Freelance Graphic Designer, Paid Media Creative

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Freelance Graphic Designer, Paid Media Creative Company: Parachute Home Location: Los Angeles, CA Job Type: Contract / Freelance Category: Marketing Operations / Creative Operations Date Posted: 2025-09-23 Experience Level: Mid-Level (2-5 Years) Remote Status: Remote OK

🚀 Role Summary

• Develop visually compelling creative assets specifically for paid media campaigns, focusing on driving performance and engagement across digital advertising platforms.
• Collaborate closely with the Art Director and Director of Growth to ensure creative output aligns with brand standards and campaign objectives, contributing to overall marketing operations efficiency.
• Maintain stringent brand consistency across all visual communications, from initial concept development through final asset delivery, supporting broader Go-To-Market (GTM) strategies.
• Leverage expertise in design principles, digital trends, and performance marketing to create impactful advertising creative that resonates with target audiences and optimizes campaign ROI.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a crucial support function within the marketing and growth teams, directly impacting the effectiveness of paid media spend. The emphasis on "performance-driven" and "results" highlights the need for a designer who understands how visual elements translate into measurable business outcomes, a key aspect of operations-focused creative roles.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Design and produce a high volume of engaging visual content for digital advertising campaigns across various paid channels (e.g., social media, search, display networks), ensuring creative excellence and adherence to platform specifications.
• Partner with cross-functional teams, including marketing, growth, and product, to deeply understand campaign goals, target audience insights, key messaging, and project timelines, facilitating seamless integration into overall marketing operations.
• Ensure all creative output is meticulously on-brand, on-brief, and delivered punctually to support campaign launch schedules, minimizing delays and maximizing operational agility.
• Maintain and evolve visual consistency with established brand guidelines while actively exploring creative boundaries to develop fresh and innovative advertising concepts that capture audience attention.
• Stay current on emerging digital design trends, platform best practices, and competitor creative strategies to inform and elevate campaign asset development, contributing to a culture of continuous improvement in creative operations.
• Assist the broader design team in creating and adapting visual assets for additional marketing channels such as email marketing, organic social media content, and print collateral, effectively alleviating workload and ensuring cohesive brand representation across all touchpoints.
• Apply motion design principles and video editing techniques to enhance advertising creative, creating dynamic and captivating assets that drive higher engagement rates and improve campaign performance metrics.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly indicate a need for a designer who can operate independently and manage multiple projects simultaneously, a common expectation for freelance roles supporting busy operations teams. The emphasis on "on-brief, on-schedule" points to the importance of project management and communication skills in this capacity.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Arts, Communications Design, or a closely related field. This foundational education is expected to provide a strong understanding of design principles and visual communication theory essential for operations-aligned creative work.

Experience:

• Proven experience as a digital designer with a strong portfolio showcasing a significant body of work specifically in paid advertising creative. This experience should demonstrate an understanding of design for performance marketing and the ability to create assets that drive measurable results.
• Demonstrated ability to balance creative vision with performance objectives in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, reflecting the agile nature of marketing operations.

Required Skills:

• Graphic Design: Mastery in creating visually appealing and impactful static creative assets for digital advertising.
• Digital Advertising Design: In-depth knowledge of design requirements and best practices for various paid media platforms (e.g., Meta Ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads).
• Brand Identity Management: Ability to consistently apply and uphold brand guidelines across diverse creative outputs.
• Adobe Creative Suite: Advanced proficiency in industry-standard design software, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
• Figma: Expertise in using Figma for collaborative design, prototyping, and asset creation, crucial for efficient workflow and cross-team collaboration.
• Layout & Composition: Strong understanding of visual hierarchy, balance, and effective arrangement of elements within a design.
• Color Theory & Typography: Applied knowledge of color palettes and typographic principles to evoke specific moods and enhance readability.
• Performance Marketing Design Principles: Understanding how design elements influence user behavior, conversion rates, and overall campaign effectiveness.

