Art Director, Creative Lead

Art Director, Creative Lead Unify Los Angeles, CA Job Details Temporary | Contract Up to $5,000 a month 1 hour ago Qualifications Spanish Typography Sourcing Google Drive Illustration 5 years Design file preparation for print English Social media platforms Canva Visual communication design TikTok Senior level Brand identity design Figma Instagram Managing media, arts or design teams Art direction Full Job Description Art Director / Creative Lead — Mission-Driven Public Wellness Organization Greater Los Angeles

• Hybrid (remote + on-site for select event days)
• Contract-to-hire
• Immediate start
• The work We are a public health and community wellness organization producing a free bilingual community mental health event in late May, with ongoing programming continuing through the year.

The creative direction for the brand and the event is already established — a defined aesthetic, palette, typographic system, and illustration style anchored in continuous single-stroke line-art figures, sage / terracotta / cream tones, and bilingual EN/ES presence built into the visual system itself. We are not looking for someone to define the brand. We are looking for someone to

• execute it beautifully, quickly, and consistently
• — starting this week. This is a contract-to-hire role. The immediate sprint is the next 12 days through our finale event. The long-term role is ongoing creative leadership across all of our programming.
• A real word about this role
• We are a small, mission-driven team in build mode.

There will be growing pains. Systems are being put in place as we go. Days where the plan changes by lunch. We need someone who can hang in there through that — not because it's chaos, but because building something real always has friction. The right person treats that friction as part of the work, not a reason to bail. We've also learned the hard way that talent without follow-through doesn't serve us. We need someone who finishes what they start, communicates proactively when something is at risk, and treats deadlines as commitments.

• What you'll do in the next 12 days (sprint)
• Deliver beautiful promo assets fast with our media lead — Instagram feed and story content, speaker reveal cards, countdown posts, TikTok ad creative — turning around within 24-48 hours of brief
• Execute against our established creative direction with consistency and taste
• Refresh and launch a coordinated 9-grid Instagram moment as part of our return to social
• Either execute illustration yourself in our signature continuous-line style
• OR•quickly bring in an illustrator from your network who can execute under your direction this week (this is essential — we cannot wait two weeks to find an illustrator separately)•Design event signage, wayfinding, and a printed/digital passport for attendees•Source local LA print and signage vendors for cost-effective production of physical event materials (banners, posters, signage) on tight turnaround•Ensure all materials meet our funder's compliance requirements (we'll brief you on logo placement and language rules)•Day-of event support: signage placement, photo direction, asset capture for post-event reporting•What you'll do ongoing (after the sprint)•Become the creative lead across all programming, partnerships, and future deliverables•Build out our brand system properly so we stop reinventing the wheel — templates, libraries, asset standards•Direct future illustrators, designers, photographers, and videographers we bring on for specific projects•Lead creative on our next round of public health and community wellness initiatives•You probably are the right person if:•You have 5+ years of design / art direction experience, ideally in events, brand, editorial, or mission-driven work•Your portfolio shows typographic confidence, illustration sensibility, brand identity work, and at least one full visual system you shipped end-to-end•You can execute illustration yourself OR you have a strong, responsive network of illustrators you can bring in immediately•You're fluent in Canva, Figma, and Adobe Creative Suite (especially Illustrator) — we need someone who can move across tools depending on what each collaborator uses•You move fast without sacrificing taste — turnaround on most pieces is 24-48 hours, not weeks•You know how to source LA-based print, signage, and production vendors cost-effectively•You can adjust your personal style to align with an established creative direction, not impose your own aesthetic on top of it•You finish what you start.

You communicate proactively when something is at risk. You don't go quiet.

• You can hang in there through gaps, pivots, and growing pains
• You care about mental health and community work — this is not transactional work for us; it can't be for you either
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) or culturally fluent in Black, Brown, or Asian American communities is a major plus
• You probably aren't the right person if:
• You want to redefine an established brand from scratch
• You need 2-week turnarounds on every piece
• You go quiet when things get hard or when you're stuck — we need proactive communication
• You can't lift fast on Canva when the situation calls for it (we work across multiple tools, not just "prestige" design software)
• You see this as a one-off gig instead of the start of a real working relationship
• To apply::: Send a short note (3-5 sentences, please no long cover letters) plus: 1.

Portfolio link (required) — we want to see your work before the call or send a Google Drive with examples 2. One project where you shipped a full visual identity or campaign under tight deadline, and what your specific role was 3. Whether you can execute illustration yourself, or name the illustrator(s) in your network you'd bring in this week 4. Earliest start date Interviews tonight or tomorrow, hire same day if we click. Equal opportunity employer. BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+, and local community members strongly encouraged to apply.

Job Types:

Contract, Temporary Pay:

Up to $5,000.00 per month

Work Location:

Hybrid remote in Los Angeles, CA