Design Director

About Unwell

In just three years, Unwell has become one of the most powerful community-led brands in media; built on honesty, inclusion, and self-expression. With Alex Cooper and the Unwell family at the center, we’ve turned real conversation into a cultural movement - and a brand that drives both emotional connection and business growth.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Design Director with exceptional craft, strong creative instincts, and a genuine desire to stay close to the work.

This is a hands-on role for someone who thrives both in setting the creative direction and contributing directly to the work. You'll lead a talented team of designers while staying actively involved in concept development, design, and execution.

You’ll set the creative standard, shape ideas, build alongside the team, and personally design when the moment calls for it. That could mean developing the visual direction for a campaign, refining a social concept, building a presentation for a major creative idea, or jumping into the files to get an important piece of work over the finish line.

You'll bring clarity, taste, and a strong point of view to how Unwell shows up across social, campaigns, original programming, podcasts, YouTube, experiential events, partnerships, and emerging brand initiatives.

You should be equally comfortable thinking at the system level and obsessing over the details. This role is for someone who loves making things, has high standards, and isn't afraid to roll up their sleeves.

What You’ll Do

Creative Standard & Direction

• Set and uphold the visual and creative bar across social, campaigns, launches, and broader brand expressions.
• Translate brand strategy into clear, compelling design direction that feels culturally relevant, social-native, and unmistakably Unwell.
• Partner with creative, brand, social, and production leads to shape ideas from brief through execution.
• Provide sharp, constructive creative feedback that raises the quality of the work without slowing it down.
• Build visual systems and creative frameworks that create consistency while leaving room for experimentation.
• Ensure the work feels intentional, contemporary, platform-appropriate, distinctive, and unmistakably Unwell.

Hands-On Design & Execution

• Design as well as direct. This role requires someone who is comfortable opening the files, building the work, and contributing directly to execution.
• Create and refine key design work for high-priority campaigns, social moments, launches, partnerships, and internal creative initiatives.
• Build compelling creative decks and presentations, from early concept narratives and visual territories through polished presentations for internal teams, talent, partners, and leadership.
• Develop layouts, typography, visual systems, key art, social executions, and other brand materials as needed.
• Jump in wherever the work needs another set of hands, from pushing concepts further and polishing presentations to solving design problems and preparing work to ship, while maintaining a high level of craft across static, motion, and emerging formats from initial idea through final execution.

Creative Leadership & Operations

• Oversee design priorities, workflows, and resourcing across the Unwell ecosystem.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to establish clear briefs, timelines, and expectations.
• Balance hands-on design responsibilities with creative oversight and team leadership.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes and improve creative output.
• Manage competing priorities and shifting timelines while maintaining quality and supporting team capacity.

Collaboration & Influence

• Work closely with marketing, social, creative, production, talent, and external partners to bring ideas to life.
• Clearly articulate creative thinking and design rationale to cross-functional stakeholders.
• Translate feedback into stronger creative solutions while protecting the integrity of the idea.
• Balance ambition with practicality, knowing when to push, when to simplify, and when to ship.
• Align stakeholders on creative direction, scope, and deliverables throughout the process to ensure clear expectations and efficient execution.

Team Leadership & Mentorship

• Lead and mentor a team of three designers, fostering creative growth, confidence, and independent thinking.
• Provide clear direction, actionable feedback, and support throughout the creative process.
• Establish priorities and distribute work thoughtfully based on team capacity and strengths.
• Create an environment where designers feel empowered to own projects from concept through execution.
• Lead by example through the quality of your own thinking and work.

What We’re Looking For

Experience

• 8+ years of experience in design across brand, social, campaign, experiential, and cultural work, with demonstrated experience leading creative projects and mentoring designers.
• Experience owning or leading creative work from initial concept through final execution.
• A portfolio that demonstrates exceptional visual taste, conceptual thinking, strong craft, and social-forward execution.
• Experience in fast-moving creative environments such as in-house brand teams, agencies, media companies, entertainment brands, or platforms.
• Experience creating high-quality creative presentations and communicating ideas visually.
• Experience managing creative workflows, balancing competing priorities, and collaborating across multiple teams or business functions.
• Experience leading or mentoring designers, providing actionable feedback, and supporting individual creative growth.

Skills & Strengths

• Exceptional visual design fundamentals, including typography, composition, hierarchy, layout, and systems thinking.
• Strong instincts for concept, storytelling, and brand expression.
• Highly proficient in the tools required to create and ship great design work.
• Comfortable moving fluidly between creative direction and hands-on execution.
• Able to turn an early idea into a compelling visual story, whether that lives in a campaign, a social execution, or a deck.
• Confidence giving clear, actionable creative feedback.
• Strong attention to detail without losing sight of the bigger idea.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and timelines simultaneously.
• Ability to establish structure and clarity in fast-moving, collaborative creative environments.
• Strong leadership instincts, with the ability to empower designers while maintaining a high creative standard.

Nice to have

• Motion, animation, or video design fluency.
• Experience developing visual identities or campaigns for entertainment, media, podcasts, YouTube, or experiential activations.