Creative Design Director

As a Creative Lead at Pocket FM, you will be responsible for leading the thumbnail strategy function by creating distinctive visual identities for shows, designing for the US market with cultural nuance, and mentoring a world-class creative team. Your key responsibilities will include: - Lead the development of show-level visual branding through thumbnails that reflect genre, emotion, and character. - Design title styles and visual hierarchies that are memorable and scalable across personalized thumbnail variations. - Build thumbnail strategies rooted in US consumer behavior, visual trends, and genre-specific storytelling expectations. - Guide a team (internal & agency) in advanced image creation, manipulation, lighting, and compositing with a focus on visual storytelling. - Provide structured feedback, creative direction, and performance mentorship to in-house designers. - Go beyond one-off thumbnails to build scalable visual systems SOPs, templates, genre kits, title treatments that balance consistency with creative freedom. - Implement A/B testing, set benchmarks (CTR, engagement, scroll-stop %), and optimize thumbnail performance using both data and design instinct. - Bring agency-style campaign thinking to thumbnail design from concept to execution to impact tracking. Qualifications required for this role include: - 7-12 years of experience in design strategy, art direction, or creative ops. - Strong command of visual storytelling, emotional design, and digital design principles. - Proven experience setting up design systems, creative guidelines, and team processes. - Strong understanding of user behavior, especially in content or entertainment apps. - Prior experience with A/B testing, CTR optimization, and performance-based design. - Exposure to thumbnail or content visuals on streaming/audio platforms. - Deep understanding of genre-based audience expectations (e.g., thrillers vs romance). - Strong blend of creative flair + analytical thinking.,