Graphic Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Graphic Designer

Company: milk + honey

Location: Austin, Texas, United States

Job Type: Contract (1099), Remote

Category: Marketing Operations / Creative Operations

Date Posted: May 23, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Remote Status: Fully Remote

🚀 Role Summary

• This role is crucial for developing and executing visual creative assets across multiple digital and print channels to support milk + honey's marketing initiatives.

• The Graphic Designer will be responsible for translating marketing objectives into compelling visual designs that align with brand identity and customer engagement strategies.

• A key focus will be on optimizing designs for specific platforms, particularly email campaigns managed through Klaviyo and social media content for various platforms.

• The position requires a blend of strong design craft, proficiency in design software, and an understanding of brand aesthetics within the wellness and hospitality sectors.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Graphic Designer," the responsibilities and tools (Klaviyo, email rendering, social media, print production, collaboration with marketing) indicate a strong alignment with Creative Operations or Marketing Operations functions, focusing on the execution and optimization of creative assets within a marketing framework. The contract nature and emphasis on async work are typical for specialized operational roles.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design and produce visually engaging email campaigns, including promotional materials, lifecycle sequences, newsletters, and seasonal launch assets, ensuring optimal rendering across various email clients and modes (light/dark) within Klaviyo.

• Create compelling organic and paid social media graphics for platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, including static images, carousels, and story formats that drive engagement.

• Develop print-ready collateral such as direct mail pieces, in-spa marketing materials, and event-specific designs, accurately adhering to bleed, resolution, and technical specifications for print production.

• Support special projects including presentations, internal templates, and ad-hoc creative requests, maintaining brand consistency and visual integrity across all touchpoints.

• Collaborate closely with the Senior Designer and Marketing team to understand creative briefs, incorporate feedback, and deliver high-quality designs that meet project objectives and deadlines.

• Utilize AI tools (e.g., Claude, Firefly) for ideation, wireframing, and iterative design processes to enhance efficiency and creative output.

📝 Enhancement Note: Specific percentages allocated to email (50%), social media (30%), and print (15%) highlight critical channels for this role, demanding specialized execution and optimization skills relevant to marketing operations. The emphasis on "pixel-level precision" and "print production fluency" points to a need for meticulous execution, common in operations roles focused on quality control and brand integrity.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is listed, a strong portfolio demonstrating equivalent practical experience and mastery of design principles is expected.

Experience: 2-5 years of professional graphic design experience, preferably within a wellness, hospitality, or luxury lifestyle service-based brand environment. Proven experience designing for digital marketing channels, particularly email and social media.

Required Skills:

• Mastery of Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) for professional design execution.

• Proficiency in Figma for landing page design, web banners, and collaborative workflows.

• Demonstrated experience designing emails with a nuanced understanding of rendering in Klaviyo, including considerations for light and dark modes.

• Strong grasp of typography, visual hierarchy, color theory, and principles of visual balance.

• Experience creating social media graphics for both organic and paid campaigns across various platforms.

• Fluency in print production processes, including understanding specifications for bleed, resolution, and file preparation.

• Ability to leverage AI tools (e.g., Claude, Firefly) for creative ideation and workflow acceleration.

Preferred Skills:

• Basic HTML/CSS fluency or web design experience for enhanced digital asset creation.

• Light animation or GIF creation skills for dynamic content.

• Familiarity with the milk + honey brand values, aesthetic, and guest experience.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for Klaviyo-specific email design knowledge and comfort with Figma, alongside traditional Adobe Suite proficiency, indicates a need for a designer who can operate within a defined marketing technology stack and workflow. Experience with wellness/hospitality brands suggests an understanding of specific aesthetic sensitivities and customer engagement strategies in these sectors.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase a diverse range of projects demonstrating proficiency across email, social media, and print design.

• Include case studies or examples highlighting the design process from brief to final asset, emphasizing problem-solving and creative rationale.

• Highlight experience with Klaviyo or similar email marketing platforms, demonstrating an understanding of email rendering and campaign execution.

• Present examples of social media graphics that reflect an understanding of platform best practices and engagement metrics.

Process Documentation:

• Examples of how feedback was incorporated into design iterations to improve final deliverables.

• Evidence of clear communication regarding project timelines, scope, and potential roadblocks.

• Demonstrations of how brand guidelines were applied consistently across different project types.

📝 Enhancement Note: A portfolio that clearly illustrates the candidate's ability to execute within specific marketing platforms (Klaviyo) and adhere to strict production standards for both digital and print is essential. The emphasis on feedback incorporation and communication highlights the operational aspect of design delivery.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $30 - $40 per hour, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Benefits:

• Contractor Status: This is a 1099 independent contractor role, offering flexibility in work structure.

• Remote Work: Fully remote engagement, providing autonomy and work-life balance.

• Flexible Structure: Project-based or retainer structure offers adaptability to workload and project needs.

• Brand Exposure: Opportunity to work with a well-established brand in the wellness and hospitality sector.

