Art Director, Digital Experience
Deseret Book · Corporate Office
Our company is committed to being trusted voices of light and truth reaching hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
Art Director, Digital Experience
REPORTS TO
Creative Director
LOCATION
Corporate Office
Salt Lake City, UT
STARTING DATE
Immediately
POSITION TYPE
Full Time
OUR COMPANY
Deseret Book is a mission-driven company, committed to being a trusted gathering place for thoughtful expressions of faith. Established in1866, today we create and curate stories worth telling, questions worth exploring, and beauty worth sharing to improve the lives of individuals and families in every step of their faith journey.
In our work culture, we put people first. Our team members are dedicated to meeting the needs of our communities as we work together, creating an environment where collaboration is critical and personal accountability is expected. If you are passionate about helping people find inspiration and help for their lives, and working with colleagues who want to do the same, then Deseret Book Company is the place for you.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Art Director for Digital Experience will lead the visual direction and design execution of Deseret Book's digital marketing touchpoints—social media, website, email, landing pages, digital ads, and video graphics/motion. Reporting to the Creative Director and serving on the creative management team, this role is a hands-on creative leader who shares ownership of our brand standards, ensuring our digital presence reflects the same excellence, consistency, and craft as every other touchpoint.
This Art Director will help manage a team of designers, mentor their growth, and build scalable workflows and templates that enable high-velocity digital content without sacrificing quality. They will partner closely with the Art Director of Physical Experiences to ensure a unified brand experience across digital and physical channels, and will collaborate cross-functionally with Social, eCommerce, Email, Content, and Video teams to create compelling, conversion-minded visual experiences. A strong familiarity with UX/UI design principles is essential—this person must be comfortable navigating user flows, wireframes, and interface design concepts to create digital work that is not only visually compelling but intuitive and user-centered.
RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:
40% Art Direction & Design Execution:
- Set and own the visual direction for all digital marketing touchpoints: social media (organic and paid), website (homepage, landing pages, PDPs, banners), apps, email campaigns and automations, digital advertising (display, retargeting, programmatic), and video graphics/motion (lower thirds, thumbnails, end-cards, animated social assets).
- Concept, design, and art direct campaigns from brief through final delivery; create mood boards, wireframes, mockups, and prototypes that bring strategic direction to life.
- Ensure every deliverable meets the highest standards of digital design craft: hierarchy, readability, accessibility, responsive behavior, animation principles, and platform-specific best practices, along with brand adherence and appropriateness.
- Apply UX/UI awareness to all web, motion, email, and app-related work—ensuring layouts, navigation patterns, CTAs, and user flows are intuitive, accessible, and aligned with conversion goals.
- Collaborate with the Senior Photo & Video Producer on visual direction for photo and video content, thumbnails, and social-first video assets.
- Stay current on digital design trends, platform updates (social algorithms, email rendering, web standards), UI/UX best practices, and emerging formats (AR, phygital, interactive, AI-assisted) to keep our brand fresh and competitive.
25% Brand Standards & Design Excellence (shared with Art Director, Physical Experience):
- Co-own, define, document, and defend visual brand standards as they apply to digital channels: responsive logo usage, digital color systems (RGB/HEX, accessible contrast ratios), web/email typography, iconography, motion principles, and imagery guidelines—in collaboration with the Art Director of Physical Experience.
- Ensure the brand system translates seamlessly into digital environments and platforms while maintaining alignment with physical expressions of the brand.
- Build and maintain scalable digital design systems: reusable component libraries, social templates, email modules, web pattern libraries, and motion presets that enable speed without sacrificing quality; incorporate UX/UI principles (consistency, affordance, feedback, accessibility) into system documentation and standards.
- Lead brand reviews, design critiques, and quality gates for all digital output; ensure consistency across teams, platforms, and agency partners.
20% Team Leadership & Management:
- Manage, mentor, and develop a team of designers: assign work, set priorities, provide constructive feedback, and support career growth.
