Catbird, a luxury DTC jewelry brand, is hiring a full time Art Director. You will be working directly with our Chief Creative Officer to translate the creative vision of Catbird into an elevated, elegant, vibrant visual direction. This role includes focusing on the details, maintaining the creative vision and evolving the expression of the brand, and managing our graphic designers and photography teams.
This person functions not only as a very hands-on player supporting in graphic design but also manages our in-house art department, works collaboratively with cross-functional teams ( retail, marketing, e-commerce, merchandising and product design), and is an essential part of our creative output.
This is a hybrid position onsite Tuesday-Thursday at our Brooklyn, NY HQ.
About Catbird
In our 20 years in business, Catbird has become an icon, the ultimate destination for gifts and jewelry. Founded in Brooklyn, NY, Catbird is a mecca for an international cast of shoppers who come to visit the brick and mortar stores of their beloved website. Both our stores and website are filled with a carefully curated selection of designers, including our in-house line of jewelry. Our Catbird line is made in our Brooklyn studio and with a few trusted partners, using ethically sourced materials and conflict-free stones. Highly trained Catbird jewelers oversee every step of the process. We are dedicated to a return to local manufacturing – what our neighborhood was famous for. Catbird is a proud member of the CFDA, certified Made in New York, and No Dirty Gold.
The key to our success is remaining true to our values:
-We believe in being an anti-racist organization and actively championing diversity, inclusion, and equity
-We believe in making and selling things people will want to keep forever and will bring continuous joy.
-We believe in doing everything we can ourselves.
-We believe in always thinking of the long game and not focusing on a quick profit.
-We believe we are the best at what we do and we work hard to make sure we know how to sustain it as we grow.
-We believe in treating everyone (coworkers, customers, vendors) with deep respect, kindness, and honesty.
Key Responsibilities
- Partner with the CCO to maintain and nurture the brand's creative standards and visual identity, ensuring cohesive and innovative design across all channels.
- Manage our in-house art department team, sources and manages freelancers and contractors where necessary
- Collaborate with marketing on digital assets, advertising, mailers
- Concepting campaigns for holidays, special projects, new releases, collaborations, in-store displays etc
- Planning and designing shoots and seasonal advertising campaigns (digital, OOH)
- Maintains and evolves branding, photography (with in-house photographer) and collateral materials to stay relevant and resonate with the target audience
- Develop and nurtures photography and video language through the brand lens that perform across multiple platforms
- Oversee projects include packaging, print and environmental design alongside our graphic designers
- Collaborates with e-com team to translate brand vision to our website
- Maintains timelines, budgets and resources to ensure the successful execution of creative projects.
Our Ideal Candidate
- 5+ years of experience (luxury, jewelry, or fashion preferred)
- Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to manage a team.
- Great at working collaboratively, as well as taking initiative
- Creative, inspired open, nimble thinker but also amenable to working inside the brand
- Able to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast paced environment
- Eager and excited to try new things
- Has a strong understanding of web design and usability
- Really good at giving and receiving feedback, and not letting your ego get in the way of projects
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
- Attention to detail, with a strong sense of aesthetics and luxury market understanding
- Experience on set and in post-production, prop styling a plus
Perks & Benefits
- Healthcare eligibility following 30 days of hire with 75% of the medical premium covered by Catbird. And 25% of the premium is covered for children. We also offer dental and vision.
- Unlimited vacation days for senior leadership plus 7 sick days, plus an extra day off during the month of your birthday
- 401(k) with profit sharing and safe harbor contribution eligibility after one year of employment. We invest through a portfolio focused on socially responsible funds.
- Professional Development Stipend: an allotment of $200/year, plus other workshops and talks throughout the year
- Parental Leave: 12 weeks are 100% paid.
- The Catbird Giving Fund: We vote as a company on what organizations to support. A portion of all sales, year round, are donated to nonprofits aligned with our core beliefs of equality and helping others.
- A generous employee discount
- Pre-taxed MetroCards to save money on getting to work!
- Discounted Citi Bike Annual Membership
- Regular company-wide parties, brunches & happy hours
- A warm, casual work environment where people can really be themselves