• Creative Autonomy: Ability to contribute creatively while working closely with a dedicated marketing team.

Working Hours: This is a contract role with flexible working hours, expected to align with project needs and asynchronous collaboration. While specific hours are not mandated, a commitment to meeting project deadlines and participating in occasional check-ins is required. A typical full-time contractor engagement would involve approximately 40 hours per week, but this may vary based on project scope.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hourly rate of $30-$40 for a remote, contract Graphic Designer with 2-5 years of experience in a specialized market like wellness, and requiring proficiency in specific tools like Klaviyo and Figma, aligns with industry standards for skilled freelance creative professionals. Compensation is typically based on project scope and estimated hours for contract roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Wellness, Hospitality, Day Spas, MedSpas, Salons. milk + honey operates within a competitive market focused on self-care, relaxation, and premium guest experiences.

Company Size: The LinkedIn data indicates a company size of 201-500 employees, suggesting a well-established organization with a structured marketing team.

Founded: Founded in 2008, milk + honey has a significant history, indicating stability and proven business models within its sector.

Team Structure: The Graphic Designer will report to a Senior Designer and collaborate closely with the broader marketing team. This structure implies a collaborative environment where creative input is valued, but execution within established brand guidelines and marketing strategies is paramount.

Methodology: The company emphasizes core values such as kindness, connection, integrity, inclusiveness, and excellence. In design, this translates to creating welcoming, high-quality visual experiences that reflect these values, focusing on both conceptual thinking and meticulous craft. The work environment is described as fast-paced, with shifting priorities, requiring adaptability and clear communication.

Company Website: https://www.milkandhoney.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on wellness and hospitality suggests a brand aesthetic that is likely clean, sophisticated, and calming. The emphasis on values like "kindness" and "inclusiveness" should be reflected in the visual design output. The contract nature and async work imply a need for self-management and proactive communication.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a Mid-Level Independent Contractor, requiring demonstrated expertise and the ability to work with minimal supervision on specific creative tasks within a broader marketing strategy. It's an execution-focused role rather than a strategic leadership one.

Reporting Structure: The designer will work directly under the Senior Designer and closely with the Marketing Team, indicating a clear line of communication for creative direction and feedback.

Operations Impact: The designer's work directly impacts customer perception, brand engagement, and campaign effectiveness across key marketing channels. High-quality, on-brand creative assets are essential for driving customer acquisition, retention, and overall brand recognition in the competitive wellness market.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in email design for Klaviyo and social media content creation.

• Portfolio Expansion: Gain experience with a recognized brand in the wellness and hospitality sector, enhancing portfolio appeal.

• Advanced Tools: Further proficiency with Figma and potential exposure to web design technologies.

• Future Contracting: Potential for ongoing retainer or project-based work with milk + honey based on performance and company needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a contract role, "growth" typically means expanding one's portfolio, refining specialized skills, and potentially securing longer-term engagements. Direct leadership growth is unlikely in this capacity, but mastering the creative operations for a brand like milk + honey is valuable.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: This is a fully remote, independent contractor role. There is no physical office requirement.

Office Location(s): While the company is headquartered in Austin, TX, this role is remote and not tied to a specific office location.

Workspace Context:

• Autonomy: Candidates must be comfortable working independently and managing their own design environment, including software and hardware.

• Asynchronous Collaboration: The primary mode of communication is asynchronous, requiring strong organizational skills and clear, proactive communication to manage project workflows and feedback loops.

• Digital Tools: Access to team channels (e.g., Slack, Teams) for communication and collaboration with the Senior Designer and Marketing Team.

Work Schedule: The role is project-based or retainer on a contract (1099) basis. While specific working hours are flexible and async, there's an expectation for timely delivery of work and occasional check-ins or creative reviews. This requires self-discipline and efficient time management to meet project deadlines.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on asynchronous work and self-sufficiency is key. Candidates must be highly organized and possess excellent written communication skills to thrive in this remote, contractor-based environment, ensuring seamless collaboration without constant real-time interaction.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Review: Submission of portfolio and a brief note on brand fit.

• Portfolio Deep Dive: Likely a discussion with the Senior Designer focusing on specific projects, design rationale, and technical execution (e.g., email rendering, print specs).

• Skills Assessment: Potential for a small design challenge or discussion on how they would approach specific milk + honey creative briefs.

• Fit & Logistics: Discussion about working style, communication, availability, and contractor terms.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Showcase 3-5 strong projects that best represent your capabilities in email, social media, and print design, with a preference for wellness or hospitality brands.

• Highlight Process: For each project, briefly explain the brief, your creative process, challenges faced, and how you iterated based on feedback.

• Klaviyo/Email Expertise: Clearly demonstrate your understanding of email design constraints and best practices within platforms like Klaviyo. Show examples of responsive design or how you handled different rendering scenarios.

• Print Production Readiness: Include examples of print collateral and briefly explain your process for preparing print-ready files.

