the Art Director(s), Creative Director or senior project team.
* Senior Designer
* Art Director
* Creative Director
* Executive Creative Director
The Role in Brief
At Grand Central (https://www.grandc.co.uk/), we’re experts in brand activation, trade marketing, events and digital. We combine insight-led strategy with standout creative to help brands connect meaningfully with their audience.
We are looking for a mid-weight, strategically led designer to join our team. *This means that you will not only have an eye for the creation of stunning creative, you will first work on the strategic foundation, helping to craft the omni-channel direction, idea, as well as the structure, headlines and look and feel.
Role Specifics
Requires 3-5 years of practical, verifiable experience within the design industry.
Expected to manage reasonably complex projects with a degree of independence, demonstrating a developing sense of ownership and the capacity to solve design challenges effectively.
The role benefits from the mentorship and direction of more senior designers, highlighting the ongoing learning and development inherent in this stage of your career.
Exposure to a broad spectrum of design disciplines, including campaign, print, digital, film, events, and exhibitions. This necessitates a high degree of adaptability to different client needs, varying brand aesthetics, and the specific objectives of each project across these diverse areas.
Furthermore, this demands a holistic understanding of how design principles translate across different media.
Required Skills and Experience
A strong understanding of fundamental design principles, including balance, contrast, hierarchy, and alignment, is crucial for creating visually appealing and effective designs.
A meticulous attention to detail, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and high-quality output in all design work.
Excellent typography skills, including a keen eye for detail in type selection, hierarchy, and application across various media.
A solid understanding of colour theory, including its effective application. Essential for creating impactful and on-brand visual solutions.
Proficiency in layout and composition, including the ability to structure information logically and create visually engaging layouts.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills necessary for effectively articulating design concepts, presenting ideas, and collaborating with team members and clients.
Strong organisational and time management skills vital for managing multiple projects, prioritising tasks, and meeting deadlines in an agile agency environment.
A problem-solving mindset with the ability to take a step back, ask why and how, coupled with the ability to analyse design challenges and develop creative and effective solutions.
To work independently and as part of a team, demonstrating both self-direction and a collaborative spirit within a creative and wider team.
To be flexible and adaptable to work on a variety of projects across different disciplines and to accommodate changing priorities and client feedback.
A passion and enthusiasm for design and an interest in creative arts and advertising.
Curiosity in the world brings the ability to collate diverse concepts and beliefs in order to generate more inclusive and far-reaching concepts and processes.
Core Responsibilities
* To fully translate client needs and strategic objectives into actionable design frameworks.
* To generate original design concepts.
* To effectively execute across various marketing materials and platforms.
* To support and partner with senior creatives to contribute to the development of effective creative strategies, ultimately enhancing user experiences and achieving defined marketing objectives.
* To collaborate and continue to develop clear communication, both internally and with external stakeholders.
* To effectively and articulately present strategies, ideas, designs and executions with clear rationale and reason.
* To be receptive to feedback from any level stakeholders and incorporate it constructively into their design iterations.
* To champion brand guardianship, thereby upholding a unified visual identity.
* To manage time efficiently using organisational skills to manage workload, prioritise tasks and consistently meet deadlines within a fast-paced agency environment.
* To be able to break down briefs effectively and quote time accordingly.
* To recognise the dynamic nature of the creative industry and commit to continuous learning and adaptation. To proactively research prevailing industry trends, emerging technologies, and the competitive landscape to inform and enhance your design work.
* To proactively mentor more junior staff, offering advice and guidance when required, as well as learning how to best provide effective advice from more senior team members.
Discipline-Specific Responsibilities
As a multi-disciplined agency, we frequently require our team members to work across various disciplines. The following outlines specific parameters for individuals with experience in the listed areas.
Whilst the following list is exhaustive, we understand that experience in all these fields is a big ask at this level. As a result, there is constant training from the wider creative team, but a solid grounding in video would be beneficial.
Conceptual
* To conceptualise and develop overarching campaign themes and messaging, ensuring that the visual elements effectively support the narrative.
Execution
* To adapt campaign creative for different platforms and formats, while maintaining both consistency in the brand message and effectiveness in engaging the target audience across various touchpoints. This area of responsibility underscores the need for a strategic mindset, considering how visuals contribute to broader marketing objectives across diverse media.
Print
* To develop an understanding of print techniques, capabilities, and requirements to ensure creative and strategic application.
* To develop print-ready artwork, ensuring that all files adhere to the correct specifications required by printers and suppliers.
Digital
* To create visual designs for a wide range of online platforms, including websites, various social media channels, email marketing campaigns, and digital advertising.
* To create solid and considered user journeys (UX) leading to effective user interfaces (UI), aiming to create intuitive and engaging digital experiences.
Events, exhibitions, experiential and interiors
* To develop visual concepts and branding for various physical experiences, including events, experiential, exhibitions, and interior activations, translating project requirements and brand into impactful 3D environments.
* To develop moodboards to support the concepts.
* To work toward understanding and applying theories on egress, flow, and services to refine concepts.
* To work toward the production of presentation-level renders and animations to enable project visualisation, communication and stakeholder buy-in.
Film
* To create concepts for effective film projects described by concise Directors’ Treatments to set the scene and describe objectives, comprehensive storyboards to visualise the narrative flow and styleframes to show the look & feel.
* To film (starting as second camera) using the guidance set by the concept, to understand the equipment and to utilise appropriate techniques (framing, background, movement, lighting, and audio) to capture the required footage.
* To ingest and edit, creating the narrative flow as described by the concept.
* To work toward developing motion graphics to enhance visual engagement.
Software
* An appropriate technical proficiency, knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
* Familiarity with the Google Workplace Suite of administration software, including Docs, Sheets and Slides, although Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) knowledge is transferable here.
* A basic understanding of web design principles and a good level of experience in UI/UX using Figma or similar digital design software.
* A desire to learn 3D modelling software such as SketchUp, as well as the process of rendering.
* Experience or a willingness to learn and integrate AI tools into both process and production to increase diversity of thinking, efficiencies and production.
* Ideally, a working knowledge of After Effects and Premiere Pro.
* A strong working knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint is required for creating presentations for internal reviews and client pitches.