📍 Job Overview
Job Title: Project Employee, Graphic Designer - WNBA
Company: NBA
Location: New York City, New York, United States
Job Type: Full-Time, Project Employee (Temporary - expected duration not to exceed 10 months)
Category: Graphic Design, Visual Design, Sports Design
Date Posted: June 11, 2025
Experience Level: 3-4 years
Remote Status: Hybrid (Remote one day per week)
🎨 Role Summary
- Support the Creative Director in developing impactful advertising, marketing, and digital media assets for the WNBA, focusing on building the next generation of fans.
- Design a wide range of high-quality visual assets for diverse platforms including social media, web, broadcast channels, events, and internal branding.
- Collaborate effectively across various teams to ensure brand consistency and a unified visual voice across all WNBA creative outputs.
- Play a key role in establishing a consistent and ownable visual identity for the WNBA brand.
🖼️ Primary Responsibilities
- Design and produce high-quality graphic assets for advertising campaigns across digital and physical media.
- Create visually compelling content for WNBA websites and social media platforms, tailored to engage target audiences.
- Develop design assets for broadcast use, ensuring visual coherence with on-screen branding.
- Design materials for WNBA events, including signage, promotional items, and environmental graphics.
- Generate assets for internal use, such as office branding, presentations, and press materials.
- Ensure all design work adheres strictly to WNBA brand guidelines and quality standards.
- Collaborate with marketing, digital media, and other internal teams to understand design needs and deliver effective solutions.
- Manage multiple design projects simultaneously, prioritizing tasks to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- Contribute new design ideas and innovative solutions to enhance the WNBA's visual communication.
🎓 Skills & Qualifications
Education: Bachelor’s degree in an art or design program is required, demonstrating a foundational understanding of design principles, visual communication, and creative processes.
Experience: A minimum of 3-4 years of professional design experience gained within a creative agency, design department, or client marketing department. Experience should include developing design assets for diverse media and collaborating on creative projects. A strong portfolio showcasing work across multiple platforms is essential for demonstrating practical application of design skills.
Required Skills:
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, including advanced skills in Photoshop for image manipulation and digital painting, Illustrator for vector graphics and illustration, and InDesign for layout and desktop publishing.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint for creating visually appealing presentations.
- Strong typesetting and page layout skills, with an understanding of typography, hierarchy, and visual flow in design.
- Familiarity with designing specifically for social media platforms, understanding platform constraints, best practices for engagement, and content formatting.
- Experience with web design principles, including understanding user interface elements and designing for digital responsiveness.
- Excellent attention to detail in all design deliverables, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and high visual quality.
- Strong organizational skills to manage files, projects, and workflows efficiently.
- Ability to work quickly and efficiently under pressure while maintaining creative standards and meeting tight deadlines.
Preferred Skills:
- Experience with Motion Graphics, particularly using Adobe After Effects, is a significant plus, indicating the ability to create dynamic visual content for digital and broadcast platforms.
- Ability to quickly adapt to changing priorities and switch between multiple tasks effectively.
- Experience working within the sports or entertainment industry, demonstrating an understanding of the unique design needs and audience engagement strategies in this sector.
🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements
Portfolio Essentials:
- Your portfolio submission must prominently feature design samples across multiple platforms, demonstrating versatility in applying design principles to various media (e.g., social media, web, print, advertising).
- Include case studies that briefly outline the project goal, your role, the design process, and the final outcome, highlighting your problem-solving approach.
- Showcase your technical proficiency in required design tools through the quality and complexity of your work.
- Present your work clearly and professionally, ensuring high-resolution images and easy navigation.
Process Documentation:
- For selected projects, briefly describe your design process, from understanding the brief to ideation and execution.
- If applicable, touch upon how you incorporated feedback and iterated on your designs.
- Highlight any research or discovery phases that informed your design decisions.
💵 Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range: $2,692.30 - $3,076.92 bi-weekly (equivalent to an annual range of approximately $70,000 - $80,000 based on a standard 40-hour work week and 26 bi-weekly pay periods). This range is competitive for a project-based Graphic Designer role with 3-4 years of experience in New York City, considering the temporary nature of the position and the specific industry. Salary data for graphic designers in NYC with similar experience generally falls within this range, though variations exist based on company size, industry, and specific skill sets. This estimate is based on published data from salary aggregators and industry reports for the New York metropolitan area for graphic design roles at a similar experience level.
Benefits:
- Specific benefits for project employees may vary from full-time employees but typically include access to health benefits, potentially including medical, dental, and vision coverage, as per applicable regulations for temporary workers.
