Head Of Design

OVERVIEW

Designer Parfums is a fast-growing company in the perfume and cosmetics industry, with a UK base and international ambitions. Brands we operate include CERRUTI, PLAYBOY, GHOST, ARIANA GRANDE, JENNIFER LOPEZ, GANT, HAWAIIAN TROPIC, GUY LAROCHE, PALOMA PICASSO, and other international brands.

JOB PURPOSE

As the Senior Design Lead at Designer Parfums, you will be a visionary leader with exceptional creative skills and a profound understanding of Design's role in shaping brands and engaging consumers. Your primary responsibility will be to lead, inspire, and guide a team of creative professionals within packaging design, graphic design, creative and technical artworking. Your role will encompass strategic design direction, creative oversight, and brand guardianship across a wide spectrum of Design projects and campaigns.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Design Leadership and Strategy:

• Provide visionary leadership in design, setting the creative direction for our brand portfolio.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive design strategy that aligns with our brand goals and industry trends.
• Manage and coordinate the creative resources team, managing workloads, developing processes, communicating status, and ensuring the successful delivery of expected outputs. You will maintain consistent and constant oversight of all creative services projects, which will vary in scale, scope, budget, impact, deadline etc. and running in parallel to each other. The successful candidate will also need to be a Leader of the team, dealing with team development, talent development and progression of team members

2. Creative Oversight:

• Lead the conceptualization and execution of groundbreaking design solutions that enhance brand visibility and impact.
• Collaborate closely with your team on design projects, offering guidance and mentorship to foster innovation.

3. Multi-Disciplinary Expertise:

• Demonstrate an extensive skill set that encompasses design, artworking, branding, product design, animation, and 3D design.
• Effectively switch between different design disciplines and provide leadership in each.

4. Trend Awareness and Holistic Approach:

• Stay attuned to design trends, art, culture, and fragrance developments, integrating these insights into your design and development process.
• Take a holistic approach to the Research, Design, and Development (RDD) process, considering aesthetics, impact, cost, technical constraints, commercial viability, brand and marketing strategy, international markets, and more.

5. License Holder Collaboration:

• Understand the nuances of working with external clients (license holders) and navigate the complexities of approvals and changing directions effectively.

6. Brand Guardianship:

• Immerse yourself in the history, identity, and future vision of each brand within our portfolio.
• Maintain and uphold brand ethos, guidelines, and standards consistently across all design work.

7. Collaboration and Presentation:

• Collaborate closely with Brand Managers to deliver exceptional assets and content, fostering a collaborative approach to developing new concepts.
• Present your work and ideas confidently to key stakeholders, internal teams, suppliers, and license holders.

8. Effective Communication and External Agency Collaboration:

• Communicate effectively with individuals at all levels within the company, including diverse backgrounds.
• Provide clear guidance to external agencies on brand vision and intervene when necessary.

9. Ownership, Innovation, and Risk-Taking:

• Take ownership of your work, embracing both successes and challenges as opportunities for growth.
• Ask thought-provoking questions, take calculated creative risks, and advocate for innovative ideas while respecting the brand image.

10. Time Management and Multitasking:

• Efficiently manage time of the team to seamlessly handle multiple projects, ensuring they are executed to the highest standards and brands are kept informed on progress in a timely manner. Experience of working with Monday.com or similar platforms
• Ensures projects are tracked and status’ are up to date, for the benefit of key stakeholders, and the creative services team.

REQUIREMENTS

• Self-motivated and organised with meticulous attention to detail
• An out-the-box thinker and a lover of all things design, art & strategy
• 10+ years agency or in house experience and/or a Portfolio to match
• 2+ years of leading a Design Team
• Be educated to degree level or an equivalent qualification in design and/or have an outstanding creative portfolio demonstrating experience across a range of creative disciplines
• Excellent knowledge and experience with print/ packaging. Familiar with the full printing process and the use of finishes and incredible eye for colour, detail and quality
• Vast experience and expert knowledge of working across all platforms and media i.e. POS and In Store material, Product Design and Packaging, Social Media content, Digital, Ecommerce, Events and Experiential, AR & VR, Advertising and Film.
• Advanced skills in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign.
• Experience in Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Substance 3D or equivalent modelling software is a plus
• Experience in designing assets for the web and understanding of basic UX practice in web design
• Experience in animation and video is a big plus
• Photography studio experience beneficial if we create our own in house studio in the future