Preferred Skills:

• Motion Graphics Design: Experience creating animated graphics and visual effects for digital ads.
• Video Editing: Proficiency in editing video content for paid media campaigns, including basic cuts, transitions, and color correction.
• Creative Collaboration: Ability to effectively communicate design ideas and receive constructive feedback from stakeholders.
• Digital Design Trends: Awareness of current and emerging trends in digital design and advertising.
• Visual Consistency: Skill in maintaining a unified brand aesthetic across multiple creative assets and channels.
• Email Design: Experience designing visually engaging content for email marketing campaigns.
• Print Design: Familiarity with design principles and production requirements for print collateral.

📝 Enhancement Note: The inclusion of both Adobe Creative Suite and Figma suggests a modern design workflow that values both traditional design power and collaborative, prototyping-friendly tools, common in efficient operations environments. The strong emphasis on performance marketing design principles indicates this is not just about aesthetics, but about driving measurable outcomes.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate a robust portfolio showcasing a minimum of 3-5 distinct paid media campaigns, highlighting the evolution from brief to final creative assets and the measurable impact of your design choices.
• Include case studies that detail your design process, problem-solving approach, and how your creative solutions directly contributed to key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, or engagement metrics.
• Showcase examples of maintaining brand consistency across various digital advertising platforms and formats, illustrating your ability to adapt creative within defined brand guardrails.
• Present work that reflects an understanding of user experience (UX) principles as applied to digital advertising, demonstrating how your designs guide user interaction and conversion.

Process Documentation:

• Provide insight into your workflow for concept development, asset creation, and iteration based on feedback, detailing how you manage project timelines and deliverables efficiently.
• Include examples of how you adapt designs for different ad formats and platforms, showcasing your ability to optimize creative for specific technical and audience requirements.
• Illustrate how you approach testing different creative variations (e.g., A/B testing of headlines, imagery, calls-to-action) and incorporate learnings into future designs, a critical aspect of data-informed operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a freelance role focused on paid media, a portfolio isn't just a showcase of past work; it's a direct indicator of an applicant's ability to deliver results. The emphasis on process and measurable impact is crucial for operations roles where efficiency and ROI are paramount.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• $75 - $120 per hour.
• This range is competitive for experienced freelance graphic designers specializing in performance-driven paid media creative in the Los Angeles area. The upper end of the range reflects a strong command of motion graphics and video editing capabilities, aligning with the "strong plus" noted for these skills.

Benefits:

• As a freelance contractor, standard employee benefits such as health insurance, paid time off, and retirement plans are typically not provided.
• This role offers the flexibility of a contract position, allowing for work on a per-project or retainer basis with potential for ongoing engagement based on performance and business needs.
• Opportunity to work with a well-regarded direct-to-consumer brand, gaining exposure to their marketing strategies and creative processes.
• Potential for a consistent workload, estimated up to 30 hours per week, providing a stable freelance income stream.

Working Hours:

• Up to 30 hours per week. This arrangement allows for flexibility, enabling the designer to manage their workload effectively while meeting project demands. The specific hours can be coordinated with the Art Director and Director of Growth to ensure alignment with campaign needs and team availability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hourly rate is substantial, reflecting the specialized nature of paid media creative and the demand for designers who understand performance marketing. The lack of traditional benefits is standard for freelance roles and should be factored into the overall compensation negotiation.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry:

• Home Goods / Direct-to-Consumer (DTC). Parachute Home is known for its premium, comfortable, and stylish home essentials. This industry context means the brand aesthetic is crucial, and creative operations must support a premium brand image.
• The DTC model implies a strong reliance on digital marketing and performance-driven creative to acquire and retain customers, making the role of a paid media designer critical to the company's growth engine.

Company Size:

• Parachute Home is a growing, established DTC brand. While specific employee numbers for this freelance role aren't detailed, the company is known to have a significant marketing and creative team. This suggests a professional environment with established processes, but likely still agile enough to value freelance contributions for specialized needs.

