--- title: 'Freelance Creative Director, Design at VSA Partners' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/freelance-creative-director-design-vsa-partners-united-states-fpfm35bykjng' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-13' --- # Freelance Creative Director, Design at VSA Partners - **Company:** VSA Partners - **Location:** United States - **Posted:** 2025-11-19 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vsapartners/jobs/5712907004 ## Job description VSA’s purpose is to design for a better human experience. As a strategy and design agency, we blend consumer insights and data with human-centered design to activate meaningful, motivating and measurable experiences in an increasingly noisy world. With offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco, VSA offers a full range of fully integrated capabilities—branding, advertising, data science and technology—all under one roof. VSA is also a proud member of Meet The People, an international family of unified and independent agencies. For more than 40 years, we have delivered solutions for business and creative leaders at some of the world’s most respected brands and forward-thinking organizations, including Google, Nike and IBM. Creative Director, Campaign Design Are you an art director by trade, a designer at heart, and a person with a passion for great advertising? If so, we should talk. We’re looking for a smart, strategic creative director to join our campaign design team. In this role, you’ll work on every kind of campaign—from the digital- and social-first to the big 360s—creating beautiful, impactful visuals that draw viewers in (and make our clients stand out). You’re the perfect candidate if: - You love being on a tight-knit team that works hard and moves fast, but also just really likes each other - You have an uncanny ability to translate ideas into visuals that move people - You truly love design and bring an elevated aesthetic to all of your work - You want to help sell big, bold ideas that break through - You have a healthy appreciation for deadlines - You like working in a variety of industries, from Big Tech to small consumer brands - You’re energetic, optimistic, and excited to do great things - You play well with others—and appreciate working with really, really nice people and clients Still with us? Good! Check out a few more of the responsibilities below. Core Responsibilities: Creative Leadership: - Enthusiastically develops and executes high-impact, visually compelling concepts for integrated campaigns - Brings deep production experience - Is fluent in full-funnel digital marketing, including trends in social media, paid search, video advertising, influencer marketing and more - Establishes and maintains the overall art direction, ensuring a consistent visual language across client projects. - Serves as a leader in the creative process, guiding teams through ideation, design, and execution. Collaboration & Teamwork: - Works closely with copywriters, designers, strategists, project managers and the production team to ensure cohesive creative direction that delivers on the creative brief. - Leads brainstorming sessions and provides constructive feedback to ensure high-quality work. - Acts as a liaison between the creative team and internal stakeholders, facilitating clear communication and idea flow. Client Engagement & Communication: - Eagerly engages in client content to best understand the client’s vision, business goals, and their products and services and then translating these into compelling creative deliverables. - Presents creative concepts and campaigns to clients and internal teams, articulating design decisions and the strategic rationale behind them. - Identifies growth opportunities within existing accounts and collaborates with client-facing teams to nurture and expand client relationships. - Represents the creative team in new business presentations and pitches, showcasing VSA’s design capabilities and approach to campaign work. - Helps identify new business opportunities and contribute to the agency’s growth strategy. Project Management & Execution: - Coordinates across teams to ensure that all deliverables meet deadlines and production quality standards. - Oversees multiple campaigns, ensuring consistency and high-quality execution across platforms and media. Mentorship & Development: - Supports the development of junior staff by providing mentorship and feedback to foster their growth as needed. - Identifies tools, resources, and processes that improve creative efficiency and team performance. Skills and Experience Required: - Visual Design Expertise: 10+ years of experience in design. Strong command of design principles, typography, layout, and color theory to execute top-tier, visually impactful campaigns. - Strong Portfolio: A robust portfolio of integrated campaign work that spans from print to digital to experiential for B2b and B2C brands. - Leadership & Team Management: 3+ years of managing teams. Proven ability to lead and inspire creative teams, providing direction and feedback while fostering a collaborative environment. - Strategic Thinking: Ability to synthesize client briefs, strategic objectives, and market insights into innovative campaign executions. - Communication Skills: Strong verbal and written communication skills for client presentations, team coordination, and internal collaboration. - Project Management: Capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously, with strong organizational skills and attention to detail. - Software Proficiency: Advanced skills in design tools (Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, etc.) and familiarity with project management tools (e.g. Slack, Google Suite and Workamajig). ## About us VSA’s purpose is to design for a better human experience. As a strategy and creative agency, we blend consumer insights and data with human-centered design to activate meaningful, motivating and measurable experiences in the world. VSA offers a full range of fully integrated capabilities—branding, advertising, data science and technology—all under one roof. VSA is also a founding agency of Meet The People, a family of unified and independent agencies. For more than 40 years, we have delivered solutions for business and creative leaders at some of the world’s most respected brands and forward-thinking organizations, including Google, Nike and IBM. VSA Partners is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive, equitable environment for all employees. All employment decisions are made based on qualifications, merit and business need. California Residents - Please review our Privacy Notice [here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ScnONj7xW3Xy3ytStohy1If0HY6iVnLs/view?usp=sharing). This