Art Director jobs

Join Our Creative Team

We're looking for an experienced, hands-on creative manager to lead our in-house design studio. You'll provide direction, mentorship, and accountability to a talented team of graphic designers while ensuring projects move efficiently from concept through production.

We're looking for someone who combines exceptional design skills with strong leadership, organization, and the ability to bring out the best in others.

We create greeting cards, giftware, stationery, and specialty products that reach stores across Canada and the United States. From original concepts to licensed collections, our products bring creativity into everyday moments.

As our Creative & Product Design Manager, you'll lead our design studio's day-to-day operations, contribute your own creative talents, and ensure projects are completed on time and to the highest standards.

You're part creative thinker, part design perfectionist, and part get-it-done leader. You appreciate great ideas, know how to motivate talented people, and understand that even the best creative work needs organization and follow-through.

What You'll Do

• Lead the design studio. Own the department's daily operations, provide clear direction, set priorities, and ensure the team delivers outstanding work on schedule.
• Guide and develop your team. Mentor, motivate, and support our graphic designers. Provide constructive feedback, set clear expectations, and foster a positive, accountable, and collaborative environment.
• Keep projects moving. Manage schedules, assign workloads, monitor progress, and ensure deadlines are consistently met across multiple projects and product lines.
• Get hands-on with design. Contribute your own creative expertise through graphic design, layouts, artwork, and production across our product portfolio.
• Bring products to life. Collaborate with product development to turn concepts into compelling designs for greeting cards, giftware, packaging, stationery, and specialty products.
• Maintain exceptional standards. Review artwork, manage approvals, and ensure designs and production files are accurate, polished, and print-ready.
• Improve the creative process. Identify bottlenecks, streamline workflows, strengthen communication, and introduce practical improvements that help the team work more effectively.
• Collaborate across the business. Work closely with product development, sales, management, suppliers, and licensing partners to ensure smooth execution from concept to finished product.
• Own the results. Take responsibility for the quality, timeliness, and completion of the department's work, ensuring details aren't overlooked and projects reach the finish line.

What You'll Bring

• 10+ years of professional graphic design experience, ideally in print, packaging, publishing, or consumer products.
• At least 2 years of experience managing, supervising, or leading a creative team.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe InDesign, with strong working knowledge of Illustrator and Photoshop.
• Solid knowledge of commercial printing, prepress, colour management, artwork specifications, and production-ready files.
• Demonstrated ability to organize multiple projects, manage competing priorities, and consistently meet deadlines.
• Strong leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• A confident, approachable management style with the ability to motivate people, provide constructive feedback, and maintain accountability.
• A keen eye for design, typography, layout, and the details that make a product commercially appealing.
• The ability to balance creative excellence with practical business needs and production requirements.

Experience with greeting cards, stationery, giftware, packaging, licensed products, or other retail consumer goods would be a definite asset. An appreciation for what makes a product stand out on a store shelf is essential.

What We Offer

• Creative leadership: The opportunity to lead and shape an established design studio while contributing your own ideas and expertise.
• A talented team: Work with experienced designers who will benefit from your direction, mentorship, and leadership.
• A diverse product portfolio: Create and develop products across multiple brands, categories, and licensed collections.
• Real influence: Help improve how our creative department operates and play an important role in the company's continued growth.
• Work you can see in the world: Experience the satisfaction of seeing your team's designs become finished products sold in stores across North America.
• Stability and opportunity: Join an established, growing Canadian company with a strong presence in the Canadian and U.S. markets.
• Competitive compensation: Annual salary of $80,000–$100,000, depending on experience, plus extended health and dental benefits.

Interested in Joining Us?

If you're an experienced creative professional who enjoys leading people, creating outstanding designs, and bringing organization to a busy studio, we'd love to hear from you.

Please send us your resume and portfolio, along with a brief introduction highlighting your design and team leadership experience.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: $80,000.00-$100,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental care
• Extended health care

Application question(s):

• How many graphic designers have you managed at one time in previous your design lead role?

Education:

• Secondary School (preferred)

Experience:

• people management in creative leadership: 2 years (required)
• graphic/product design: 10 years (required)

Work Location: In person