Art Director (Contractor)

WHY JOIN BELLA+CANVAS?

BELLA+CANVAS is the brand behind the T-Shirt movement. Headquartered in Los Angeles, we are the largest manufacturer of premium wholesale apparel in North America. Specializing in high quality, fashion-forward styles, we provide blank garments to decorators, promotional distributors, and brands all over the world.

At BELLA+CANVAS, we're all about providing a place where the entrepreneurial spirit thrives. It’s a collaborative environment where everyone has a voice and great ideas can come from anyone. We seek to ignite the BE DIFFERENT mentality throughout the organization. 

Overview

The Contractor Art Director for BELLA+CANVAS is a role responsible for defining and executing the brand’s creative vision. This individual will lead the conceptualization and delivery of bold, innovative campaigns and collaborations, ensuring the brand is culturally relevant. This person will use their expertise in storytelling to create campaigns that connect with audiences and build brand affinity. Spanning across campaigns, collabs, social, and experiential, this role ensures a cohesive brand presence across all touchpoints. The Art Director will stay ahead of trends, blending cultural relevance with brand values, and collaborate with internal teams and external partners to bring ideas to life. A strong leader, they will inspire and mentor teams, drive consumer-first ideas, and innovate to elevate the brand while maintaining consistency and brand strategic alignment. With a refined balance of form and substance, they will deliver impactful campaigns that resonate with consumers and reinforce the brand’s position in the wholesale space. The Art Director needs to excel in developing groundbreaking brand collaboration campaigns and stays deeply attuned to cultural trends, ensuring our projects resonate with the pulse of today’s audience. This role requires a deep understanding of lifestyle culture, influencer strategy, and audience engagement, with a sharp eye for storytelling that connects authentically with a modern, movement-driven community. This role requires exceptional leadership, a forward-thinking mindset, and a dedication to creative excellence and collaboration. You will work hand in hand with the Sr. Director of Marketing, and Digital Marketing Director, to insure brand consistency across all campaigns. You will collaborate with the Creative Project Manager, Producer, and other members of the marketing and leadership team to develop beautiful design and visual storytelling experiences that will shape and define the BELLA+CANVAS brand.

Responsibilities 

• Directs, manages, inspires, and motivates the team of freelancers, designers, stylists, and photo studio teams.
• Guides process and provides conceptual vision with executional acumen.
• Works to maintain consistency and quality for BELLA+CANVAS across all touchpoints.
• Thinks strategically and connects design and creative thinking to specific business use cases.
• Collaborate with the Digital and Brand Marketing teams in developing marketing plans, analyzing results, and identifying opportunities.
• Owns the design calendar through milestone achievement and ensures all team members execute within timelines and budgets.
• Analyze brand tracking, market trends, consumer needs, and the competitor landscape.
• Prioritize work and resources across engagements based on short- and long-term needs and develop schedules by collaborating with designers and production artists.
• Conduct brainstorming sessions with the creative team, maintaining strategic thinking to develop innovative and actionable initiatives in a fiscally responsible manner.
• Produce fresh, innovative work that translates complex ideas into compelling print materials and digital experiences for sophisticated audiences.
• Works closely with the Creative Director of Design and Sr. Director of Marketing, keeping them informed and in the loop on all project and team-related developments.
• Able to clearly articulate creative ideas and points of view to cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in an agency or in-house team.
• At least 5 years’ experience in a senior creative leadership position leading, coaching and developing a team of multidisciplinary creatives at varying levels of experience.
• At least 5 years’ experience directing photography.
• Demonstrated creative expertise in a broad range of design disciplines including photography, print, retail, events and experiential design.
• BA in Graphic Design or relevant related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience

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