Manager, Visual Design

at Lawson Products in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Job Description

Manager, Visual Design

City: Chicago

State/Province: IL

Country: United States

Division: Corporate

Job ID: 13022

Since 1952, Lawson Products has worked hard to make our customers’ jobs easier by improving their operational efficiency, productivity and overall performance. As a leader in the MRO industry, we partner with customers to make sure they have the right maintenance and repair parts on hand when needed.

We’re looking for a Manager of Visual Design to join our team! This individual will have the unique opportunity to re-envision our 70+ year-old brand by elevating our creative touchpoints throughout the customer journey and in the marketplace overall. In addition, this player/coach position will oversee and lead a team of visual design associates, while also having the opportunity to introduce, with the Sr. Manager of Brand & Creative, new UX standards and best practices within the organization.

Our corporate headquarters is located in Chicago, IL. This role operates on a hybrid work model; employees spend two days working in the office and three days working remotely. We offer 401k plus vision, dental and medical benefits, as well as a paid holiday and PTO package.

Responsibilities:

+ Lead the continual development and execution of user-centered visual design to support the brand’s vision, aligned with business and brand goals across multiple audiences.

+ Support and inform visual design strategy, along with UX best practices, across a variety of online and offline platforms, for B2B and B2E, ensuring seamless experiences; ability to develop and validate design concepts through sketches, wireframes, and visual comps.

+ Support design evolution and maintenance of the brand architecture, collateral, and asset architecture and other frameworks within the Brand team.

+ Collaborate with cross-functional teams to create impactful design and layouts for content within email marketing, advertising, social media, sales enablement, print + digital catalogs, and web campaigns.

+ Use analytics pertaining to identify growth opportunities, providing recommendations for continuous improvement.

+ Drive breakthrough creative work with the team, focusing on building brand equity and establishing key points of differentiation in the marketplace.

+ Support guidance and partnership to our external partners to ensure that compelling visual and UX connects with our target audiences, leveraging research to test creative concepts with those audiences.

+ Ensure prioritization of the team’s work in accordance with business goals, establishing QA process and governance for work outputs.

+ Lead, manage, and grow a team of 3+ employees

+ Other duties, responsibilities, and qualifications may be assigned as necessary.

Qualifications & Requirements:

+ Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) required, preferably in Art and Design with an emphasis in Creative Arts, Graphic Arts, Visual Design, UX/Design and/or Interaction Design

+ At least 5 years of proven visual design and/or Interaction Design experience, ideally in B2B, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience in the distribution and/or manufacturing industries is a plus!

+ Experience in Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and/or InDesign, or an equivalent combination of education and experience

+ 1-2 years of experience/understanding with user experience/UX

+ Ability to influence, collaborate and be adaptable within cross-functional teams and internal clients

+ Understanding of visual design and layouts for traditional and eCommerce websites, mobile apps, channels, and offline experiences (e.g.: events, collateral, etc.)

+ Ability to distill goals into clean, compelling layout and design

+ Strong leadership and management skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate team of visual designers

+ Ability to articulate creative concepts and strategies to stakeholders

+ Ability to inspire creativity and innovation in the team

+ A sharp eye for detail with ability to implement quality control, coaching team to continually improve and elevate critical thinking and work product

+ Proficiency in juggling multiple, concurrent projects while meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment

+ Ability to think out-of-the box and drive creative solutions

+ Understanding that the input of the team is critical while guiding everyone to be better at what they do and how they perform – we are better together

+ Excellent written and verbal communication skills while being process-oriented

+ Organized and focused on optimal team productivity and efficiencies

+ Experience in designing with compliance to WCAG 2.0/2.1 AA guidelines is a plus

+ This individual understands how to push creative boundaries in the B2B space, visually tell dynamic stories and a foundational understanding of modern UX principles. This individual is constantly looking for ways to innovate beyond the status quo, supporting a brand vision that creates a visceral connection with customers and employees in both online and offline moments.

Lawson Products is an Equal Opportunity Employer of women, minorities, protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.