Art Director, Kuala Lumpur

Where strategy meets craft. Where storytelling becomes visual impact.

You see the bigger picture — not just the brief in front of you, but the emotion behind it, the business tension beneath it, and the opportunity waiting to be shaped. You’re the kind of creative leader who understands that great visual stories don’t start in design software; they start with clarity, curiosity, and the courage to push ideas further.

You bring the maturity to guide clients, the creativity to spark bold visual worlds, and the calm confidence to steer teams through fast-moving, multi-market work. Collaboration fuels you. Craft defines you. And helping clients win through design? That’s where you do your best work.

If this feels like your story — turn the page.

The Plot Thickens: Job Description — Art Director 

Lead Visual Direction & Creative Strategy

• Own and elevate the visual direction for key clients and major campaigns.
• Translate business and communication objectives into strong, strategic visual platforms.
• Define and safeguard visual standards across brand, campaign, social, editorial and motion design.

Drive Integrated Concepting & Storytelling

• Lead concept development for integrated communications programs — brand identity, campaign narratives, social content and editorial design.
• Connect the dots between design, copy, video, experiential and digital to craft cohesive end-to-end stories.
• Elevate ideas with strong conceptual thinking and high-quality execution.

Champion Craft, Innovation & AI Fluency

• Hold a strong point of view on how AI will reshape design — and your role in that evolution.
• Push the team’s craft and visual consistency, raising the bar across all deliverables.
• Stay at the forefront of emerging AI and design tools (Midjourney, Firefly, Sora, Adobe Max, Runway, lovable, etc.).
  • Turn experimentation into practical workflows, demos, training and best practices that build team-wide AI literacy.
  • Help define what “good” looks like for AI-assisted design in tech communications without compromising craft.

Act as Day-to-Day Creative Lead

• Join and guide client briefings, strategy sessions and creative reviews.
• Present concepts with clarity, confidence and strategic rationale to senior client stakeholders.
• Support new business development through strong visual storytelling, decks and creative direction.

Run the Business of the Design Team

• Partner with account and project management on scoping, timelines, resourcing and integrated workback schedules.
• Help balance workloads, prioritise projects and manage capacity across markets.
• Contribute to revenue, utilisation and productivity goals by ensuring design time is deployed effectively.
• Identify when external vendors or freelancers are needed and manage them for quality and output.
• Contribute to improving processes, templates and ways of working that scale the team’s performance.

Lead, Mentor & Grow the Design Team

• Provide direction, structured feedback and coaching to designers and interns.
• Maintain quality control across concurrent projects, ensuring alignment with client expectations and Hoffman’s standards.
• Participate in hiring, onboarding and performance conversations for design talent.
• Shape growth plans, skills development and training priorities across the design team.

Steward the Hoffman Brand

• Champion Hoffman’s look-and-feel by ensuring our own materials reflect the standard we promise to clients.
• Collaborate with regional teams to maintain a modern, cohesive visual identity across APAC and global markets.

Attributes of the Protagonist (That’s You)

You’ve spent 6–10 years shaping visual stories — in agencies, in-house teams or anywhere great ideas take form. You’re comfortable moving across markets, collaborating in English, and working with regional and global stakeholders.

Your Creative Signature

Your portfolio shows:

• Bold, strategic thinking — ideas with purpose, not just polish
• Craft excellence across brand, campaign, social and editorial
• Multi-asset, multi-channel leadership, ideally across APAC

Your Leadership DNA

You’ve led designers, coached talent, and elevated creative output through:

• Constructive, actionable feedback
• Confident creative reviews
• Strong partnership with account teams to shape scopes, timelines and workflows

Your Presence in the Room

You’re steady and articulate in client briefings, creative discussions and pitch meetings — able to zoom out strategically, then zoom in with precision and consistency.

Your Curiosity & Craft Evolution

You’re excited by what’s next:

• AI-powered workflows
• Hybrid storytelling
• New tools that expand what design can do

Bonus Superpowers

• Hands-on experience with AI tools (Midjourney, Firefly, Sora, Runway, etc.)
• Working knowledge of APAC markets and localisation
• Familiarity with B2B tech, corporate or start-up brands
  

The Hero’s Background: Qualification

•  6–10 years honing your skills in graphic design, visual communication or art direction
• Experience in agency or in-house creative environments
• Comfortable collaborating in English with regional and global teams
• A portfolio that proves your ability to turn strategy into bold ideas and beautiful execution
• Demonstrated leadership — from mentoring designers to running confident, structured creative reviews
• Experience leading multi-asset, multi-channel projects across markets
• Confidence in client settings: briefings, discussions, workshops and pitches
• A strategic mind that can zoom out, with the craft discipline to execute flawlessly when zooming in
• A genuine interest in AI-driven creativity and new ways of working

Bonus Experience: Hands-on with AI tools (Midjourney, Firefly, Sora, Runway), APAC localisation exposure, or experience with B2B tech and corporate brands.

About The Hoffman Agency

We are an integrated communications consultancy built to solve tough challenges — the more complex, the better — for technology companies shaping the future. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, our network spans across global innovation hubs including Bangkok, Boston, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, Munich, Paris, Portland, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo.

At Hoffman, we combine deep tech understanding with bold storytelling to help brands stand out, influence conversations, and drive meaningful impact.

For more information, visit www.hoffman.com

We are proud to be a diverse and inclusive workplace — one that celebrates individuality and welcomes people of all backgrounds. We’re an equal opportunity employer, and we encourage applications from all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, or veteran status.

Join us and be at the forefront of marketing and communications innovation, partnering with industry-leading technology brands across the world. We value diverse perspectives, inclusive decision-making, and ideas that push boundaries to shape what’s next.

We offer a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and career growth opportunities — plus a unique four-week paid sabbatical after four years of service, because we believe in rewarding dedication and balance.