Art Director

About Ovative Group:

Ovative Group is an independent, full-funnel media, measurement, and creative firm. Leveraging our deep industry expertise, we help brands like Best Buy, Domino's, American Eagle, The Home Depot, Post, Disney, Tumi, Michael Kors, Boost Mobile, and UnitedHealth Group transform their media and measurement programs. The result? Profitable growth that speaks for itself.

At Ovative, we don't just track data, we redefine success. How do we do it? Our proprietary MarTech platform, EMRge helps businesses transform marketing into a driver of sustainable growth. Powered by Enterprise Marketing Return (EMR), our differentiated approach to holistic media buying, planning, and measurement, EMRge is the first MarTech platform to measure businesses holistically. We're all about raising the bar every day, and it shows. Our work has been recognized by organizations like Digiday, Google, Inc. 5000, USA Today, and Search Engine Land.

About the Role:

Creative Lab is Ovatives in-house creative engine built on our vision of modern making. As part of the broader Creative Team (Influencer + Creative Lab), we unite brand strategy, cultural relevance, creators, AI enablement, and strategic media to create ideas people care about within systems designed to evolve.

We are seeking an Art Director who leads with bold conceptual vision, exceptional craft, and deep fluency across the full spectrum of AI-enabled creative from written prompting and image generation to AI video production. This is a creative leader who doesnt just use AI tools, but architects how they work together to push creative further, faster. You bring a strong point of view, refined visual sensibility, and the instincts to know when technology serves the idea and when the human touch is irreplaceable.

Responsibilities of an Art Director, Creative Lab:

• Concept and develop creative across campaigns and channels, partnering closely with strategists, copywriters, and media teams to build ideas grounded in insights and elevated by bold execution.
• Direct the visual language of projects from brief through final delivery setting the creative standard and ensuring every touchpoint reflects exceptional craft, brand integrity, and cultural resonance.
• Bring modern making to life architecting AI-powered creative workflows across image generation, video prompting (Runway, Flora, Kling), and written ideation to explore new visual territories, accelerate concepting, and expand what creative can become.
• Drive AI fluency across the team championing emerging generative tools, establishing best practices for briefs, scripts, and production workflows, and sharing learnings that raise the collective creative bar.
• Present creative work with confidence and clarity, articulating how every design and directional decision connects back to brand strategy and business objectives.
• Creative use of layout, typography, color, and composition across digital, social, OOH, and experiential touchpoints balancing brand integrity with forward-thinking design.
• Collaborate and art-direct creative executions produced by designers, illustrators, motion artists, and external partners, ensuring quality and consistency across all outputs.
• Manage multiple projects with clarity and ownership proactively communicating timelines, risks, and delivery expectations while never compromising on craft.
• Serve as a creative thought partner to cross-functional stakeholders, encouraging innovative thinking while grounding work in best-in-class design principles.
• Stay ahead of design trends, platform evolutions, AI tool advancements, and cultural movements translating whats emerging into whats relevant for clients.
• Build and strengthen relationships with key platform partners (e.g., Meta, Google, TikTok), staying informed on emerging formats and creative opportunities.
• Champion a culture of craft, curiosity, and creative ambition mentoring junior creatives and helping shape what the Creative Lab becomes.

Requirements:

• 3+ years of experience in an agency, in-house creative studio, or brand environment, with a proven track record of leading and delivering world-class creative across digital channels.
• Bachelors degree in Graphic Design, Advertising, Visual Communication, Fine Arts, or a related field preferred.
• A portfolio that demonstrates strong conceptual thinking, exceptional craft, and creative leadership including work that leverages AI-enabled workflows across image, video, and copy.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects) and Figma, with demonstrated command of motion design and animation principles.
• Deep fluency in AI creative tools across three disciplines: image generation, AI video production, and AI writing and prompt engineering with the ability to integrate all three meaningfully into creative workflows.
• Experience developing and directing AI-generated video content, including storyboarding, prompt scripting, and post-processing for social and campaign use.
• Experience developing HTML5 display banners or a strong understanding of digital ad production, specs, and technical requirements across platforms.
• A confident, intentional creative point of view you lead creative discussions, ask smart questions, push work further, and bring others along with you.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to clearly articulate creative rationale and navigate feedback with professionalism and grace.
• Ability to operate with clarity and ownership in a fast-moving, client-facing environment, managing multiple priorities without compromising quality.
• Curiosity, energy, and a growth mindset motivated to continuously learn, experiment, and push the craft forward.

Pay Transparency :

At Ovative, we offer a transparent view into three core components of your total compensation package: Base Salary, Annual Bonus, and Benefits. The salary range for this position below is inclusive of an annual bonus. Actual offers are made with consideration for relevant experience and anticipated impact. Additional benefits information is provided below.

For our Sr. Analyst positions, our compensation ranges from $75,000 to $93,000, which is inclusive of a 15% bonus.

Benefits of Working at Ovative Group:

We provide strong, competitive, holistic benefits that understand the importance of your life inside and out of work.

Culture:

Culture matters and weve been recognized as a Top Workplace for ten years running because of it. We demand trust and transparency from each other. We believe in doing the hard and complicated work others put off. Were open in communication and floor plan. Were flat our interns sit next to VPs, our analysts work closely with senior leaders, and our CEO interacts with every single person daily. Put together, these elements help foster an environment where smart people can support each other in performing to their highest potential.

Ovative is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can participate and thrive. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, including on the basis of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Our policies reflect this commitmentfor example, our medical leave benefits are inclusive of same-sex partners, ensuring equitable care and support for all families.

Compensation and Insurance:

We strive to hire and retain the best talent. Paying fair, competitive compensation, with a large bonus incentive, and phenomenal health insurance is an important part of this mix.

Were rewarded fairly and when the company performs well, we all benefit.

Tangible amenities we enjoy:

• Access to all office spaces in MSP, NYC, and CHI

• Frequent, paid travel to our Minneapolis headquarters for company events, team events, and in-person collaboration with teams

• Generous paid vacation policy

• 401k match program

• Top-notch health insurance options, inclusive of same sex partners

• Family formation benefits including reimbursement options for fertility, pregnancy, and parenting needs

• Monthly stipend for your mobile phone and data plan

• Sabbatical program

• Charitable giving via our time and a financial match program

• Shenanigans Day

Working at Ovative wont be easy, but if you like getting your hands dirty, driving results, and being surrounded by the best talent, itll be the most rewarding job youll ever have. If you think you can make us better, we want to hear from you!