Art Director

GDP is a creative marketing agency that combines the best of strategy, design, and journalism to help brands clarify complexity, and we're looking for an Art Director to join our team.

We're looking for a conceptual and collaborative creative with a passion for advertising, design, and visual storytelling. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable developing campaign ideas and bringing them to life across a variety of channels, partnering closely with copywriters and senior creative leaders to create work that is memorable, effective, and beautifully crafted.

This role sits primarily within our advertising practice, where you'll help shape integrated campaigns for some of the world's leading technology brands. You'll work across brand campaigns, social, digital, live events, and emerging platforms—translating complex ideas into clear, compelling, and human creative. You'll collaborate closely with Creative Directors, Copywriters, Strategists, and Producers, and play an active role in presenting and discussing work with clients.

This is a hybrid role (in-office Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays) in San Francisco.

• Partner closely with copywriters to develop and execute integrated advertising campaigns across digital, social, experiential, and brand channels.
• Contribute to campaign development from initial concept through final execution, bringing strong visual thinking and creative problem-solving to every stage of the process.
• Design and art direct campaign assets across a variety of formats, including social media, presentations, digital experiences, live events, and video.
• Present work internally and to clients with confidence, clearly articulating the creative rationale behind ideas and executions.
• Collaborate with Creative Directors to refine concepts and ensure a consistently high standard of creative excellence.
• Work closely with strategists, writers, designers, and producers to deliver thoughtful, compelling, and production-ready creative.
• Direct photographers, illustrators, motion designers, and production partners to bring ideas to life.
• Support campaign extensions and adaptations across channels while maintaining creative integrity and consistency.
• Contribute to communications systems for, by, and about GDP across owned, social, and live-event platforms.
• Use AI tools thoughtfully to accelerate ideation, generate reference materials, prototype quickly, and explore new creative possibilities while maintaining a high standard of craft.
• Stay curious about emerging trends in advertising, design, technology, and culture, bringing new ideas and references to the work.

• 2–5 years of experience in an advertising, branding, or marketing agency environment.
• A portfolio that demonstrates strong conceptual thinking and exceptional visual craft across multiple channels.
• Experience developing integrated campaigns in partnership with copywriters.
• Strong design fundamentals, including typography, composition, photography, and visual storytelling.
• Experience presenting work to clients and participating in creative discussions with confidence and professionalism.
• Highly collaborative, resourceful, and comfortable working in fast-paced, multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience translating complex or technical subject matter into ideas that are clear, compelling, and emotionally resonant.
• Demonstrated fluency with Figma and Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign). Experience with motion design tools such as After Effects is a plus.
• Experience with AI creative tools, including image generation platforms and AI-assisted workflows, is preferred.
• An interest in technology, innovation, and B2B storytelling is a plus.

The rise of AI. Turbulent financial markets. An erosion of trust. We are living in deeply complex times, and our creative marketing agency is purpose-built for this moment.

Organizations need to know who they are, what they stand for, and what they're here to do. They need to communicate their ideas and ideals in clear and compelling ways. That's where GDP comes in.

Our team of journalists, strategists, and designers helps brands turn complexity into clarity. Because the best ideas fail if no one understands them.

The salary range for this role is $110,000–$140,000.

Benefits and Perks

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401k Company Contribution
• FSA/HSA
• Flexible Time Off
• Paid holidays + holiday week (Christmas–New Year closure)
• Commuter benefits
• Monthly utility reimbursement
• Pet insurance
• Paid parental leave for birthing and non-birthing parents
• Collaborative San Francisco office in easily accessible location
• Bi-weekly team lunches and cultural celebrations
• Life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability

Our salary offers take into consideration the skills and experience a candidate brings, pay equity across similar roles within GDP, and the market rate for similar roles outside of GDP. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant, along with the requirements of the position. The company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time.