Design Director

ABOUT US At Design Bridge and Partners, part of WPP, we design brands with the power to move. Pulling people towards them with an irresistible force that compels and connects. With 900 creative minds across 17 studios worldwide, diverse in expertise, experience, backgrounds and beliefs, we are united in our ambition to achieve real impact for our clients’ brands benefiting their business, people and the planet. With expertise across brand strategy, brand design, brand engagement and brand effectiveness our clients across the world include NASA Artemis, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Mastercard, Intel, HSBC, Tencent, Twitch, Heineken, Reckitt and the BBC. ABOUT WPP WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com. ABOUT THE ROLE As a Design Director, you will be the champion of your projects, bringing strategic creative leadership to bear across high-profile re-brands, exciting concept generation, and iconic design solutions. Working in close partnership with our Creative Directors and Client Leads, you will lead multidisciplinary design teams to deliver work that is insightful, confident, inspirational, and craft-driven. You’ll act as a true agency partner rather than a reactive supplier, challenging briefs, driving concept generation, and presenting with gravitas and conviction. Beyond the work, you will play a vital role in the health and energy of the studio, inspiring, motivating, and guiding designers through the highs and lows of the creative process, while ensuring our high standards of craft, financial efficiency, and production feasibility are met every step of the way. ABOUT YOU  You are an experienced and inspirational Design Director with solid CPG experience and a portfolio that demonstrates deep, varied brand exposure. You combine big conceptual thinking with a critical eye for crafting detail, alongside the tenacity and "can-do" attitude it takes to turn great ideas into award-winning reality. Key qualities and experience we are looking for include: * CPG & Varied Brand Expertise: Solid experience leading projects within the consumer packaged goods space, alongside a broad range of brand identity experience across various industries. * Creative Leadership & Gravitas: Confident in leading high-profile re-brands and concept generation, presenting to senior client stakeholders with a clear rationale, and standing up for exceptional work. * Quality & Craft Driven: A critical eye for execution and detail, ensuring that every design solution is not only visually stunning but also technically implementable in production. * People & Team Champion: A natural motivator who can guide and inspire designers across the studio, maintaining momentum and a positive atmosphere through all stages of a project. * Strategic & Commercial Mindset: Ability to challenge briefs constructively, understand client business needs, and manage design budgets and resourcing efficiently in partnership with Client Service teams. * Collaborative Partner: Excellent interpersonal skills with a desire to work in genuine partnership with Creative Directors, Client Leads, Print Consultants, and client teams. WHY US? We’re passionate about our people and their careers. We’ll help you develop your skills and provide you with outstanding benefits. So you’ll have a chance to make your mark on our future, as we make a mark on yours. We’re proud to be the world’s most awarded brand design agency, with 28 Cannes Lions to our name and Creative Review Annual’s Most Creative Design Agency of the Year 2024. You’ll get to take new projects to award-winning potential, as part of a connected team of brilliant, tenacious people right by your side and across the world.   We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process. Design Bridge and Partners, a WPP company, is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers. Due to the volume of applications, we unfortunately can only respond to successful candidates. We will not accept unsolicited CVs or approaches via recruitment agencies.   #LI-DNI #LI-DNP

About Star Stable Entertainment Once upon a time in 2011, the founders of Star Stable Entertainment had a vision. They wanted to create a game that could make a difference. Although half of gamers are girls and women, they were under-represented in the gaming industry, both as characters and creators. We dreamed of an epic online world where tween and teen girls could share an amazing experience. And we wanted to challenge how things were done in a male-dominated industry. Fast forward to today, and our dream has come true tenfold - Star Stable Online stands as one of the most popular MMORPGs globally! At our HQ on Södermalm, our 150 employees are thrilled to continue to welcome players to the island of Jorvik, with its breathtaking scenery, beautiful horses, and magical quests. It’s wonderful to see that our dream resonates with so many players around the world, and we can’t wait to share more stories and experiences with them! The position We are currently looking for a Design Director to join our team. This person establishes and maintains the vision & standards for the design discipline within SSO. They are the primary point of accountability for ensuring that SSO's design team is working optimally with regard to personnel, skills, knowledge, processes, and structure. Responsibilities * Establishing, communicating, and maintaining SSO's design vision, pillars, and standards * Collaborating with the other directors, producers, and management to ensure that appropriate design standards, processes, structure, and prioritization are in place * Managing SSO design as a discipline; ensuring that any skills or knowledge gaps are covered, and that design is provided with appropriate representation with regards to tools, pipeline, and similar improvements and prioritization * Mentoring & developing designers in player-centric design thinking; the game industry & product development best practices; cross-functional collaboration; workflows, scoping, and personal effectiveness * Assessing & ensuring the improvement / maintenance of the game's core gameplay loops, directed content, gameplay features, game systems, progression systems, and in-game economy & monetization * The position includes management responsibilities with a focus on team leadership and development We think you * Strong empathy for our target audience & belief in our mission and values; * Established history of first-hand experience in a broad range of game design skills (systems design, interaction design, economy design, level design, quest design, core gameplay); * Leadership experience on design teams within a Live game environment; * Experience building processes, structure, and communication in support of cross-functional teams; * The ability to motivate, inspire, and challenge team members; * Clear understanding of a range of business models across varying game genres * Exceptional communication skills Perks for joining us? * A pretty sweet mission. We are developing the world's best horse-riding game for girls and we take that vision very seriously. We strive to hit that mark every single day. * 30 vacation days (+ 3 additional squeeze days). * A pension and insurance plan that mimics ITP1 and a parental pay top-up @90%. * Health allowance at 5000 SEK per year. * Hybrid working model - combine WFH and being together with the team at our new office located right amidst Södermalm GameDev cluster (Magnus Ladulåsgatan 65) * Fitness discount of 18% at SATS gym + company workout classes. * A dog friendly office! Bring your furry friend to work! Are you ready to be a chapter on this magical journey? Apply now! We can’t wait to hear your story!