Creative Director

Brand designer and creative

Multidisciplinary · Brand-Led · AI-Integrated

Location: Dubai, Al Quoz 3 | Type: Full-time | Reports to: Founder & Creative Director | Experience: 8+ years

The role

Capital D Studio is a boutique hybrid creative communications agency and production house — established in 2008 and built on the conviction that a brand is an operating system, not an aesthetic. We work with clients in luxury, e-commerce, and high-growth verticals, where creative precision and strategic clarity are non-negotiable.

We are looking for a Creative Director who is as fluent in brand strategy as they are in Figma — and who brings genuine curiosity about how AI tools are reshaping creative workflows. This is a hands-on leadership role. You will conceive, direct, and quality-control across brand, campaign, content, and production work simultaneously.

This is not a title role. You will be expected to think, make, lead, and evolve — often in the same week.

What you will own

• Manage the creative vision across CDS client engagements — from brand identity to campaign to content systems
• Translate brand strategy briefs into visual and verbal identity work that is distinctive, coherent, and market-ready
• Direct and mentor a small, multidisciplinary creative team across design, copywriting, and production
• Oversee quality control at every stage: concept, production, and delivery
• Develop and pressure-test brand guidelines, design systems, and creative frameworks
• Collaborate directly with the Founder on new business pitches and strategic creative proposals
• Champion AI workflow integration within the creative process — identifying where tools accelerate without compromising craft
• Contribute to CDS's internal creative standards, IP, and methodology documentation

What we are looking for

Core

• 5+ years in brand, design, or creative direction — agency or hybrid studio preferred
• Strong foundational background in graphic design with demonstrable craft in typography, composition, and visual identity
• Proven experience leading brand identity projects from strategy through execution
• Comfortable operating across verticals — luxury, retail, lifestyle, digital-native brands
• Exceptional creative judgment — you know when something is good and why
• Articulate and confident presenting and defending creative decisions to clients

Design & production

• Expert-level proficiency in the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign as baseline)
• Confident working in Figma across both UI/UX and brand identity applications
• Working knowledge of motion, video, and content production pipelines
• Experience building and documenting scalable design systems and brand guidelines

AI fluency

• Active, informed user of AI tools in a creative workflow context — Midjourney, Runway, Adobe Firefly, ChatGPT/Claude, or equivalent
• Understands where AI accelerates production and where it dilutes brand integrity — and holds the line accordingly
• Able to develop and implement prompt workflows that support consistent brand output at scale
• Genuinely curious about the evolving AI creative stack — not resistant, not uncritical

Leadership & collaboration

• Experience managing or mentoring creative talent in an agency or studio environment
• Strong written communication skills — brief writing, creative rationale, and client presentation
• High tolerance for ambiguity and a structured approach to managing creative complexity
• Operates with ownership mentality — you do not need to be managed

Nice to have

• Experience working with luxury or premium brands in a GCC or MENA context
• Exposure to e-commerce creative — product photography direction, digital campaign production
• Basic video editing or motion design capability (After Effects, Premiere)
• Familiarity with ClickUp, Notion, or structured project management tools
• Arabic language skills (not required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Dubai