- Potential for paid time off accrual, subject to company policy for project-based roles.
- Participation in company-sponsored events and initiatives.
- Access to employee assistance programs.
Working Hours: Standard full-time hours, likely 40 hours per week. Flexibility is required, including willingness to work flexible hours for coverage during the basketball season and key tentpole moments, which will include nights and weekends, reflecting the dynamic nature of the sports industry.
🎯Team & Company Context
🏢 Company & Design Culture
Industry: Spectator Sports. The NBA (and by extension, the WNBA) operates within the dynamic and fast-paced sports and entertainment industry, which heavily relies on strong visual branding and engaging content to connect with fans globally.
Company Size: The LinkedIn data for "NBA China" shows 51-200 employees. The main NBA organization is significantly larger, likely in the range of 1,000-5,000+ employees globally. This role is likely situated within a larger corporate structure, meaning designers collaborate with numerous departments.
Founded: The NBA was founded in 1946. The WNBA was founded in 1996. This history provides a rich legacy and established brand identity, while the WNBA's relative youth offers opportunities for defining and evolving its visual presence.
Team Structure:
- The Graphic Designer will report to the Creative Director, indicating a hierarchical structure within the creative team.
- The role requires working collaboratively across teams, suggesting integration with marketing, digital media, and potentially broadcast or events teams.
- The creative team likely consists of other designers, potentially including motion graphic designers, illustrators, and production artists.
Methodology:
- Design processes likely involve creative briefs, concept development, iterative design, stakeholder reviews, and final asset production.
- Given the fast-paced environment, agile design methodologies or rapid prototyping might be employed for certain projects.
- Emphasis on brand consistency suggests a reliance on established brand guidelines and potentially a design system.
Company Website: https://careers.nba.com/job/11753/Project-Employee-Graphic-Designer-WNBA
📈 Career & Growth Analysis
Design Career Level: This is positioned as a Project Employee role, indicating a temporary position. With 3-4 years of required experience, it aligns with a Mid-Level Graphic Designer position within the design industry. The role involves executing designs under the guidance of a Creative Director, focusing on production and collaboration.
Reporting Structure: The role reports directly to the Creative Director, providing an opportunity to receive guidance and feedback from a senior design leader. This structure facilitates learning and adherence to the overall creative vision.
Design Impact: The designs produced in this role will directly contribute to the WNBA's public image, marketing efforts, and fan engagement across various platforms, playing a significant role in building the league's next generation of fans.
Growth Opportunities:
- Gain significant experience working within a major sports league, enhancing a design portfolio with high-profile projects.
- Develop skills in fast-paced, real-time design execution during key moments of the WNBA season.
- Potential for networking within the NBA/WNBA organization and the broader sports industry.
🌐 Work Environment
Studio Type: Hybrid work option provided, allowing eligible employees to work remotely one day per week. The primary work location is in the office in New York City, suggesting a traditional office environment for the majority of the week.
Office Location(s): New York City, NY. The office is likely a corporate environment housing various departments, including creative teams.
Design Workspace Context:
- The office environment likely provides dedicated workspaces, access to necessary design software and hardware, and meeting rooms for collaboration.
- Being in the office allows for direct interaction and collaboration with the Creative Director and other team members, facilitating quick feedback and iterative design processes.
- The hybrid model offers some flexibility while maintaining the benefits of in-person collaboration for creative work.
Work Schedule: Full-time, with required flexibility for nights and weekends, particularly during the WNBA season and key events. This reflects the demands of the sports industry where major activities occur outside of standard business hours.
📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process
Design Interview Process:
- Expect an initial screening call to discuss your experience and fit for the role.
- Be prepared for interviews with the Creative Director and potentially other members of the creative team or cross-functional partners.
- A portfolio review will be a crucial part of the process, where you will present your work and discuss your design process and rationale.
- You may be asked to complete a design challenge or discuss your approach to a hypothetical design problem relevant to the WNBA brand.
Portfolio Review Tips:
- Curate your portfolio to specifically highlight projects that demonstrate your ability to design across multiple platforms (social, web, advertising).
- Include case studies (even brief ones) that explain the project context, your role, your design decisions, and the outcome.
- Emphasize your technical skills in Adobe Creative Suite through the quality and complexity of your featured work.
- If you have motion graphics experience, ensure it is easily viewable and highlights your capabilities.
- Tailor your presentation to demonstrate an understanding of the WNBA brand and the sports industry.
Challenge Preparation:
- If a design challenge is assigned, pay close attention to the brief and required deliverables.
