Freelance Art Director

ABOUT UStms unites technology, marketing, and sourcing to drive transformational change for the world’s leading brands. With more than 1,400 employees across 28 countries., we offer an impressive range of solutions – from inspiration and innovation to category management and delivery.Operating as a creative agency, a strategic consultancy, a sourcing business, and a technology provider, we engage with over 110 million customers every single day for our clients, including Conair, McDonald’s, T-Mobile, O2, Starbucks, and adidas.Most importantly, we're a place where you can achieve great things, and be recognized as the best.WHAT MATTERS THE MOSTBreakthrough, business-driving ideas come from extraordinary people with the freedom to be their most authentic selves at work. Authenticity and diversity are critical elements of our business. They can only be realized when we create access and equity for all. We foster a culture of inclusion and belonging and aspire to be ever-evolving.tms is a place where brilliant people are better together. If you want your ideas to be heard and to contribute to a culture of inclusion and authenticity, bring us your voice! Visit us at tmsw.com.WHY WE THINK YOU WILL LOVE THIS ROLE As Art Director for our tms client, you’ll shape the visual expression of a consumer brand—bringing launches, campaigns, and always-on content to life across social, digital, retail, and e-commerce. Reporting to the Creative Director, you’ll partner closely with copy, design, production, and marketing to create elevated, trend-forward work that resonates with the brand’s audience. This is a hands-on role for a designer with strong taste and craft who can concept, direct, and execute—balancing brand consistency with platform-native creative built to perform.WHAT YOU WILL BRING TO THE ORGANIZATION Art Direction & Visual Brand LeadershipOwn the day-to-day art direction for the brand—elevating its visual identity across campaigns, launches, and always-on contentConcept and execute design-led solutions that are bold, modern, and platform-native—translating strategy and briefs into compelling visual storiesMaintain and evolve brand guidelines and design systems (typography, color, layout, composition, motion/design principles) to ensure consistency and speedRaise the bar for craft by setting a strong visual point of view and delivering polished work—from concept through final production-ready assetsSocial/Digital-First, E-commerce & Retail CreativeDesign and art direct social-first creative (organic and paid): content series, short-form video concepts, storyboards, key visuals, templates, and asset variationsCreate conversion-minded e-commerce and retailer-ready assets (PDP modules, banners, comparison visuals, feature callouts, and education) that meet specs while staying on-brandPartner with the Creative Director and cross-functional teams to develop launch toolkits that scale across channels and formats with efficient versioningUse performance insights and social trends to iterate creative, improve templates, and inform future content directionProduction Partnership (Photo/Video), On-Set & PostCollaborate with production partners to bring creative concepts to life—contributing to shot lists, mood boards, casting considerations, and visual directionArt direct photo and video shoots (as needed) to ensure styling, lighting, composition, and performance align to the brand and its audiencePartner through post-production to deliver high-quality final assets—reviewing edits, motion, retouching, and finishing to ensure craft and consistencyProcess, Quality & Best PracticesMaintain high design standards across deliverables: typography, layout, composition, color, and brand consistency, with strong attention to detailWork efficiently within review/approval workflows—incorporating feedback while protecting core creative intent and meeting deadlinesPrepare production-ready files and collaborate with production/ops partners to ensure specs are met across social, e-commerce, retail, and print as neededContribute to continuous improvement by building reusable templates, systems, and best practices that help the team deliver faster without sacrificing qualityClient & Cross-Functional CollaborationPartner day-to-day with the Creative Director to deliver on-brand, high-performing creative across brand prioritiesCollaborate with marketing, social, e-commerce, product, and sales partners to understand objectives and translate them into creative that meets channel requirementsEnsure visual consistency across touchpoints by aligning design, imagery, and messaging systems across campaigns, social, retail, and e-commerceSKILLS AND EXPERIENCE WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO HAVE 5+ years of design and art direction experience in-house or at an agency, with a strong focus on consumer brandsA portfolio that demonstrates strong art direction and design craft across campaigns, social-first content, e-commerce/retail assets, and toolkitsExpertise in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and strong working knowledge of Figma; motion/design sensibility and basic After Effects a plusStrong conceptual skills: ability to generate ideas, create clear visual directions, and build systems that scale across channels and formatsDeep understanding of digital and social best practices (platform-native creative, performance-driven iteration, versioning, and testing/learning)Experience designing for e-commerce and retail environments (PDP modules, retailer specs, education/feature callouts), with an understanding of conversion-minded layoutsComfort collaborating with production teams and partners (photo/video shoots, post-production) and designing within real-world constraints (timelines, budgets, approvals)Highly organized, detail-oriented, and collaborative—able to manage multiple projects and deliver polished work on deadlineAnd we’d love you to… Have experience art directing or designing for consumer brands and a strong understanding of what resonates with the target audience.Be fluent in social and digital-first campaign tactics (paid social toolkits, creator content, short-form video storyboards, always-on templates) and comfortable translating ideas into scalable systems—including e-commerce and retailer-ready creative.Any of the following would be a plusExperience in the brand’s category (including education, trade, or community marketing), with an understanding of how-to/education content and product storytellingMotion/animation experience (After Effects) and/or experience building modular retail and e-commerce creative systems across multiple retailers (including Amazon)Starting hourly between $65-$75EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERWe are an equal opportunity employer, and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.RECRUITING AGENCIEStms does not accept agency resumes submitted by third-party vendors unless a valid agreement has been signed and the tms Talent Acquisition Team has granted authorization for submissions for a specified position. Please do not submit or forward resumes to our site, tms employees, or any other company location. tms is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.