Founded:

• Parachute Home was founded in 2014. This relatively recent founding means the company likely operates with a modern, digitally-native approach to business and marketing.

Team Structure:

• The designer will report to the Art Director and collaborate closely with the Director of Growth. This indicates a direct line of communication with leadership in creative and performance marketing, ensuring clear direction and feedback loops.
• The role involves collaboration with cross-functional teams, suggesting integration into broader marketing initiatives and exposure to various departments within the company.
• The freelance nature means the designer will likely be an integral, albeit external, member of the creative team, contributing to key projects and workflows.

Methodology:

• Parachute Home, as a DTC brand, likely employs data-driven marketing strategies, relying on analytics to inform campaign performance and creative development.
• The emphasis on "performance-driven" and "results" suggests a focus on A/B testing, conversion optimization, and continuous improvement of creative assets based on performance data.
• Workflow management for creative assets is likely structured to support agile marketing campaigns, requiring efficient design processes and quick turnaround times.

Company Website:

• https://www.parachutehome.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Understanding Parachute Home's DTC model is key; it means the creative output is directly tied to customer acquisition and revenue. The designer will be expected to contribute to growth metrics, not just aesthetic appeal.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level:

• This role is positioned at a mid-level for graphic designers specializing in digital advertising. It requires a solid foundation of design skills combined with practical experience in performance marketing and brand consistency. The focus is on execution and contribution to campaign success rather than strategic leadership.

Reporting Structure:

• Direct reporting to the Art Director, providing creative guidance and quality control.
• Collaboration with the Director of Growth, who will likely provide strategic direction on campaign objectives and performance targets. This dual reporting/collaboration structure ensures creative work is aligned with both brand aesthetic and business objectives.

Operations Impact:

• The designer's work directly influences the effectiveness of paid media spend, impacting customer acquisition costs (CAC), conversion rates, and ultimately, revenue. High-quality, performance-optimized creative is a critical operational lever for DTC brands like Parachute Home.
• By ensuring visual consistency and brand alignment across paid channels, the designer contributes to a stronger brand perception and more efficient marketing operations.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Specialization: Deepen expertise in performance marketing creative, motion graphics, and video editing within a dynamic DTC environment.
• Portfolio Expansion: Gain valuable experience with a reputable brand, enhancing the portfolio with successful paid media campaigns that can lead to future high-value freelance or full-time opportunities.
• Industry Exposure: Learn about the specific marketing strategies and operational workflows of a successful direct-to-consumer company.
• Potential for Ongoing Work: Successful performance and collaboration could lead to a long-term freelance relationship or consideration for future full-time roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a freelance role, "growth" often translates to expanding one's professional network, refining specialized skills, and building a strong portfolio with reputable clients. This role offers a good opportunity to gain experience in a highly sought-after niche.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type:

• The role is advertised as "Remote OK," indicating a flexible work arrangement where the designer can work from their own location. This is common for freelance positions and allows for a broader talent pool.

Office Location(s):

• The primary location mentioned is Los Angeles, CA, suggesting that while the role is remote, the company's headquarters or a significant team presence is in this area.

Workspace Context:

• The designer will be expected to have their own professional workspace with reliable internet access and the necessary hardware and software to perform their duties.
• Collaboration will primarily occur through digital communication tools (e.g., Slack, email, video conferencing) and project management platforms.
• Opportunities for interaction with the operations and creative teams will be virtual, requiring strong digital communication skills and proactive engagement.

