Creative Director

The Yard Creative is looking for a new Creative Director to take our creative output to new levels. As a boutique design agency who ‘only work with people who want to challenge a sector’ our abilities to see the world differently from others and identify opportunities for our clients, is what drives us. Our clients have already voted TYC as the No3 Graphics design agency in the UK and Top 50 in the world.

Role overview

After 15 years TYC is entering a new era, embarking on new ventures, new expansion (NYC & LA) and a new level of creativity. As such, we are looking for a tenacious Creative Director who isn’t afraid of disrupting marketplaces, who is empathic to client ambitions and an inspiration for all those who follow them.

· Lead the creativity of the business and produce big ideas that help our clients change sectors. This is across Strategy, Branding, Physical Space and Front-end digital. Your formal training won’t limit your thinking and you’ll be happy to give a view across all aspects of the business.

· Become the strategic head of the business and build on our ethics as an evidential design agency.

· At all times this has to be built on knowledge, insights and a scientific approach to problem solving.

· Know our clients’ industries. Research the competition, know the benchmarks and learn from the best. Become an expert in our client’s world.

· Know our clients’ products. What is it that makes one product or service better than another? Even if it’s a product you may not use every day, get to know it like a pro so you can sell it in the most inspired way.

· Know our clients’ customers. You’ll need the ability to take your own head off and think like our clients’ customers. Put yourself in their shoes and think like them. If ever you feel you’re not in touch with that demographic, get to know them!

· Know what’s happening in the ever-changing world around us. Obsess about the changing world and bring excitement to the team every day and challenge us all to go further.

· Understand our clients. One of the three reasons TYC exists is to have very close relationships with our clients. Get to know them, understand them and their day-to-day lives and show empathy to what’s going on in their world. Understand what gets them excited and what’s important to them. Then build this relationship and ensure we always go further than they expected.

· Build on our eclectic diverse culture and create an environment that our designers thrive in.

· Inspire and build the team. Become the go to person the team look up to and want to learn from. Show them what you bring to TYC rather than talk about it. Let them see you think and create.

· Part of the role will be to host creative sessions with clients and the team.

· The best design is useless if we can’t sell the dream. You’ll need to be able to stand up in front of a board of directors and convince them our ideas are right and TYC will grow their brand and make them money!

· Know business. Understand the commercial side of our clients’ world. Sometimes the best design solutions may be not to do it at all! Understand how they make their money and how to design to make them more successful.

· Above all, think differently. There is never just one way. Think about how to tackle projects in the best way for the desired outcome. Think about how we present and how to change the client’s perspective within the first 90 seconds of any presentation. Understand how to shift the dynamics to allow you to control any situation.

· As we grow, pitching is inevitable. You’ll need to be able to gasp the big idea quickly and deliver the right solution to win the day.

· Become known as TYCs CD. Network, get out there, go places with the other Directors and become known as the person leading the new era of innovation at TYC.

· Be flexible. You must be able to inspire and direct all skillsets from brand to digital and strategy to interiors within the TYC team whilst working across multiple projects at one time.

· Understand the commercials of our business and being able to make the right decisions for TYC as much as for our clients.

You’ll be working alongside the Design Directors creating the Management team. The vision is that; between you all, you’ll be working towards being able to run TYC with less input from the Co-Founders.

Of course this is a client-facing role that requires you to be able to engage and manage clients in a positive and proactive manner. There will be regular onsite client meetings that will be planned, managed and run by you, however the day to day will be conducted in our office in London Bridge. Our client base covers UK, Europe, Middle East and the US.

Specific skills required for the role:

• Excellent idea and concept generation abilities

• Extensive experience in creating brand strategy and identities, brand naming, brand positioning, marketing ideas and communications materials

• Experience in understanding and interpreting customer and market research, global and local societal trends and customer behaviours

• Be able to understand physical space design and help build ground-breaking spaces

• Extensive understanding of digital strategies and outputs across web, app, AR and motion design

• Outstanding skills in copywriting and creating tone of voice

• Outstanding skills in creating campaign related graphic materials (experience must be in both physical and digital campaigns)

• Exceptionally confident and articulate when pitching and/or presenting concepts or ideas

• Outstanding client liaison and management skills

• Outstanding team leadership skills whilst also able to produce all project deliverables to an exceptionally high standard

• Expert knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud

• Expert Apple Mac user

• Expert user of MS Office

• Excellent story boarding and creation of presentations using Adobe InDesign

Who will you be?

You’ll be your own person. Be confident in who you are, stand up for what you believe and never hide what you know. You’ll share everything you know to help others around you grow and flourish whilst be inquisitive to ask them questions back. People will describe your knowledge and energy as infectious. You’ll of course have a passion for what you do (otherwise why are you doing it?!), bring energy to the team and help grow our culture. And you’ll know your stuff. You’ll not bluff your way through and always have TYC front of mind.

What we’ll do for you

In exchange for bringing it every day, we’ll ensure you’ll manage a wide variety of creative challenges, work with Global Brands, Developers and Entrepreneurs, have exposure to many different aspects of the business/Group and continue to learn at every step of the way. We’ll support you and believe in you. You’ll get a strong work life balance and be part of our family.

And lastly...

You’ll be part of an agency whose profits go towards affecting climate, demographic and economic change. At a time where we’re all telling our clients to have a bigger purpose, we’re leading the way and showing others how it’s done. TYC is part of a group that is on a mission to deliver long term change to support the move away from fossil fuel reliance and deliver this in a socially responsible manner. It’s another good reason to get out of bed in the morning!

About TYC:

TYC is an multi-award winning, evidential design studio based in London. We are creative catalysts, partnering with people who want to challenge their sector.