Associate Art Director

Liquified Agency is hiring an Associate Art Director for an onsite role in Annapolis, MD. This is a hands-on position combining concept development, visual direction, and active design across branding and digital and marketing channels. You will work closely with the Creative Director while helping guide the day-to-day creative output of other designers.

What you’ll do

• Develop visual concepts and creative directions from project briefs, brand strategy, marketing objectives, and client needs.
• Own the visual direction for assigned projects, shaping typography, color, composition, imagery, illustration, photography style, and the overall look and feel.
• Produce polished design work across branding, campaigns, social media, digital advertising, web, email, print, presentations, packaging, and other agency deliverables.
• Build and extend brand identity systems, including logos, typography, color palettes, graphic elements, iconography, illustration styles, and supporting visual assets.
• Create creative communication tools such as mood boards, sketches, storyboards, style frames, and mockups.
• Contribute to concepting and art direction for photography and video production, including shot lists, styling direction, props, composition, talent positioning, and the overall visual approach.
• Design and provide creative direction for websites and digital experiences, using UX/UI principles to create responsive, intuitive, and brand-aligned interfaces in partnership with the web and design teams.
• Coordinate with external production partners to ensure final assets match the approved creative direction.
• Assist the Creative Director in supervising day-to-day creative work through clear direction, feedback, and support during the design process.
• Review design work before internal rollout or client delivery to ensure it aligns with the project brief, brand standards, and agency expectations.
• Mentor designers with constructive feedback, design critiques, and hands-on guidance that strengthens creative thinking and execution.
• Delegate or help distribute assignments based on project needs, skill levels, workload, and development opportunities in collaboration with leadership.
• Identify when work needs further refinement or escalation to the Creative Director for higher-level review.
• Present creative concepts and design rationale internally, and directly to clients when appropriate.
• Maintain high craft and consistency from initial concept through final production, manage multiple projects and deadlines, and stay current with relevant design and digital trends.

What you bring

• Approximately 5+ years of professional design experience, ideally in an advertising agency, branding agency, creative studio, or similarly fast-paced multi-client environment.
• A strong portfolio showing both conceptual thinking and high-level execution across multiple channels.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (especially Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign) and Figma.
• Strong command of typography, layout, composition, hierarchy, color, visual storytelling, and brand systems.
• Experience designing websites and digital interfaces, with working knowledge of UX/UI principles, responsive design, accessibility, information hierarchy, and user-centered design.
• Ability to translate brand identity and creative direction into cohesive digital experiences and collaborate with web developers through design, build, and refinement.
• Experience developing brand identities across multiple touchpoints.
• Experience reviewing others’ work and providing clear, constructive creative feedback, including mentoring.
• Strong organizational skills for managing multiple deadlines in an agency environment.
• Experience preparing work for digital and professional print production, and participating in client presentations, discovery sessions, or concept reviews.

Tools you’ll use

Adobe Creative Suite, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Figma, and UX/UI principles.

Benefits

• 401(k)
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Bonus points

• Experience contributing to or helping art direct professional photo and/or video shoots.
• Working knowledge of photography fundamentals including composition, lighting, styling, framing, and image treatment.
• Motion graphics and/or animation experience, particularly with Adobe After Effects or comparable software.
• Strong illustration ability and experience creating original illustrative elements for branding, campaigns, packaging, digital, and social.
• Video editing experience.
• Packaging or CPG design experience.
• Experience developing storyboards or creative direction for motion-based content.

Pay: From $85,000 per year. Work location: In person.