Work Schedule:

• The role is for up to 30 hours per week. This offers flexibility, but it also requires the designer to effectively manage their time and prioritize tasks to meet project deadlines and collaborate effectively with the team during their working hours. A degree of flexibility in daily hours is expected, provided core meeting times and critical deadlines are met.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Remote OK" status is a significant benefit for candidates outside of Los Angeles, but it also means that candidates must be highly self-motivated and possess strong virtual collaboration skills.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Likely a review of submitted resume and portfolio to assess qualifications and alignment with the role's creative and performance requirements.
• Portfolio Review & Discussion: A dedicated session with the Art Director (and potentially the Director of Growth) to walk through selected portfolio pieces, discussing design choices, process, and impact on campaign performance. Be prepared to articulate the rationale behind your creative decisions.
• Skills Assessment/Challenge: Potentially a small, timed design challenge related to paid media creative or a request to adapt an existing asset for a new campaign. This assesses practical skills, speed, and adherence to brand guidelines under pressure.
• Cultural Fit & Collaboration Assessment: Discussion to understand your working style, ability to collaborate remotely, and how you approach feedback and problem-solving within a team context.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your strongest paid media campaign examples. Prioritize work that demonstrates a clear understanding of performance marketing goals and measurable results.
• Showcase Process: For each selected piece, briefly explain the brief, your design process, challenges encountered, solutions implemented, and the outcome (ideally with metrics). Use visuals to illustrate your thought process.
• Highlight Brand Adaptation: Include examples that show your ability to work within established brand guidelines while still being creative and effective.
• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, include quantifiable results (e.g., "increased CTR by X%", "improved conversion rate by Y%"). If specific numbers are confidential, describe the positive impact qualitatively.
• Prepare for Figma/Adobe Demos: Be ready to share your screen and navigate through your design files in Figma or Adobe Creative Suite to demonstrate your workflow and technical proficiency.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand Brand Voice: Familiarize yourself thoroughly with Parachute Home's brand aesthetic, tone, and messaging through their website and social media.
• Study Paid Media Trends: Review current best practices for digital advertising creative across major platforms.
• Practice Quick Iterations: Be ready to make rapid design adjustments based on feedback or specific campaign requirements.
• Focus on Clarity and CTA: Ensure any challenge work clearly communicates the message and includes a strong call to action.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a freelance creative role often heavily weighs the portfolio. Candidates should treat the portfolio review as a critical presentation, demonstrating not just design skill but also strategic thinking and an understanding of business objectives.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Adobe Creative Suite: Essential for high-fidelity design work, including Photoshop for image manipulation and layout, Illustrator for vector graphics and logos, and InDesign for layout and print-ready assets.
• Figma: Critical for collaborative design, prototyping, and efficient asset creation/handoffs. Proficiency in Figma is highly valued for its role in modern design team workflows and operations.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not a primary design tool, an understanding of how design impacts analytics is crucial. Familiarity with platforms like Google Analytics, Meta Ads Manager, or other ad platform dashboards is beneficial to interpret campaign performance data that informs creative decisions.

CRM & Automation:

• No direct CRM or automation tool usage is expected for this design role, but an awareness of how creative assets are deployed within CRM or marketing automation platforms (e.g., email marketing software) is a plus.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma is non-negotiable for this role. These tools are fundamental to the operations of any modern creative team.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Performance-Oriented: A strong emphasis on creating designs that drive measurable business results and contribute directly to marketing campaign success.
• Brand Stewardship: Commitment to maintaining a high standard of brand consistency and aesthetic quality across all creative outputs.
• Collaboration & Communication: Valuing clear, proactive communication and effective teamwork, especially in a remote and freelance capacity.
• Agility & Adaptability: The ability to respond quickly to changing campaign needs, feedback, and evolving design trends.
• Efficiency: A focus on streamlined workflows and timely delivery of high-quality assets to support marketing operations.

