Senior Art Director

AGENCY FOR THE NEXT GEN We are all about the next generation. Next generation of consumers. Next generation of platforms. Next generation of content. Next generation of brands. That’swhat gets us up every day. Working with brands to be at the forefront of the next generation. To create relevant and industry-defining work. Whether it’s to better align on the brand’s business challenges, understand the people they need to reach, tell the stories they’ve always wanted to tell or to identify the best direction to get there – when brands work with us, they get a team who knows that if we don’t rethink everything, we change nothing. Website: https://www.dstnct.co/ Culture We’reobsessed with what’s coming next—in culture, platforms, and human behaviour. When brands work with us, they get a team that believes rethinking everything is the only way to change anything. We’re not in advertising. We’re in the business of understanding people, then bringing brands to wherever those people are—physically, virtually, emotionally. What makes us tick? Taking chances. Solving problems. Doing work that challenges conventions and makes life a bit more interesting. The kind of place where your best creative thinking actually gets built. What We Do We obsess over the psychology of our audience — what people are into, their pain points and motivations, what makes them tick. That has allowed us to transcend conventional channels and take care of a full spectrum of services. • Integrated Marketing • Products and Platforms • Social and Content • Branding • UI/UX • Experiential • Data & Technology Your Role The Senior Art Director sits above the Art Director and below the Associate Creative Director. It is the last role on the ladder where craft is still the core of the job — you are expected to be one of the strongest makers in the studio, and to raise the standard of everyone working near you. You will lead the visual direction on major campaigns and pitches, set the craft benchmark for the Art Directors and Creatives around you, and take responsibility for the visual integrity of work across multiple accounts rather than a single one. You will also start carrying real creative leadership load — running reviews, briefing teams, presenting to clients and defending the work. DSTNCT’s clients are predominantly Singapore public sector bodies and cultural institutions, so you will need the judgement to produce distinctive work inside real constraints — brand guidelines, accessibility requirements and stakeholder sensitivities included. The Senior Art Director reports to the Associate Creative Director or the Executive Creative Director. Key Responsibilities Creative Craft and Output • Lead visual direction on major campaigns from concept through to final delivery. • Set and hold the craft standard across the work you oversee, particularly typography, composition and art direction. • Produce work yourself at the highest level in the studio — this remains a hands-on role. • Work across mediums as the brief demands: digital, social, print, motion, environmental and experiential. • Art-direct shoots and production alongside producers and the video team, holding visual intent through to the final cut. Concept and Strategic Thinking • Develop campaign-level ideas, not just executions, and articulate the thinking behind them. • Interrogate briefs and push back where the brief will not produce good work, with an alternative in hand. • Connect strategy and cultural context to visual expression so the work is grounded rather than decorative. • Lead the visual response on new business pitches, working alongside strategy and the new business team. Creative Leadership • Run creative reviews for Art Directors, Creatives and interns, giving specific, actionable direction rather than general reaction. • Brief and guide junior creatives through development, and know when to step in and when to let them run. • Develop the people around you deliberately — identify what each person needs to get better and give them work that builds it. • Set the tone on collaboration and professional conduct within the creative team. Client and Stakeholder Engagement • Present creative work to clients directly, explaining the thinking and defending the work with reasoning rather than assertion. • Handle client feedback constructively, distinguishing between changes that improve the work and changes that damage it. • Apply public sector and cultural institution requirements correctly, including brand guidelines, accessibility standards and sensitivity protocols. Studio Standards and Ways of Working • Uphold file management, version control and handover standards across the creative team. • Work with account and production teams on realistic timelines, and flag early when a timeline will cost quality. • Contribute to the studio’s use of AI as a creative tool — testing, sharing what works and setting sensible practice. • Contribute to awards submissions and the agency’s creative reputation. Required Skills & Experience • Minimum 7–9 years in art direction or design within an agency, studio or comparable creative environment, including time at Art Director level. • A portfolio demonstrating campaign-level thinking and craft, not only execution. • Exceptional typographic craft — this is the clearest signal of the level. • Multi-medium fluency: digital, social, print, motion and environmental. • Technical excellence across the Adobe Creative Suite and adjacent tools. • Demonstrated experience directing and developing junior creatives, with examples you can name. • Confident presenter, able to sell work to clients and hold a position under challenge. • Cultural fluency — you know what is happening now and can connect it to a brand problem. • Experience with public sector or cultural institution clients is an advantage. • Practical fluency with AI as a creative partner, with the judgement to know where it helps and…