Freelance Design Director

StudioXAG creates bold spaces that tell big stories.

We create WOW moments for some of the world’s best-known brands, crafting immersive experiences that spark surprise, delight, awe and emotional connection.

Our team is made up of conceptual thinkers, creative dreamers and inquisitive makers who bring these moments to life.

We’re looking for a Design Director to help shape the future of our Creative Studio — someone who can define bold ideas, raise creative standards and lead exceptional work across projects, teams and clients.

This is a role for a senior creative leader; someone confident directing ambitious work, elevating those around them, and balancing creative excellence with commercial reality.

The Role

As a Freelance Design Director, you’ll define, direct and elevate design across the Creative Studio.

Reporting into our Associate Creative Director, you’ll lead some of our most ambitious and strategically important projects while helping raise the creative bar across the wider studio.

Alongside your own work, you’ll mentor and develop Lead Designers, strengthen team capability and influence the evolution of our creative output through your standards, leadership and taste.

You’ll also take ownership of a key area of creative innovation or capability, helping shape how our Creative Studio grows in the future.

Requirements

Responsibilities

Creative / Design Direction

• Lead concept-led design across multiple projects, turning briefs into clear, compelling creative direction
• Own and direct high-profile, creatively ambitious work, setting the benchmark for quality and craft
• Raise creative standards across the studio, guiding teams toward fewer, stronger and more impactful ideas
• Lead reviews with clarity and decisiveness, balancing creative ambition with commercial reality
• Drive innovation and creative elevation within an area of specialist interest or strength

Leadership

• Mentor and develop Lead Designers, supporting growth through feedback, coaching and development
• Strengthen capability across the Creative Studio through exceptional creative direction and input
• Help build a high-performing creative culture through talent development, recruitment and raising standards
• Lead with confidence, accountability and clarity

Communication & Collaboration

• Translate briefs into clear creative direction and aligned outputs across teams
• Collaborate closely with Design Project Management to balance ambition with delivery
• Build trusted relationships with clients and internal stakeholders, guiding projects from briefing through to production
• Protect creative intent through every stage of delivery

What We’re Looking For

We’d love to hear from you if you are:

• A highly creative and experienced design leader with exceptional creative judgement and the ability to define strong ideas across multiple projects and teams
• Experienced within luxury brand, retail, experiential or agency environments, with a track record of mentoring creatives and elevating team capability
• A confident communicator, presenter and storyteller who can sell ideas and build trust with senior stakeholders
• Someone who balances bold ideas with commercial awareness and understands how to deliver impactful work at scale
• Deeply connected to culture, design and innovation, with curiosity about how our industry is evolving
• Technically confident across industry-standard tools (SketchUp, Adobe Creative Suite, rendering software etc.)

Bonus points for:

• Experience shaping new capabilities, services or ways of working
• Interest in emerging tools, AI or evolving creative processes
• Strength in a particular area that could help evolve our Creative Studio over time

Location

We work hybrid:
📍 3 days/week in our East London studio (E10)
🏡 2 flexible days

Standard hours are 9am–6pm, with flexibility available.

Belonging & Inclusivity at StudioXAG

StudioXAG is a business that strives for equality for all its people. Known for our storytelling, our different perspectives make us more creative than ever.

No matter who you are, you are welcome at StudioXAG.