Collaboration Style:

• Expect a collaborative environment where feedback is shared openly, and designers are expected to integrate input from Art Directors and Growth teams.
• Communication will be primarily digital, requiring proactive engagement, clear articulation of ideas, and responsiveness through various platforms.
• A culture of continuous improvement likely exists, encouraging designers to experiment with new creative approaches and learn from campaign performance data.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a freelance role, understanding and aligning with the company's core values is crucial for successful integration and long-term engagement. The emphasis on performance and brand stewardship is particularly important for this position.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Creativity with Performance: The primary challenge will be to create visually appealing and on-brand designs that also meet specific performance metrics and campaign objectives.
• Fast-Paced Environment: Working within a growing DTC company means campaigns and creative needs can change rapidly, requiring adaptability and quick turnaround times.
• Remote Collaboration: Effectively collaborating and maintaining strong communication with the team from a remote location, ensuring seamless integration into workflows.
• Volume of Assets: Potentially producing a high volume of creative assets for various paid media platforms, requiring efficient workflow management.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Specialized Skill Enhancement: Deepen expertise in designing for performance marketing, understanding how visual elements directly impact user behavior and conversion rates on digital platforms.
• Industry Best Practices: Gain practical experience with the creative strategies and operational workflows of a successful direct-to-consumer brand.
• Portfolio Building: Develop a strong portfolio of paid media creative work with a recognized brand, which can significantly enhance career prospects in the design industry.
• Exposure to Growth Marketing: Understand the strategic thinking behind paid media campaigns and how creative design contributes to broader growth initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents an excellent opportunity to hone skills in a niche but highly valuable area of graphic design, directly contributing to business growth and learning the operational nuances of a successful DTC brand.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe your process for creating paid media creative that balances brand aesthetics with performance goals." (Prepare to walk through a case study from your portfolio, highlighting your decision-making process.)
• "How do you ensure brand consistency across multiple ad platforms and formats while still allowing for creative variation?" (Be ready to provide examples of how you've managed this.)
• "Walk us through a paid media campaign where your creative significantly impacted performance. What were the key elements you focused on?" (Focus on quantifiable results if possible.)
• "How do you approach receiving and incorporating feedback from stakeholders, especially when it might conflict with your initial creative vision?" (Emphasize collaboration and finding solutions.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• "What attracts you to Parachute Home and this specific freelance role?" (Research the brand's mission, values, and products.)
• "How do you typically manage your workflow and communicate progress when working remotely as a freelancer?" (Highlight your organizational skills and preferred communication methods.)
• "How do you stay updated on the latest design trends and digital advertising best practices?" (Showcase your commitment to continuous learning.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Presentation: Organize your portfolio by campaign or project type. For each, clearly state the objective, your role, the challenge, your solution (design process), and the outcome/results.
• Highlight Key Metrics: If possible, showcase the performance data associated with your designs. Even qualitative descriptions of success are valuable.
• Demonstrate Technical Proficiency: Be prepared to share your screen and briefly show your process within Figma or Adobe Creative Suite, demonstrating your workflow and tool mastery.
• Tell a Story: Frame your portfolio pieces as compelling narratives of problem-solving and creative execution, demonstrating your strategic thinking.
• Be Concise: Respect the interviewer's time. Practice your talking points to be clear, impactful, and efficient.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers for this role will be looking for a designer who is not only creatively talented but also understands the business impact of their work and can operate effectively as a remote, freelance contributor.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations-aligned creative position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on Greenhouse.
• Portfolio Customization: Ensure your portfolio prominently features your strongest paid media creative work. Tailor the selection and presentation to highlight your understanding of performance marketing and brand consistency, as outlined in the interview preparation tips.
• Resume Optimization: Update your resume to emphasize relevant skills and experience, such as "paid media design," "performance marketing creative," "Adobe Creative Suite," "Figma," and any quantifiable achievements in campaign success. Clearly state your freelance status and availability.
• Interview Preparation: Thoroughly review the company's brand, study current paid media creative trends, and prepare to articulate your design process and the impact of your work using specific examples from your portfolio. Practice presenting your work concisely.
• Company Research: Familiarize yourself with Parachute Home's products, brand voice, and marketing initiatives. Understand their DTC model and how creative plays a role in customer acquisition and retention.

⚠️ 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.