Mid-Weight Graphic Designer

Job description

1. Why this role, why now

Arilo is an AI-native creative production and marketing agency with studios in Cape Town, New York and the Philippines, working with ambitious global brands across beauty, skincare, healthcare, FMCG, luxury, technology and professional services. We're growing the Cape Town Creative Studio and need a Mid-Weight Graphic Designer who enjoys the variety, someone who'd rather design six different brand worlds well than one brand world forever. If you think in strategy as much as layout, this is built for you.

2. What the impact looks like in your first 3-6 months

In your first month, you'll onboard onto two or three client accounts, absorbing their brand systems and starting to produce campaign assets (social, digital advertising, email, landing pages) under the Senior Design Lead. By month three, you're taking briefs from the account management and copy teams straight through to production-ready artwork with minimal oversight, and extending brand guidelines confidently into new formats. By month six, you're a trusted owner of at least one client relationship's creative output, contributing at the concept stage and helping keep production standards consistent across the wider studio.

3. What we're looking for

The non-negotiable is range with consistency: 4-6 years' experience in a creative agency, branding studio or marketing environment, a strong portfolio spanning digital marketing and brand design, and excellent typography and layout skills applied across multiple client brands. You'll need working proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat) and Figma, plus a genuine openness to AI creative tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Adobe Firefly. This isn't an AI-specialist role, but curiosity matters here. Advertising agency experience specifically is a strong advantage, given the multi-client, multi-brief pace of the studio. Experience in technology, SaaS, crypto, beauty, healthcare, medical aesthetics, luxury, retail or non-profit work is preferred but not essential.

4. What's in it for you

The package is market related and dependent on experience, pitched above the general market rate for mid-level graphic design roles , reflecting the seniority of working across multiple global brands inside an agency structure rather than a single in-house design role. Beyond compensation, you'll get exposure to an international client roster from one studio, daily collaboration with creative directors, the head of creative, copywriters, developers and the AI studio, and a structured environment to grow conceptual thinking, presentation skills and craft, with real, practical investment in AI-enhanced creative workflows.

5. How to apply

Send your CV and a portfolio link (essential: applications without one won't be shortlisted) to oc.olira@sreerac.

Arilo is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

Requirements

• Strong typography, layout and visual storytelling ability, with a portfolio that demonstrates premium craft across digital marketing and brand design
• Proven experience designing for multiple client brands simultaneously, applying and extending established brand systems accurately and consistently
• Solid understanding of digital marketing design — social content, email, landing pages, paid media and display advertising — grounded in commercial and strategic thinking, not just execution
• Ability to prepare accurate, production-ready artwork and maintain organised, well-named working files to agency standards
• Strong collaborator, comfortable working closely with creative directors, copywriters, developers, the AI studio and account managers to turn briefs into finished visual solutions
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat) and Figma; Canva advantageous
• Curiosity and willingness to integrate AI creative tools — ChatGPT, Claude, Adobe Firefly — into the design workflow (Midjourney advantageous; not an AI-specialist role)
• Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint; SharePoint a plus)
• Advantageous: experience across technology, SaaS, crypto, beauty, healthcare, medical aesthetics, luxury, retail, consumer products or non-profit sectors

Posted on 11 Aug 20:02, Closing date 11 Sep