What we’re looking for

We like to work with mavericks. Wild cards. Brilliant, empathetic, creative and strategic thinkers. Talented individuals who are comfortable enough to be independent, but humble enough to know they don’t know it all. We believe in being seriously playful. Making the work the most impactful it can be, and having some fun along the way. If that appeals to you then you’re reading the right job spec.

Topline Role Overview

We’re looking for a Lead Designer who is ready to play a central role in shaping the creative output of the agency.

This is a leadership position within the design team. Someone who can take ownership of major projects, raise the creative bar across the studio, and help guide the next generation of designers. The right person will already be operating at a senior level creatively and will be excited about stepping into broader creative leadership over time.

You will be responsible for delivering exceptional design work across brand identity, campaigns, digital and social. But just as importantly, for helping others do their best work too.

At Founders Makers we work with ambitious startups, scaleups and major brands. Our designers need to think beyond individual assets and understand how brands live across platforms, audiences and cultures.

Modern brands don’t just exist in static design. They live in motion too. From social-first animations and campaign assets to motion-led brand systems and short-form video, we expect our Lead Designer to think about how ideas move as well as how they look.

We’re looking for someone with strong taste, sharp thinking and the ability to lead projects from early concept through to final delivery.

Role: Lead Designer

Salary: £50k – £75k (dependent on experience)

Start: Immediately

Hours: 9 – 6pm (but actually)

Location: London Hybrid**,** Shoreditch, we do three days in office, two days WFH.

Training: Individual training budgets for all members of the team

Holidays: 20 days – not including public holidays, birthday or our 2 week break over New Years.

Work From Anywhere: up to 20 days each year

Responsibilities

You will help shape both the creative output of the agency and the development of the design team.

Key responsibilities include:

Leading the design direction on major brand and campaign projects.
Developing distinctive brand worlds across identity, digital, social and campaign platforms.
Bringing ideas to life across both static and motion formats, ensuring work feels native to modern digital platforms.
Creating motion-led assets for campaigns, social content and brand systems.
Art directing photography, motion, video and wider visual outputs.
Acting as a creative standard bearer for the studio, raising the quality and consistency of design work across the team.
Mentoring and developing others, helping them grow their skills and confidence.
Knowing when to lead hands-on design work and when to delegate effectively within the team.
Collaborating closely with strategists, creatives and client partnerships teams to ensure ideas are translated into powerful visual work.
Presenting work confidently to clients and contributing to creative discussions and feedback sessions.
Contributing to new business pitches and helping shape the creative direction of proposals.
Exploring new creative tools and technologies, including AI-assisted design and motion workflows, to improve the speed and quality of our output.
Helping refine internal creative processes, systems and standards within the design team.

Requirements

5+ years experience in a design role within an agency or creative studio.
Strong portfolio demonstrating brand identity, campaigns and multi-platform design work.
Proven ability to lead projects and guide creative output from concept to final execution.
Deep understanding of typography, layout, brand systems and visual storytelling.
Strong motion design capabilities and understanding of animation principles.
Experience creating motion assets for campaigns, social content and digital platforms.
Expertise in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects).
Strong working knowledge of Figma and modern digital design workflows.
Curiosity about emerging creative technologies, including AI tools and new design platforms.
Strong communication and presentation skills.
A natural mentor who enjoys helping others improve.

Who We Work With

People, brands and organisations that range from household names to challengers looking to make their mark. What unites them? They’re nice people, with big ambitions to impact their industries and who trust us to help them do just that.

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