• Brand Alignment: Explain why your aesthetic and approach align with the milk + honey brand.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the Brand: Thoroughly review the milk + honey website, social media, and any available marketing materials to grasp their aesthetic and messaging.

• Anticipate Email/Social Tasks: Be prepared to discuss how you would design a promotional email or a social media campaign for a new service or product launch.

• Print Specification Knowledge: Refresh your knowledge on common print production requirements.

• AI Tool Integration: Be ready to discuss how you've used or would use AI tools to enhance your workflow.

📝 Enhancement Note: The application process emphasizes a strong portfolio that proves practical skills relevant to milk + honey's marketing needs. Candidates should be prepared to articulate their design process and demonstrate an understanding of the specific platforms and deliverables required.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Adobe Creative Suite: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign (Essential for core design work).

• Figma: For web banners, landing page design, and potentially collaborative design workflows.

• Klaviyo: Essential for email design, requiring an understanding of its rendering capabilities and best practices.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• Klaviyo: Serves as a key platform for deploying email campaigns, requiring design assets to be compatible with its system.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma is standard, but specific expertise in Klaviyo for email design is a critical requirement that sets this role apart from a general graphic designer position, aligning it with marketing operations execution.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Excellence: A commitment to high-quality, pixel-perfect design and on-spec deliverables.

• Integrity: Honesty in communication about timelines, capabilities, and potential issues.

• Connection: Building a collaborative working relationship with the Senior Designer and Marketing Team, even in an async environment.

• Inclusiveness: Designing visuals that are welcoming and resonate with a diverse guest base.

• Kindness: Approaching feedback and collaboration with a positive and constructive attitude.

Collaboration Style:

• Async-First: The primary mode of interaction is asynchronous, requiring clear, concise written communication and proactive updates.

• Feedback-Oriented: Open to receiving and incorporating feedback as part of the creative process, viewing it as an opportunity for improvement.

• Solution-Focused: Proactive problem-solving, identifying potential issues early and proposing solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's core values are directly applicable to the working style expected of a contractor. The emphasis on async communication and openness to feedback highlights the operational aspect of creative delivery within a remote team.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Remote Asynchronous Work: Requires strong self-discipline, time management, and communication skills to stay aligned with the team and meet deadlines without constant direct oversight.

• Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent brand aesthetic across diverse channels (email, social, print) while adapting to specific campaign needs.

• Fast-Paced Environment: Adapting to shifting priorities and quick turnarounds common in marketing.

• Technical Nuances: Ensuring designs render correctly across various email clients and platforms, and meeting print production specifications.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Platform Mastery: Gaining deeper expertise in advanced features of Klaviyo for design and deployment.

• Digital Design Trends: Staying current with design trends for social media and digital marketing.

• Wellness Brand Aesthetics: Developing a specialized understanding of design within the wellness and hospitality sectors.

• AI Tool Integration: Becoming more adept at leveraging AI tools to enhance creative workflows.

📝 Enhancement Note: The primary challenges are operational: managing remote work effectively and executing designs with precision across multiple technical platforms. Growth lies in mastering these operational aspects and deepening specialized design skills.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your process for designing a promotional email campaign for a new spa service, considering different email clients and mobile responsiveness."

• "How would you approach creating a series of social media graphics for an upcoming holiday promotion, ensuring brand consistency across Instagram and Facebook?"

• "Walk us through a project where you had to adapt your design based on feedback from a marketing team. How did you handle the iteration process?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What appeals to you about the milk + honey brand and our focus on wellness?"

• "How do you manage your workload and prioritize tasks when working remotely and asynchronously?"

• "Describe your experience working with brand guidelines and maintaining visual consistency."

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your portfolio to clearly showcase your best work in email, social media, and print. Use clear headings and brief descriptions for each project.

• Narrative: For key projects, tell a story: the objective, your creative approach, the tools used, challenges overcome, and the outcome. Highlight your problem-solving skills.

• Technical Detail: Be prepared to discuss the technical aspects of your designs, especially regarding email rendering (Klaviyo) and print production specifications.

• Brand Fit: Articulate why your design style and approach are a good match for milk + honey.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating practical, execution-oriented skills relevant to marketing operations, not just creative flair. Candidates must be able to articulate their process, problem-solving abilities, and understanding of the specific platforms and deliverables required.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on recruiting.paylocity.com.

• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features work relevant to email design (ideally with Klaviyo experience), social media graphics, and print collateral. Prioritize examples that demonstrate brand adherence and a high level of craft.

• Resume Optimization: Tailor your resume to highlight experience with Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Klaviyo, print production, and working within marketing teams. Quantify achievements where possible (e.g., "Designed email campaigns that contributed to X% increase in engagement").

• Note on Fit: Craft a brief, compelling note explaining why you are drawn to the milk + honey brand and how your specific skills align with the requirements of this contract role, emphasizing your ability to work effectively in an asynchronous, remote environment.

• Company Research: Review the milk + honey website and social media channels thoroughly to understand their brand aesthetic, values, and target audience. Prepare to discuss how your design approach complements their existing visual identity.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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