Art Director

The Art Director must be an accomplished designer with vision, initiative, and autonomy who can act as creative partner, internal critic, and sounding board. The Art Director executes the Barnes Foundation’s brand strategy and ensures consistency across media by managing the design of all print and online advertising, marketing, education, social media, and membership communications. The Art Director oversees the creation and implementation of branding for all special exhibitions. The Art Director also works with the Director of Publications, the Production Manager, and designers to ensure that books and catalogues meet the highest standards and align with exhibition branding strategies.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborates with leadership on the design direction of all institutional materials to ensure consistent storytelling and brand focus across all channels.
• Directs and implements design of all digital and print projects—from ads to brochures and signage to ephemera—handling them from project request to final product at a high level of competence and creativity. This includes the following:
• Meets with department heads and/or project managers as necessary.
• Provides design concepts for presentation, and oversees the execution of design concepts by junior team members.
• Designs projects personally or oversees the work of internal and/or external designers. Makes decisions regarding referral of projects to outside designers.
• Reviews and approves the production stages of creative execution.
• Evaluates end product and distribution appropriately.
• Oversees archiving of paper and electronic files.
• Supervises design team members by orienting, training, assigning, scheduling, and coaching them as they develop their skills.
• Researches and recommends photography and/or illustrations for projects. Identifies photography needs and coordinates photography.
• Manages external designers as necessary.
• Maximizes results within given budget and timeframes.
• Partners and collaborates across all departments to ensure brand integrity and consistency.
• Identifies opportunities for improvement and change in design processes and initiates proposals and/or projects.
• Performs other duties as requested.

Managerial Competencies:

• Demonstrates the ability to monitor, supervise, and hold accountable employees in the areas of attendance, performance completion of documentation, ADP, and implementation of all company policies, procedures, and protocols.
• Supervises and meets regularly with direct report to review operational metrics and provide ongoing guidance; documents constructive feedback regarding job-specific functions, responsibilities, and competencies.
• Maintains written documentation of supervision for oversight and review by other parties as appropriate.
• Demonstrates the ability to maintain a stable, productive team environment through effective communication, staff appreciation, and other activities that yield a high level of employee engagement to support and preserve the employee’s interest in working for The Barnes Foundation.

Skills and Knowledge:

• Bachelor’s degree in graphic design or related field with five years’ design experience required, including experience in a museum or other cultural institution.
• A strong record of outstanding design practice and a sophisticated visual sensibility.
• Ability to think strategically and to work across a range of projects, including print collateral, digital collateral, publication design, identity design, and online experiences.
• Excellent typographic skills and an understanding of visual systems. Demonstrated ability to successfully translate complex ideas into compelling, communicative visuals.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills. Ability to builds good working relationships with internal clients and team members, and to give and receive constructive feedback.
• Proficiency with design software and an understanding of Web interface design, HTML coding, and CSS. Highly skilled in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, multi-page layout, and all print production techniques.
• Demonstrated effectiveness ensuring that print and digital materials reflect an organization’s brand identity and support its diversity and outreach goals.
• Experience managing other design professionals.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare complex files for print production, review and comment on printer’s proofs, and press check projects with a keen eye for detail. An understanding of production requirements for digital media formats to be used in websites, email, video, and other digital communication.
• Ability to develop and monitor budgets and work closely with the Production Manager to establish priorities and schedules.
• Ability to analyze and evaluate the efficacy of graphic design projects and adjust and innovate accordingly.

About the Barnes:

Established as an educational institution, the Barnes Foundation carries out its mission by promoting appreciation of the arts and horticultural science, through the preservation, presentation, and interpretation of the collections of Albert C. and Laura L. Barnes.

Celebrated for its exceptional breadth, depth, and quality, the Barnes Foundation’s art collection has exceptional holdings of Impressionist, post-impressionist, and Modern art, and encompasses African Material Culture, Native American pottery and textiles, antiquities, Pennsylvania German decorative arts, metalwork, and more.

The Foundation engages diverse audiences through high-quality programs, including numerous special exhibitions and commissions, that reflect the range of the collection and our founders’ innovative educational vision. Recent initiatives have included the first US exhibition of the French painter Suzanne Valadon, a show that explored the enduring significance of our Native American collections, and a commission from Sir Isaac Julien that invites reflection on colonialism and the display of African material culture in museums in Europe and America.

Competitive Benefits Include:

Group health, dental and vision insurance; flexible spending accounts; short- and long-term disability and group life insurance; 403(b) with matching contributions; Employee Assistance Program; voluntary benefits; as well as paid vacation, personal time, sick time and holidays.

Please include a cover letter and an updated resume with your application, along with salary expectations.

The Barnes Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we’re committed to diversity and equal opportunity in our recruitment and hiring. Qualified candidates of all backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to apply for this position. Employees have rights under other laws including, but not limited to, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Employee Polygraph Protection Act. We participate in E-Verify. Successful applicants for employment with the Barnes Foundation must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the date of hire as a condition of employment, subject to requests for accommodation.

Barnes Foundation