StudioXAG creates bold spaces that tell big stories

We are a B Corp-certified creative studio in London and Amsterdam that believe in business as a force for good.

We create exciting experiences for some of the world's best known brands, telling stories that touch every corner of the globe. Luckily for us, we have a diverse team of conceptual thinkers, creative dreamers and inquisitive makers that help make this happen.

They’re our core. They make us tick, inspire us, push us to be better.

Now we want to hear from you.

The Role:

We are looking for a Lead 3D Designer to join our in house design studio. 

Reporting into one of our Associate Design Directors, you’ll be joining a design team of 18 in a vibrant, exciting, and creative environment in our London office. You will have the opportunity to work with great brands on interesting projects; you will be responsible for delivering brilliant creative on a broad range of design projects for the business.

The Lead Designer will head up their own full time, mini team of up to 2x designers to support and nurture their development, training them to the highest standards. 

Who exactly are we looking for?

We’re looking for a bold, fast and fearless design leader who has a hunger for managing talented, happy teams and creating inspiring and beautiful work.

The ideal candidate will:

• Be highly creative
• Have the ability to tell stories and pull together narrative
• Be a great communicator
• Be a true team player
• Be a fantastic organiser
• Be a brilliant people manager
• Have a strong eye for detail
• Be a talented creative problem solver

Requirements

Ideal Experience: 

• 7+ years experience in 3D design within creative retail
• A keen creative eye with experience in generating engaging narratives and creative concepts to help reinforce brand messages and sell specific products
• Ability to guide, mentor and coach other designers
• Ability to communicate a creative vision to an in house designer or freelance designer
• Ability to train designers on design programs and design skills
• Experience working within an agency or team environment with other designers
• Expert ability to navigate and resolve complex design challenges
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to articulate complex design concepts to non-design stakeholders

• Strong organisational skills
• Ability to prioritise workload and manage multiple projects with an ability to assess appropriate resources required to deliver a design project
• Leadership qualities and a hunger to deliver the best results
• Confident in coaching teams to deliver creative to the highest standards
• Great creative problem solving skills combined with clear and thoughtful decision making.

Skills & Responsibilities:

Creative Experience

• Able to confidently build 360 brand experiences: (narrative and concept that reaches all core touchpoints physical and digital)
• Creatively responding to client briefs, creating concepts through mood boards and sketch ideas to clearly articulate brand vision and messaging
• Researching from diverse sources, including current and future industry trends, to pull together inspiring references that inform project direction
• A broad understanding of luxury brand aesthetics, tone of voice and brand positioning
• Confident presenting to peers, management and clients, with a talent for storytelling through brilliant design
• Collaborating with peers across StudioXAG to support fully-realised creative visions, and successfully handing over the design process to our Projects, Production and Technical Teams 
• Able to confidently brief, review and approve technical designs that meet the creative requirements. Producing dimensioned specification packs showing design intent, to handover to the technical design team
• An understanding​ ​of​ a range of materials, fabrication​ ​and​ ​assembly​ ​processes
• Taking ownership of small-to-mid-sized projects, competently planning and executing effective workflows, with prioritisation of key/bigger tasks 
• Being the lead on key projects - as a specialist to support cross-department collaboration
  

Project Management & Communication

• Dissecting briefs and understanding clients needs
• Proven ability to lead multiple projects at one time
• Proven ability to present and justify design decisions to key stakeholders within Studio XAG and to clients
• Accountable for comprehensive and complete handovers of your projects through to inhouse teams or external production (when required)
• Ability to articulate design concepts clearly
• Flexibility in adapting to changes and new requirements
• Ability to prioritise and organise workload effectively
• Ability to work independently and manage time effectively
• Proven track record of meeting tight deadlines and managing priorities efficiently

Team Leadership / Training

• Responsible for the nurturing and personal development of a team of up to 2 direct reports. This will include their 121’s, personal development plans, career progression and growth plans
• Working with freelance designers and external agencies to deliver creative to the same level of quality as expected when working with in-house teams
• Ensuring the team are happy, motivated and inspired, bringing the best out of each individual.
• Training teams on design programs, design skills, soft skills and creative skills
• Ability to lead designers, including mentoring and developing junior, middleweight and senior designers to deliver work to a high standard
• Consistently delivering your own projects to budget 
• Expert knowledge of what your designs might cost to realise across a broad scope of projects at all levels 
• Able to confidently design within budget expectations

Industry Knowledge

• Excellent understanding of the world of retail and brand experience and the design and production process
• A diverse and up to date knowledge of brands, with knowledge of luxury, beauty, lifestyle sectors and the wider retail industry  
• A strong understanding of aesthetics / tone of voice/brand positioning/retail strategy

Tool Knowledge

• Expert knowledge of Sketchup & Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator & rendering software (ideally V Ray)
• Good working knowledge and experience working with 3D Modelling software is beneficial eg. C4D/Rhino or other digital platforms (Spark AR, Unreal etc.)
• Strong understanding of spatial design
• Gmail / Google Drive
• Slack (or other similar communication tools)

Benefits

Location:

We currently work a hybrid model; 3 days a week from our East London studio in E10 and 2 flexible days. Our normal working hours are 9am - 6pm but flexible working hours and days are available.

Some of our benefits:

• Gross profit-related annual bonus scheme

• Workplace pension
• 25 days holiday (inc 3 days taken during Christmas closure) + Bank Holidays
• 0.5 paid days off per month to get inspired
• International research budgets and trips
• All-you-can-eat YCN creative professional learning membership
• Spill mental health support
• Flexible and remote working available 

Salary: £50-60k DOE.

Belonging and Inclusivity at StudioXAG:

StudioXAG is a business that strives for equality for all its people. Known for our storytelling, our different perspectives make us more creative than ever. 

No matter who you are, you are welcome at StudioXAG.