Digital Art Director / Senior Visual Designer


Overview

Reference
18848

Salary
$60 - $70/hour

Job Location
Toronto

Job Type
Contract/Freelance

Posted
03 October 2026

 

We're looking for an Digital Art Director / Senior Visual Designer to join a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary creative agency working with leading retail and consumer brands.

 

This is an opportunity for a conceptual, design-led creative who wants to remain close to the work while taking on greater responsibility for creative thinking, art direction, client relationships, and the quality of work across channels.

 

You'll work across brand, retail and marketing communications, helping take projects from the initial business challenge and creative brief through concept development, art direction and execution.

 

Just as importantly, this is a role with significant room to grow. We're looking for someone who can become an increasingly important creative leader within the business over time.

 

What You'll Be Doing

  • Develop strong creative concepts and visual ideas in response to client and business challenges.

     

  • Translate strategy and creative briefs into compelling creative platforms and executions.

     

  • Establish the art direction, visual language and messaging hierarchy for integrated campaigns and programs.

     

  • Provide creative direction across retail, digital, social, email, interactive and in-store experiences.

     

  • Remain hands-on in the work, contributing directly to design and creative development when needed.

     

  • Ensure creative ideas translate consistently across multiple channels and formats.

     

  • Balance brand-building and commercial objectives, creating work that is both visually strong and effective.

     

  • Present creative thinking, concepts and rationale to clients and internal teams.

     

  • Provide thoughtful feedback and direction to designers, freelancers and other creative partners.

     

  • Collaborate with account, strategy and production partners to move work from brief through execution.

     

  • Help maintain a high standard of creative quality across both major brand initiatives and high-volume marketing communications.

     

  • Contribute to the continued evolution of the studio's creative capabilities and ways of working.

     

What We're Looking For

You're a senior creative who understands that great work starts before the design execution begins.

You can take a business or marketing challenge, think strategically about the audience and objective, develop the creative idea, and then determine how that idea should come to life visually.

 

Ideally, you bring:

  • Significant progressive experience in design, art direction and integrated creative.

     

  • A strong foundation in graphic design and exceptional visual judgment.

     

  • Strong conceptual creative ability.

     

  • Experience developing creative from strategy and brief through final execution.

     

  • Experience across a mix of brand, retail and marketing communications.

     

  • Strong understanding of digital channels, including social, paid media, email and web.

     

  • Experience adapting creative ideas across both digital and physical environments.

     

  • Strong understanding of typography, imagery, composition, messaging hierarchy and brand systems.

     

  • Ability to maintain brand standards while producing promotional and sales-driven creative.

     

  • Strong communication and presentation skills.

     

  • Confidence discussing creative rationale with clients and senior stakeholders.

     

  • Commercial judgment and an understanding that creative decisions need to support broader business objectives.

     

  • Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with a small multidisciplinary team.

     

Motion, Video & Emerging Creative

Experience directing or creating work across motion and video would be highly valuable.

Additional experience in areas such as the following would be considered an asset:

  • Motion design

     

  • Video editing

     

  • On-set production

     

  • Creative direction for photo/video shoots

     

  • Generative AI and emerging creative tools

     

You don't need to personally execute every discipline. More important is the ability to develop the idea and provide strong creative direction to the specialists bringing it to life.

 

You should have a portfolio that demonstrates both exceptional visual craft and the thinking behind the work. We want to understand the problem, your concept, your role in establishing the creative direction, and how the idea ultimately came to life across channels.

 

Why This Opportunity

This is more than an opportunity to execute great creative.

You'll join a small, established team where you'll have meaningful visibility, direct influence on the work, and the opportunity to develop into a broader creative leadership role.

For someone who wants to remain connected to the craft while gradually taking on greater responsibility for creative direction, clients, people and the business itself, there is significant long-term runway here

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use

At Creative Niche Inc. all hiring decisions are made by qualified recruitment professionals.
Automated tools or AI-assisted systems are used to help screen, assess, or match applicants to open roles. These systems are designed to support, not replace, human judgment.

 

Equal Opportunity & Experience

Canadian experience is not required for consideration. Equivalent international experience is valued equally.

We're committed to creating an inclusive, accessible hiring experience. If you need accommodation at any stage, please let us know - we'll make sure you're supported every step of the way.