Creative Director

In this role, Creative Director, you will own the creative vision for Karuna Skin and Avatara and keep each brand distinct, consistent, and recognizable from screen to shelf. You will lead creative across campaigns, content, photo and video, packaging, in-store merchandising, and events, and set the standard for every brand-facing asset. Partnering directly with the CEO and with our marketing, ecommerce, product, and sales teams, you will turn business goals into clear creative strategies, manage our external design agency, freelancers, and the Digital Graphic Designer, and build the workflows that keep creative on time, on brief, and on budget.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Creative Vision & Brand Leadership

• Own the creative vision for Karuna Skin and Avatara, ensuring each brand has a distinct, consistent, and elevated visual identity across every touchpoint.
• Develop and maintain brand guidelines, visual systems, and creative standards for both brands, and serve as the final creative approver on all brand-facing work.
• Translate business and marketing objectives into clear creative strategies, concepts, and briefs.
• Stay ahead of beauty, K-beauty, Gen Z, and pop culture trends to keep both brands culturally relevant and visually distinctive.

Campaign & Content Development

• Lead concept development and creative execution for product launches, seasonal campaigns, promotions, and brand moments from ideation through delivery.
• Partner with marketing, ecommerce, and product teams to build integrated campaign toolkits that work across DTC, Amazon, TikTok Shop, retail, and paid media.
• Set the creative direction across digital touchpoints (social, website, email, ecommerce, and paid media) so the experience is consistent from screen to shelf.
• Manage the creative calendar to ensure assets are delivered on time, on brief, and aligned with go-to-market plans.

Photography, Video & Production

• Lead art direction for photo and video shoots, including product, lifestyle, before & after, and campaign content.
• Plan and manage production end to end, including shot lists, mood boards, talent, locations, crew, and production budgets.

Packaging, Retail & Omnichannel Creative

• Lead packaging design for new launches, refreshes, and line extensions with product development and our design agency. Own the work from concept through final print-ready files, keeping regulatory copy, timelines, and production specs on track.
• Develop design concepts for in-store merchandising, including endcaps, sidecaps, displays, shelf strips, and other fixtures, so the products stand out at shelf and meet each retailer’s requirements.
• Direct creative for retail and wholesale marketing assets, including sell sheets, line reviews, retailer presentations, and co-op or in-store promotional materials.
• Partner with sales to bring retailer programs and placements to life, translating each brand’s identity into retail settings.

Event & Experiential Design

• Lead creative concepts and design for brand events, pop-ups, retail activations, trade show booths, and influencer or press events, in partnership with marketing and sales to support launches, retail partners, and community building.
• Design immersive, shareable brand experiences that reflect each brand’s identity and generate social content.
• Oversee event collateral, signage, displays, and environmental design, and work with vendors and fabricators through on-site execution.

Team & Agency Management

• Directly manage and mentor the Digital Graphic Designer, setting priorities, reviewing work, and supporting their creative growth.
• Serve as the main point of contact for our external design agency, managing scope, timelines, and feedback across packaging and other agency projects.
• Manage relationships with freelancers, photographers, and other creative partners.
• Own the creative budget and establish efficient workflows and review processes across both brands.

Creative Performance & Optimization

• Partner with marketing, ecommerce, and sales to measure how creative performs across digital, retail, and packaging, and apply learnings to future work.
• Use data-driven insights alongside creative instinct to continuously improve the impact of brand, campaign, and in-store creative.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

• 8+ years of creative experience, including 3+ years leading creative teams, ideally in beauty, skincare, or CPG.
• Proven experience taking packaging from concept through production, designing retail merchandising such as endcaps, sidecaps, and displays, and building brand creative across DTC, Amazon, and major retail partners.
• A strong portfolio showing brand building, packaging, retail, and integrated campaign work.
• Experience managing agencies, freelancers, vendors, and creative budgets.
• Expert in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and Figma, and comfortable using AI tools in creative workflows.
• Strong eye for detail, a clear communicator, and able to manage multiple brands and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, or a related field, or equivalent experience.