Associate Art Director (Social)

The Trailhead program is the start of your epic journey at Critical Mass. During your initial 12-weeks, you will embark on a custom-built learning journey to understand what we do, who we are, and how we make award-winning work with our clients. Our goal is to integrate you into the amazing work we do here at Critical Mass, and support you as part of the team to grow your career with us! 

Our Fall 2023 Trailhead Cohort commences September 26, 2023.  

All applications are reviewed and interviewed on a rolling basis. 

At Critical Mass, the Social Team is a multidisciplinary collective of experts who create groundbreaking experiences across digital social platforms. The Associate Art Director is an avid consumer and creator of digital culture who knows how to translate a strategy and creative brief into the social space with curated executions for each platform. They find themselves at home while scrolling on TikTok and Instagram, and they know what it takes to build a brand and render a following. If you are a creative mind who seeks out new technologies, digital mediums, and ways to tell stories on digital platforms, then this is the role for you.

You Will:

• Develop concepts while balancing strategic development with client business objectives
• Directly contribute to project design and development including creating storyboards and initial graphic concepts, conceive functional design solutions, create mockups and prototypes, and provide Quality Assurance of all creative deliverables
• Build relationships with clients, partner agencies, photographers, illustrators, and production vendors
• Participate in brainstorming, concept development, creative brief development, and creative execution

You Have:

• Deep knowledge of social platforms and how to execute within each
• Passion for visual design, typography, motion, pacing, and storytelling
• Proven aptitude for quick creative thinking with acute attention to detail within demanding deadlines
• Knowledge of the latest versions of Mac OS, Adobe Creative Suite, and Figma
• Understanding of the strengths and limitations of Adobe Creative Suite.
• General understanding of motion design, timing, and pacing

Critical Mass’ In Office Work Expectation for the Trailhead Talent:   

The Talent Team at Critical Mass is focused on ensuring we provide the best training, onboarding, and employee experience possible!  Our Trailhead Talent is the future of our organization, and we want to set you up for long-term success.  In an effort to do so, we’d like to establish the expectation that you plan to work from the local office 4 days a week.  The ask stems from our want to:  

• Strengthen opportunity for continuous learning  
• Improve collaboration and team relationships  
• Increase employee engagement  
• Facilitate strong mentorship relationships 

This model balances the need for individual flexibility while maintaining the relentless customer focus, we provide at CM.  We understand that not everyone may feel comfortable with this expectation so we ask that you please let us know immediately if there are any concerns so we can help navigate accordingly.   

If you have questions, you can email: [email protected]. 

The salary for this role, based in Chicago, is $60,000 and we continually review ranges to address skills, experience and markets.  Base salaries are determined during our interview process, by assessing a number of factors that include, but aren’t limited to, a candidate’s experience and skills relative to the scope and responsibilities of the position.