The Lead Brand Designer role at Birds of Paradise is a strategic and creative role responsible for shaping and safeguarding how the brand looks, sounds, and feels across every touchpoint, working internally and externally to bring the brand to life through design. This role is research-driven, equal parts science and art. It reaches past the design canon into other disciplines, so the thinking is visible in every piece of work: distinctive, considered, unmistakably on-brand.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Brand Guardianship & Creative Strategy
- Serve as the guardian of the brand's visual and verbal identity across all platforms and applications
- Translate brand strategy, consumer insights, and research into a coherent, distinctive design language
- Ground design decisions in research and reasoning — able to articulate the "why" behind the work, not just the "what"
- Draw from other disciplines (e.g. psychology, culture, science, art history) to inform and deepen design thinking
- Create compelling narratives through design and communications to deepen emotional connection with customers
- Shape the design of customer touchpoints (boutique, pop-ups, events, website) — layout, signage, and visual merchandising — to serve the customer experience
- Assess collaboration and partnership requests for brand alignment, and advise Management on fit
Design & Creative Production
- Own all design and creative output across omnichannel platforms — social media, website, email/CRM, digital ads — including photos and videos
- Design store posters, menu boards, and website photography
- Design brand applications across equipment used at events, product packaging, and other physical touchpoints
- Plan and execute visual merchandising across boutique and event spaces
- Work with Marketing on print/physical production
- Maintain design consistency and quality across all creative assets, in-house and outsourced
Team Leadership & Vendor Management
- Guide and mentor the team, delegating production-level work while retaining ownership of concept, strategy, and final quality
- Review and direct creative and design output from team member(s) to ensure it reflects the intended design thinking and brand standards, not just surface execution
- Identify design work best suited for outsourcing, and manage external agencies/freelancers to deliver on time and on brief
Copywriting & Content
- Direct, write, and refine copy and captions across social media, in-boutique, website, and event platforms, working with team members and/or copywriting tools
- Ensure tone of voice is consistent with brand identity across all written content
WE ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WITH / WHO IS
- A methodical approach to design
- Able to go deeper into a subject and draw from other disciplines into their design work
- Thinking and research that is visible and evident through the work they create
- A strong sense of brand alignment in their creative work
- Discerning taste, with a strong point of view on what is and is not on-brand
- Strategic and creative in equal measure
- High attention to detail and consistency across multiple platforms and formats
- Comfortable operating with a high degree of design autonomy while working in close partnership with senior management to shape brand
- Able and willing to mentor team member(s), balancing hands-on production with direction-setting
REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS
- Degree in Design, Visual Communication, Fine Arts or related field
- Min. 3 years of experience in brand design, with a portfolio demonstrating conceptual depth
- Proficiency in design tools (e.g. Adobe Creative Suite, Figma)
- Secure copywriting ability to direct, write and discern with sensitivity to tone and brand voice
- Experience designing across both digital and physical touchpoints (social media, print, retail/event environments)
- Photography and videography skills are a plus
SUCCESS IS WHEN
Our brand's visual and verbal identity is portrayed with an inimitable beauty and aesthetics that is loved, recognisable, consistent and elevated across every touchpoint.