Art Director

Role overview

Creative leadership

• Maintain brand style guides, design systems, and component libraries across print and digital, including English and Arabic outputs, RTL, and bilingual typography.
• Partner with the Editor-in-Chief on cover concepts, tentpole packages, and signature franchises.
• Lead monthly issue design from flat plan to final files, including pacing, hierarchy, typography, image selection, and layout.
• Oversee responsive and accessible digital designs for feature templates, social franchises, newsletters, and article packaging.
• Create shoot treatments and storyboards and oversee visual production standards.
• Set motion guidelines and collaborate with video leads on story packaging and color grading.
• Create social-first visual systems and oversee podcast identities and live/experiential branding.
• Partner with commercial and partnerships teams on branded content and special projects within licensor guidelines.
• Present creative, manage feedback, improve workflows and DAM organization, and maintain rights and clearances records.
• Support inclusive experimentation, regional talent scouting, and creative benchmarks.

Experience and qualifications

• Around 5–10+ years of editorial or brand art direction experience and a portfolio of notable covers/features and cross-platform systems.
• Mastery of typography and grid systems, photographic direction, image editing, and art production.
• Advanced Adobe Creative Cloud proficiency in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Lightroom; Capture One experience.
• Working knowledge of After Effects/Premiere or equivalent motion tools and Figma or similar digital system tools.
• Strong prepress knowledge, including color management, retouch supervision, proofing, and press checks, plus digital accessibility best practices.
• Experience commissioning and directing photographers/illustrators and a robust MENA and international network.
• Strong collaboration, presentation, and stakeholder management; detail-focused and reliable under deadlines.