- Foster a collaborative, craft-driven team culture rooted in creative excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Manage freelancers and agency partners as needed for overflow, specialized skills, or campaign surges.
- Contribute to hiring, onboarding, and performance management for the design team.
15% Cross-Functional & Production Collaboration:
- Partner with Social, eCommerce, Email, Content, Paid Media, and Video teams to understand channel strategies, audience insights, and performance data; translate them into effective, conversion-minded creative.
- Collaborate with product and development teams on web and app experiences, providing design direction informed by UX/UI best practices and advocating for the end user.
- Use performance data (CTR, engagement, conversion, open rates, A/B test results) to inform design decisions, iterate on creative, and build a culture of test-and-learn optimization.
- Collaborate with Project Managers to manage timelines, capacity, and deliverables in Asana; participate in intake, prioritization, and workflow optimization.
- Coordinate with external agencies and tech partners on specs, creative handoffs, and implementation fidelity.
REQUIRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:
- 8+ years of professional design experience with a strong portfolio demonstrating excellence across social, web, email, digital advertising, and motion/video graphics; 3+ years in an art director or senior designer role leading people.
- Expert-level proficiency in industry-leading creative software: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign); strong working knowledge of After Effects and Figma. Comfortable leveraging AI-powered features within these tools (e.g., Generative Fill, Generative Expand, AI-assisted compositing) to accelerate production without sacrificing craft.
- Familiarity and comfort with AI-assisted creative workflows: understanding of how generative-AI tools (image generation, background replacement, copy assistance) can be applied responsibly within brand guidelines, editorial standards, and intellectual-property guardrails. Not expected to be an AI engineer, but should be curious, experimental, and able to evaluate where AI accelerates quality work versus where human craft is non-negotiable
- Familiarity and comfort with UX/UI design principles: understanding of user flows, wireframing, information architecture, interaction patterns, accessibility standards (WCAG), and responsive/adaptive design. Direct UX/UI practitioner experience is not required, but this person must be able to think in terms of user experience, collaborate credibly with product and development teams, and ensure digital creative is intuitive and user-centered.
- Deep knowledge of digital production: social platform specs and best practices, email rendering across clients, digital ad specs, and video thumbnail/graphic specs for YouTube, social, and web.
- Strong typography, layout, and compositional skills optimized for screen: hierarchy, readability, accessible contrast, and responsive behavior.
- Experience building and maintaining digital design systems: component libraries, templates, and reusable modules that scale quality across channels.
- Data-informed design sensibility: comfortable interpreting A/B test results, engagement metrics, and conversion data to improve creative performance.
- Strong storytelling sensibility with the ability to turn strategic briefs and subject-matter expertise into accessible, narrative-driven content aligned to our brand and mission.
- Demonstrated people leadership: mentoring designers, running critiques, providing actionable feedback, and building team culture.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills; able to articulate creative rationale and defend design decisions to stakeholders and leadership.
- Strong project management awareness: able to manage multiple concurrent projects, meet deadlines, and collaborate effectively within Asana or similar tools.
- Understanding of basic HTML/CSS as it relates to email and web implementation; able to communicate effectively with developers.
- Proficient with Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
- Plus: animation/motion depth, photography direction, illustration skills, familiarity with CMS platforms and ESPs.
- Plus: experience in retail, eCommerce, DTC, or faith-based brands; familiarity with the interests and culture of our core customer communities.
BENEFITS
- Excellent medical, dental, and life insurance
- 401(k) savings plan with company matching funds
- Company-funded retirement plan
- Merchandise discount
- Discounted UTA Eco pass
- Paid leave and holidays
- Great work environment
Equal Opportunity
Deseret Book is an equal opportunity employer. We're committed to building an inclusive workplace where every individual is valued, respected, and empowered to do meaningful work. We strongly encourage all qualified candidates to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.