Associate Creative Director (Brand and Packaging)
New Today
Agency Overview
Marks is a brand design and experience agency that is uniquely constructed to enable brands to win in an age of constant change. Fueled by our dual vantage points - embedded partners and future-forward experts - we build brand momentum to move fast, move forward, and move confidently. As a full-service agency, our expertise extends across all facets of the branding spectrum: strategy, innovation, design, adaptation, integrated marketing communications. Together, we are 600+ people across 12 studios and 8 countries.
Marks is part of the Propelis Group, a brand impact group built with the agility and inventiveness that enables our clients to thrive.
Position Overview
We're looking for a brand visionary who is s equal parts strategist, systems thinker, and creative coach. We need someone who can champion bold ideas while ensuring the work is anchored in smart, effective solutions.
As Associate Creative Director, you'll lead a dynamic, project-based team tackling diverse brand challenges across a broad range of clients and industries. You'll partner closely with client services to shape proposals, define project approaches, and build lasting client relationships. You'll empower your team to push creative boundaries-while ensuring every deliverable is grounded in strategic insight and executed with craft.
You'll be a visible leader-inside the studio and out. Expect to guide your designers to grow into well-rounded creative powerhouses, all while playing an active role in strengthening how we work and how we show up for our clients.
Role Expectations
Lead with strategy and systems
- Translate client goals, consumer insights, and cultural trends into breakthrough design directions.
- Collaborate with Strategy and Client Services to define project scope, write compelling proposals, and design smart, effective project approaches.
- Connect the dots across disciplines to ensure holistic solutions-brand identity, packaging, content, experience, and more.
Elevate the creative product
- Inspire your team to think bigger, push further, and explore unexpected directions-then guide the work into practical, brand-right solutions.
- Lead concept development and design execution, ensuring creative excellence from pitch through delivery.
- Present and defend ideas to clients with clarity, confidence, and conviction.
Grow client partnerships
- Build trusted relationships with clients, becoming a strategic partner who understands their business and champions their brand.
- Proactively identify opportunities to expand the scope of work and strengthen client partnerships.
- Help translate ideas into action by aligning creative ambition with client needs and budgets.
Champion the team
- Mentor designers at all levels-developing skills, growing confidence, and nurturing individual strengths.
- Advocate for smarter ways of working-streamlining processes, improving team collaboration, and balancing creative exploration with delivery.
- Foster a culture of curiosity, craft, and creative courage.
Be a coach-player
- Roll up your sleeves and get in the trenches when needed-guiding by example and setting the benchmark for creative excellence. Strike the right balance of doing and delegating to keep the team inspired, supported, and running at their best.
Minimum Requirements
- 8+ years in brand design or packaging design, with experience spanning strategy, concept development, and execution.
- Proven success leading multidisciplinary design teams and presenting to clients.
- A knack for balancing big thinking with practical delivery.
- Business acumen-you understand the commercial realities of design work and can help shape proposals and project scopes.
- Deep understanding of design systems, brand architecture, and how to flex visual identities across touchpoints.
- A collaborative, empathetic leadership style with a passion for developing people.
- Fluent in Adobe Creative Suite and a sharp eye for craft and detail.
- Fluent in Keynote, PowerPoint, and with outstanding communication and presentation skills.
Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this position is $99,927- $125,000 USD annually. Ultimately, in determining pay, we will consider the successful candidate's location, experience, and other job-related factors.
Group benefits currently include a selection of health care plans with prescription drug coverage, dental plan, vision plan, basic and supplemental life insurance, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care expenses or a health savings account based on plan selection, short/long term disability and 401(k) Savings Plan.
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Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.
For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.
- Location:
- Chicago