Art Director - Lifestyle

At Deckers Brands, Together, Every Step is a promise kept that every employee can bring their authentic self, is valued and supported, as a whole person, at work and beyond. Together, Every Step is how we continue to deliver exceptional business results, experience an amazing place to work, and have a positive impact on the communities and world around us. 

Job Title: Art Director Lifestyle
Reports to: Sr. Global Creative Director - HOKA
Location:  Remote - US, west coast preferred

Interested applicants must reside in one of the following approved states:

Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington

The Role

The Art Director for Lifestyle is a senior leadership role responsible for defining and executing the brand’s creative vision within the lifestyle space. This individual will lead the conceptualization and delivery of bold, innovative campaigns and collaborations, ensuring the brand is culturally relevant. This person will ensure the brand stays culturally relevant and aspirational in lifestyle, fashion, and running categories, using expertise in storytelling to create campaigns that connect with audiences and build brand affinity. Spanning across campaigns, collabs, social, and experiential, this role ensures a cohesive brand presence across all touchpoints. The Art Director Lifestyle will stay ahead of trends, blending cultural relevance with brand values, and collaborate with internal teams and external partners to bring ideas to life. A strong leader, they will inspire and mentor teams, drive consumer-first ideas, and innovate to elevate the brand while maintaining consistency and brand strategic alignment. With a refined balance of form and substance, they will deliver impactful campaigns that resonate with consumers and reinforce the brand’s position in the lifestyle space. The Art Director Lifestyle needs to excel in developing groundbreaking brand collaboration campaigns and stays deeply attuned to cultural trends, ensuring our projects resonate with the pulse of today’s audience. This role requires a deep understanding of lifestyle culture, influencer strategy, and audience engagement, with a sharp eye for storytelling that connects authentically with a modern, movement-driven community. This role requires exceptional leadership, a forward-thinking mindset, and a dedication to creative excellence and collaboration. You will work hand in hand with the Art Director Performance and Design Director, to insure brand consistency across all campaigns. You will collaborate with the Sr Global Creative Director, Copywriters, Designers, Producers and other key members of the creative, marketing and leadership team to develop beautiful design and visual storytelling experiences that will shape and define the HOKA brand worldwide.

We celebrate diversity--of your background, your experiences and your unique identity. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and equitable workplace where all of our employees can Come as They Are. We believe that when we bring our different perspectives to work, we are truly Better Together.

Your Impact

The primary functions of this role, include but are not limited to:

• 1. Campaign Development
• 2. Brand partnership management
• 3. Team leadership
• 4. Trend analysis

Who You Are

• Relationship Building
• Cultural Awareness
• Flexible and Agile
• Visionary Leader

We’d love to hear from people with

Experience in brands like Nike, Adidas, New Balance, The North Face, Arc’teryx, Puma… with campaign lifestyle experience and brand collabs experience too.

Education/Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in an agency or in-house team.
• At least 5 years’ experience in a senior creative leadership position leading, coaching and developing a team of multidisciplinary creatives at varying levels of experience.
• At least 5 years’ experience directing photography.
• Demonstrated creative expertise in a broad range of design disciplines including, photography, print, retail, events and experiential design.
• BA in Graphic Design or relevant related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• An authentic connection to lifestyle brands and working for a values driven company.
• A strong passion and connection to cultural trends, particularly within lifestyle, running, and fashion spaces.
• An expert knowledge in brand collaborations and collabs campaigns.
• Has a authentic understanding of the lifestyle consumer.
• A diverse portfolio reflecting sophistication in graphic design, strong typography and photo & video art direction.

Skills/Programs/Knowledge/Behavior:   

• Expertise in Figma and in Adobe Creative Suite: InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat and Microsoft Suite.
• Able to think strategically and conceptualize creatively.
• An inspirational leader, you love the energy that comes from diving into a project as well as mentoring and developing a team of in-house and freelance designers.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills that can be adapted for audiences across regions and at all levels of the organization.
• You are curious, ask questions and dig deep to find solutions.
• Highly motivated self-starter and a team player that likes to win.
• Culturally relevant and keep a pulse on industry news and always searching for inspiration and new influences.
• Proven ability to lead and execute integrated campaigns that resonate with Gen Z and Millennials while balancing trend-driven relevance and meaningful narratives.
• Stay up to date on design and marketing trends, as well as cultural events that may bring fresh ideas.
• Experienced art director on location and in studio directing models or product photography.
• Experience managing, vetting and sourcing creative and production agencies.
• Ability to succeed in a matrix organization through influence, partnership and respect for shared and differing objectives.
• Instill and reinforce the highest standards for collaboration and teamwork within HOKA brand marketing team and across the Deckers’ brand portfolio. Identify synergies, fostering idea sharing, and establish common goals for creative excellence and continuous innovation
• Foster an environment of inclusion and belonging where all employees feel valued, where differences are embraced, and everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work. Champion best practices to improve representation and diversity at Deckers.
• Develop, motivate, recruit and retain high potential talent via clear goals, coaching and identifying stretch opportunities.
• Ability to anticipate project workload demands and scale resources by hiring freelancers as needed.
• Extremely detail oriented, process-friendly, and capable of working within tight timelines on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Exhibits a high level of personal integrity, empathy and respect for others.

What We'll Give You

• Competitive Pay and Bonuses - We’ve created a variety of competitive compensation programs to foster career development, reward success and to show our employees just how much they’re valued.
• Financial Planning and wellbeing - No matter what financial goals our employees have set, we want to help them get there. Our plans provide powerful ways to protect income, pay for expenses and invest in the future.
• Time away from work - Sometimes we need time away to be with family, focus on our health or just simply recharge. Our plans support our employees’ needs to get out, get healthy and come back stronger than ever.
• Extras, discounts and perks - Being a valued member of the Deckers Brands team means more than just a paycheck. From generous discounts to community-based programs, we offer a variety of cool extras
• Growth and Development - Deckers Brands was built on the idea of pursuing passion. That’s why we offer extensive opportunities and support for personal and professional development.
• Health and Wellness - There’s nothing basic about our comprehensive health and wellness programs and offerings. While at work and at play, we aim to support a healthy lifestyle.

$185,000 - $206,000

The salary range posted reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for this role in our Goleta, CA location. Individual pay will be determined by location and additional factors, including job related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Diversity and inclusion are key to our success. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and our employees are people with different strengths, experiences and backgrounds who share a passion for our brands. We welcome qualified applicants regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, military or veteran status, mental or physical disability, medical condition and all of the other beautiful parts of your identity.

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