- Manage your time effectively to complete the challenge within the given timeframe.
- Be prepared to explain your design process, rationale, and any constraints you considered.
- Practice articulating your design decisions and receiving feedback.
ATS Keywords: Graphic Design, Visual Design, Adobe Creative Suite, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Motion Graphics, Social Media Design, Web Design, Advertising Design, Marketing Design, Digital Media, Brand Identity, Typography, Page Layout, Collaboration, Sports Marketing, WNBA, Entertainment Industry, Creative Production, Asset Creation, Design Execution, Deadline Management, Detail-Oriented, Organizational Skills, Fast-Paced Environment, Hybrid, Project-Based, Temporary, Portfolio, Case Study, Creative Director, Cross-Functional Teams, Brand Guidelines, Visual Communication.
🛠 Tools & Technology Stack
Primary Design Tools:
- Adobe Photoshop: Essential for image editing, manipulation, and creating raster-based graphics for various WNBA assets.
- Adobe Illustrator: Critical for creating vector graphics, logos, illustrations, and scalable assets used across digital and physical media.
- Adobe InDesign: Important for page layout, creating documents, presentations, and potentially some print materials.
- Adobe After Effects: Preferred skill for creating motion graphics and animated content for social media, broadcast, and digital platforms.
Collaboration & Handoff:
- Working knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint for creating and collaborating on presentations.
- Likely use of project management and collaboration tools (e.g., Asana, Trello, Slack, Microsoft Teams) for team communication and workflow management.
- Potential use of cloud storage and file-sharing platforms (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox) for asset management and sharing.
Research & Testing:
- While not explicitly mentioned, designers may interact with tools or platforms used by marketing or digital teams for accessing performance data or user feedback relevant to design effectiveness.
👥 Team Culture & Values
Design Values:
- Emphasis on creating high-quality, visually compelling assets that align with the WNBA brand identity and resonate with fans.
- Value placed on collaboration and teamwork, working effectively with the Creative Director and cross-functional teams.
- Adaptability and efficiency are likely valued due to the fast-paced nature of the sports industry and the temporary nature of the project.
- Attention to detail and a commitment to meeting deadlines are essential for success in this role.
Collaboration Style:
- Likely involves regular communication and feedback sessions with the Creative Director to ensure design work aligns with the overall creative vision.
- Collaboration with marketing and digital teams will be necessary to understand project requirements and deliver assets that meet strategic goals.
- A willingness to share ideas, receive constructive criticism, and iterate on designs is likely part of the team culture.
⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities
Design Challenges:
- Balancing creative vision with the need for rapid turnaround times, especially during peak WNBA season moments.
- Ensuring brand consistency across a wide variety of platforms and asset types while still bringing fresh design ideas.
- Adapting designs based on feedback from multiple stakeholders with potentially differing perspectives.
- Working within the constraints of a project-based role with a defined end date.
Learning & Development Opportunities:
- Opportunity to refine skills in designing for a major sports brand with a large audience.
- Gain experience in a high-volume, fast-production design environment.
- Exposure to the operational aspects of a major sports league's marketing and digital media efforts.
💡 Interview Preparation
Design Process Questions:
- Be prepared to walk through your design process using examples from your portfolio, explaining your approach from brief to final output.
- Discuss how you handle feedback and incorporate revisions into your designs.
- Explain how you ensure brand consistency in your work across different platforms.
Company Culture Questions:
- Research the WNBA and NBA brands, understanding their target audience and recent marketing campaigns.
- Be prepared to discuss why you are interested in working for the WNBA and in the sports industry.
- Highlight your ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and adapt to a fast-paced culture.
Portfolio Presentation Strategy:
- Select a few key projects that best showcase your relevant skills, particularly those demonstrating versatility across platforms and strong visual design.
- For each project, provide a concise overview of the objective, your role, and the outcome.
- Focus on explaining your design rationale and the decisions you made throughout the process.
- If possible, show how your designs were implemented and their impact.
📌 Application Steps
To apply for this design position:
- Submit your application through this link
- Tailor your resume to highlight your graphic design experience, proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects), and any experience designing for social media, web, or advertising. Use relevant ATS keywords from the list provided.
- Prepare your portfolio, ensuring it is easily accessible and showcases your best work across multiple platforms, with brief case studies explaining your process.
- Research the WNBA and NBA brands to demonstrate your interest and understanding during the interview process.
- Be prepared to discuss your availability for a temporary project role with flexible hours, including nights and weekends.