employer participates in E-Verify. For more information, see the [E-Verify Participation Poster](https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf) and [Right to Work Notice](https://www.e-verify.gov/about-e-verify/whats-new/new-right-to-work-poster) (English and Spanish). ## VSA PARTNERS, LLC [vsapartners.com](http://www.vsapartners.com/) https://www.linkedin.com/company/vsa-partners/ https://www.facebook.com/vsapartners/ https://www.instagram.com/vsapartners/ ## About VSA Partners ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: VSA Partners is a design-driven creative agency that helps brands turn creativity into growth through brand strategy, activation, campaigns, and digital experiences. - **Entity Type**: Private (acquired by Innovatus Capital Partners in 2021; privately held) - **Headquarters**: Chicago, Illinois, United States (with offices in New York, NY and San Francisco, CA) - **Founded**: 1982 - **Founders**: Dana Arnett (Chairman & Founder) and Robert Vogele (Founder) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Design Services / Creative Agency (branding, advertising, data science, technology) - **Target customers**: B2B and B2C brands, from global icons (Google, Nike, IBM) to emerging challengers; enterprise and mid-market - **Mission or purpose statement**: “Design for a better human experience” – blending consumer insights and data with human-centered design to activate meaningful, motivating, and measurable experiences. ## Products & Services Major offerings include: - **Brand Strategy** – Brand architecture, narrative & messaging, verbal identity, audience research and segmentation. - **Brand Activation** – Campaign development, design systems, visual identity, brand guidelines, dynamic websites and digital experiences. - **Campaigns** – Breakthrough creative ideas across channels to grab attention and drive action. - **Digital Experience** – Website design, digital product experiences, and media planning & buying. - **Employee Engagement** – Internal communications and culture-building programs. - **Research & Insights** – Proprietary tools for audience research, segmentation, and data-driven strategy. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed - **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue estimated at $40 M (based on LinkedIn data); 66 employees (+12.4% YoY); 8 active job postings (up 700% YoY) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Acquired by Innovatus Capital Partners (2021). Clients include Google, Nike, IBM. Member of Meet The People, an international family of independent agencies. - **Growth Signals**: 40+ years in business, 300+ industry awards, 1,000+ notable clients. Headcount growth of 12.4% year-over-year. Increase in job postings signals expanding capabilities. ## Competitive Advantages - **Integrated one-roof model**: strategy, creative, data science, and technology all under one roof, enabling speed and coherence. - **Low-ego culture**: described as “low ego, never precious, never satisfied” – a collaborative partner that moves at the speed of business. - **Proprietary tools**: Audience research and segmentation tools that give clients a data edge. - **Long‑standing client relationships**: 40+ years working with some of the world’s most admired brands. - **Member of Meet The People**: Access to a global network of agencies while retaining independence. ## Strategic Focus - **Current priorities**: Helping brands turn creative into measurable business growth – delivering speed to market, cultural relevance, and performance. Emphasis on brand systems, campaigns, and media strategies that break through and scale consistently. - **Growth direction**: Expanding digital and data-driven capabilities, deepening client partnerships, and leveraging hybrid work to attract top talent across Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: “We’re forever curious, never precious. Never satisfied.” Emphasis on collaboration, diversity, equity, and inclusion – with a commitment to fostering complex conversations and overcoming unconscious biases. - **Work model**: Hybrid work schedule with offices in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Reasonable working hours and flexible time-off policy. - **Perks & benefits**: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage; 401(k) match; screen-free Fridays; evolving happiness and health policies. - **Engineering/creative culture**: Design-driven environment with roles in strategy, design, writing, project management, and technology. Salaries (from Indeed) include Senior Writer ($90k–$100k), Strategy Director ($140k–$180k), and Staff Designer ($60k–$70k). Freelance opportunities also available. - **Growth opportunities**: With 8 open positions and a 700% YoY increase in job postings, the agency is actively scaling and offers room for career advancement. ## Sources 1. [VSA Partners Careers Page](https://www.vsapartners.com/careers) 2. [VSA Partners Main Website](https://www.vsapartners.com/) 3. [VSA Partners About Page](https://www.vsapartners.com/about) 4. [VSA Partners LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/vsa-partners) 5. [VSA Partners on Indeed](https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Vsa-Partners) ## Other roles at VSA Partners - [Junior Staff Accountant](https://feeny.ai/job/junior-staff-accountant-vsa-partners-chicago-2twzb5vcfgy2) — Chicago, IL - [Project Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/project-manager-vsa-partners-chicago-4hs3j2bnxb1d) — Chicago, IL / New York, NY - [Staff Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-designer-vsa-partners-new-york-tybb9hm3c2r2) — New York, NY - [Freelance - Senior Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/freelance-senior-designer-vsa-partners-chicago-8pjky7h8mecm) — Chicago, IL - [Part-Time Controller / Senior Accounting Consultant](https://feeny.ai/job/part-time-controller-senior-accounting-consultant-vsa-partners-united-states-3e442a7f8zgb) — United States - [Staff Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-designer-vsa-partners-chicago-4p1mnf7wjxbs) — Chicago, IL - [Associate Director, Strategy](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-director-strategy-vsa-partners-chicago-yjdv6xmgbx4f) — Chicago, IL / New York, NY - [Senior Writer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-writer-vsa-partners-new-york-sh5vy9mxktnq) — New York, NY - [Senior Writer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-writer-vsa-partners-chicago-5cxyyk2fyy2p) — Chicago, IL - [Freelance- Senior, Project Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/freelance-senior-project-manager-vsa-partners-united-states-bpg20paq6ehr) — United States