Design Director – Brand

This is a senior opportunity for a Design Director who is brilliant at brand and still loves making the work.

We’re partnering with an established Sydney creative studio looking for someone to lead its brand design output across a growing portfolio of substantial identity and rebranding projects.

You’ll guide a small design team, lead projects from early thinking through to rollout and help strengthen the studio’s creative standards and processes.

This is not a hands-off management role. You’ll be expected to provide direction, develop your team and confidently lead clients, while still opening Figma and Adobe and contributing directly to the work.

What you’ll do

• Lead brand identity and rebranding projects from concept through to implementation.

• Translate strategy into clear, distinctive creative ideas.

• Develop identity systems that work consistently across print, digital and physical applications.

• Set a high standard for design thinking, craft and presentation.

• Guide, mentor and develop designers at different stages of their careers.

• Remain hands-on during concept development and key stages of delivery.

• Present work clearly and confidently to senior clients and stakeholders.

• Facilitate collaborative brand and creative workshops.

• Work with strategists, writers, digital specialists and other creatives.

• Contribute to pitches and new-business opportunities.

• Improve design processes, systems and ways of working.

• Manage several projects without losing sight of quality, deadlines or budgets.

• Explore how emerging technology and AI can strengthen creative workflows.

• Help ensure brand thinking carries consistently into campaigns, digital experiences and other applications.

What we’re looking for

You’ll likely have:

• At least eight years of experience within a respected brand, design or creative environment.

• A genuinely excellent portfolio of recent identity and rebranding work.

• Experience leading substantial brand projects from initial thinking through to rollout.

• Clear evidence of your personal contribution to the work.

• Experience guiding designers and improving the quality of a team’s output.

• Strong conceptual thinking combined with excellent attention to craft.

• Advanced skills in Figma and Adobe Creative Suite.

• A solid understanding of typography, production, digital design and final artwork.

• Confidence presenting ideas and responding constructively to client feedback.

• The ability to turn strategy into a distinctive and practical design system.

• Strong organisation and the ability to lead multiple projects.

• Curiosity about new tools, technology and evolving creative practices.

The kind of person who will thrive

You care deeply about brand design, but you’re not precious about the work or your title.

You know how to raise the creative standard while bringing people with you. You can confidently lead a client presentation, give useful feedback to a designer and then sit down with the team to improve the work.

You’ll be collaborative, thoughtful and ambitious, with a clear creative point of view and the maturity to work well with different personalities.

This could suit an established Design Director or someone operating just below that level who is ready to take greater ownership of a team and discipline.

Why consider it?

• Lead meaningful identity and rebranding work.

• Have visible influence over the studio’s design output.

• Stay hands-on while taking on genuine leadership responsibility.

• Help shape and develop a growing design team.

• Work closely with senior creative and strategic leaders.

• Contribute to how the studio approaches brand design in the future.

• Build work you’ll be proud to have in your portfolio.

The practical details

• Permanent role based in Sydney.

• Studio-led hybrid working environment. 4 days in-office, 1 day WFH.

• You should be comfortable spending most of the week collaborating with the team in person.

• Salary of approximately $130k–$155k + super, depending on experience and scope.

Your portfolio matters

We’re looking for more than recognisable client names.

Your portfolio should demonstrate strong, recent identity work and clearly explain:

• The original challenge.

• The strategic or creative idea.

• Your personal contribution.

• How the identity developed into a complete system.

• How the work was implemented across different applications.

If you’re a hands-on brand design leader ready to take real ownership of the work and team, we’d love to hear from you.