JOB OVERVIEW:
The Sr. Graphic Designer is a member of the Creative Services team, who serve as an in-house creative agency for Darden's brands and business units. The high-volume group supports functional teams across the organization, including training & development, human resources, culinary, operations, and marketing. This role is responsible for ideating, designing, developing, and administering graphic materials to visually communicate intended client messaging goals through print and digital formats. The Sr. Graphic Designer is responsible for upholding company and brand standards and ensures that requested projects are completed on time. This role reports to the Print & Creative Services Manager.
Works closely with fellow designers, print specialists, and other creative professionals to bring ideas to life. Collaborates with clients and stakeholders to understand their needs and expectations and gives expert design advice. Has a mastery of Adobe Creative Cloud to create layouts across a variety of mediums. Provides creative direction for brands' presentation decks and other visuals during the annual conference season. Proficient in project management software and has a solid understanding of the creative process.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES:
-Creates graphic designs and layouts for print, digital, presentations and other creative, ensuring designs adhere to brand standards and communicate intended messaging goals
-Collaborates with print specialists and other creative professionals on the team
-Translates business objectives into compelling campaigns and visual storytelling opportunities
-Communicates with cross-functional teams and clients across the organization to understand project requirements and timelines
-Maintains electronic files that are readily accessible for editing or printing upon demand
-Ensures assigned deliverables and deadlines are met and proactively communicates with clients if priorities need to shift
-Gives expert design advice on projects to maximize efficiency and maintain visual consistency
-Leads the creative direction and provides print & digital graphic support for internal events, meetings, and annual conferences:
-Works closely with brand leadership and communications managers during conference season to ensure messaging and visuals are aligned
-Coordinates efforts with audio/visual teams that support the brands' conferences and participates in rehearsals for general sessions, as needed
-Liaise with contractors or external agencies and ensure their work follows brand guidelines; recommend refinements based on the brand team's creative direction
-Attend photoshoot pre-production meetings and give design-informed feedback when needed before or during a shoot
-Basic retouching of images (color correction, cleanup, cropping) from brands' photo shoots and uploading assets to the digital asset library as needed
-Helps resolve any issues or conflicts that arise during a project
-Stays current on visual design trends, tools and professional development opportunities
REQUIRED TECHNICAL SKILLS:
-4+ years of graphic design, agency, communications or other relevant experience
-Mastery of Graphic Design Platforms and Tools: Demonstrates high proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite (primarily InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat)
-Advanced Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
-Creative Design Development: Demonstrates the capability to create and manage the design process including color selection, layout, and typography in a high traffic environment like an agency, serving multiple clients (e.g., brands, departments, initiatives) with a passion for design excellence
-Project Management: Demonstrates advanced capability to manage multiple priorities effectively, meet deadlines, and shift project focus when needed
-Client Service: Demonstrates the capability to interact with multiple levels of the organization and provide expert recommendations in a professional and service-oriented manner
-Branding: Ability to drive compelling and creative visual storytelling that adheres to brand standards
-Communications: Requires excellent communication and interpersonal skills, a keen eye for detail, and the ability to translate complex messaging goals into clear and compelling visual design
REQUIRED EDUCATION:
-Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, Art, Marketing, or a related field
OTHER KEY QUALIFICATIONS:
-Proven professional design expertise across various mediums
-Professional client service and ability to interact with all levels of management
-Ability to handle constructive feedback in a collected manner
-Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple projects, meet tight deadlines and adapt to changing priorities
-Strong initiative and a high sense of urgency and flexibility
PREFERRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:
-Experience with project management tools
-Experience with video production and editing
-Basic understanding of coding
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