The Dragon Shield story began in 1999, in the backroom of a Danish gaming store with a gamer who knew card game accessories could be better, and for over 20 years, Dragon Shield has been the market leader and standard bearer in high-quality sleeves. In 2024, we celebrated our 25th anniversary, but one thing has always remained the same: We are still gamers, and that is reflected in everything we do.
About the Role
The Junior Art Director is responsible for leading the visual execution of trade merchandising, retail marketing, and event design initiatives for the Dragon Shield brand, with opportunities to support additional brands as needed. This role ensures brand consistency across all visual communications while collaborating closely with Marketing, Trade Marketing, and Events teams to create impactful, engaging brand experiences.
The Junior Art Director shapes the visual identity and creative direction of live events, conferences, experiential marketing campaigns, and B2B trade environments. They oversee the design and execution of retail displays, trade show assets, point-of-sale materials, and other merchandising initiatives that strengthen brand presence and drive customer engagement.
In addition to developing high-quality creative work, the Junior Art Director provides guidance and mentorship to graphic designers, offering constructive feedback and fostering professional growth. They work collaboratively across cross-functional teams to translate strategic objectives into compelling visual solutions while ensuring projects are delivered on time and to a high standard.
The Junior Art Director stays informed of current design trends, emerging technologies, and industry best practices to ensure all creative work remains innovative, relevant, and aligned with the brand's evolving identity.
Key Responsibilities
- Responsible for developing, describing and executing creative concepts for experimental activations, trade show booths, and event-specific promotional materials
- Partner with Creative Director and entire Branding and Graphics team to ensure visual consistency across all consumer facing elements of the Dragon Shield brand
- Create B2B and D2R marketing assets, including promotional guides, catalogs, sales sheets and advertising templates
- Visual concepting: develop detailed design plans, including 3D space layouts, mood boards, color palettes, and sketches
- Collaborate within cross-functional teams, including graphic designers, copywriters, product managers, product designers and as well as with purchasing, marketing and sales departments
- Provide art direction and guidance to designers and other team members to ensure the successful execution of projects
- Stay up-to-date with industry trends and best practices in design and advertising
- Manage multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring deadlines are met and deliverables are of the highest quality
- Conduct regular reviews of creative work to ensure it meets brand guidelines and objectives
- Foster a collaborative and positive work environment, promoting creativity and innovation
- Actively participate in meetings, brainstorm sessions, workshops, presentations and work-related travel
- Manage the overall graphic design processes as they apply to trade merch, events and workflows within the team
- Manage the creation of art briefs and guidelines for artwork
- Manage the commissions of artwork from freelance artists
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, Visual Arts, or other educational backgrounds relevant to this position
- 5-8+ years of experience from similar positions
- Strong portfolio showcasing your creative work across various mediums
- Proven leadership, advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma, visual storytelling and team management
- Deep understanding of visual merchandising principles, print production, large-format graphics and retail consumer behavior
- Ability to manage multiple projects with tight deadlines
- Attention to detail and a keen eye for aesthetics
- Interest in trading card gaming, as well as a playful mindset is an advantage
Preferred skills:
- Experience in digital and multimedia design
- Familiarity with industry-specific tools and processes, such as 3D rendering tools like SketchUp or AutoCAD
- Strong presentation and client-facing skills
#LI-Remote
Bachelor's degree in graphic design, fine arts, visual arts, or related field; 5–8+ years' experience; strong portfolio; Adobe Creative Suite and Figma proficiency; leadership, visual merchandising, and project management skills.
Key Responsibilities
- directing artwork
- managing projects
- mentoring designers
Skills & Tools
Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, SketchUp, AutoCAD
Job Details
- Category: Design
- Seniority: Senior Level
- Commitment: Full Time
- Workplace: Remote — United States
- Languages: English
About Southern Hobby Distribution
A gaming accessories brand producing high-quality trading card sleeves. — Industry: Retail and Wholesale