Lead Brand & Visual Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Lead Brand & Visual Designer

Company: FoundersCard

Location: New York, New York, United States

Job Type: Full-time, Contractor / Freelance

Category: Marketing Operations / Brand & Creative Operations

Date Posted: September 10, 2025

Experience Level: 10+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid (4 days/week in office)

🚀 Role Summary

• Spearhead the definition and execution of FoundersCard's visual identity, brand foundation, and comprehensive design system, ensuring cohesive brand expression across all digital and physical touchpoints.

• Drive hands-on design initiatives for critical brand assets, including website redesigns, campaign creative, conversion rate optimization (CRO) variants, and member benefit collateral, maintaining a premium and aspirational aesthetic.

• Establish scalable brand guidelines encompassing visual, verbal, motion, and illustration standards, and evolve existing brand marks to ensure consistency and impact across the entire member experience.

• Act as a creative leader, translating strategic brand pillars into tangible design outcomes and fostering a strong design culture within a lean, high-impact team.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a senior, hands-on creative leadership position within FoundersCard, focusing on establishing and scaling brand identity. While not a traditional "operations" role, the emphasis on design systems, brand guidelines, and cross-functional collaboration aligns with the operational aspects of marketing and brand management, making it highly relevant to individuals with a background in creative operations or brand strategy with strong design execution skills. The hybrid requirement with specific in-office days indicates a need for strong collaboration and in-person ideation.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and solidify the core brand foundation, including visual identity, brand language, and overarching creative direction for FoundersCard.

• Lead the hands-on design and execution of a new, premium website that serves as the primary digital gateway for the brand.

• Develop and maintain comprehensive brand guidelines and a messaging playbook that covers visual, verbal, motion, and illustration standards to ensure brand consistency.

• Design and iterate on a wide array of brand assets, including marketing campaigns, landing pages, CRO test variants, collateral, and benefit launch creative.

• Refine and extend the company's logo and product marks across all user touchpoints and communications, ensuring brand recognition and cohesion.

• Create and manage a scalable asset library for images and motion graphics, providing creative guidance for associated photo, video, and motion content production.

• Collaborate closely with product designers to ensure user interface (UI) elements are premium, cohesive, and strictly aligned with established brand standards.

• Prototype and conduct user testing on creative concepts to gather insights and refine design recommendations based on member feedback.

• Provide occasional support for product user experience (UX) flows and light research to assist the broader team and balance capacity.

• Champion creative excellence and elevate brand storytelling and design culture throughout the organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic brand definition and tactical design execution. The emphasis on website redesign, brand system development, and asset library creation indicates a need for strong organizational skills and a systematic approach to design management, akin to operational excellence in a creative context. The inclusion of UX support and user testing points to a data-informed approach to creative development.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, Fine Arts, or a related field is typically expected for roles of this caliber. A strong portfolio can often substitute for formal education.

Experience: 7-10+ years of progressive experience in brand design, visual design, or creative direction. Experience with consumer-facing brands, particularly in the premium lifestyle or business services sector, is highly preferred.

Required Skills:

• Brand Building & Strategy: Proven ability to define and establish brand foundations, visual identity, and creative direction for premium brands.

• Hands-on Design Execution: Mastery of core design principles and proficiency in industry-standard design software (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite - Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign; Figma for UI/system design).

• System Thinking & Design Systems: Experience creating scalable brand pillars, design systems, and comprehensive guidelines that can be applied across diverse platforms.

• Website Design & Development: Demonstrated experience in designing and executing high-impact, premium websites, including understanding of UI/UX principles and CRO best practices.

• Content Creation & Management: Ability to build and manage image and motion asset libraries, and guide creative production for various media formats.

• Project Leadership: Proven capability to lead large-scale creative initiatives from conception to completion, managing timelines and deliverables effectively.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Strong interpersonal and communication skills to partner effectively with product, marketing, and leadership teams.

• Storytelling: Ability to translate brand strategy and value propositions into compelling visual narratives.

Preferred Skills:

• UX Design Principles: Familiarity with user experience design methodologies and the ability to apply them to product flows.

• User Testing & Experimentation: Experience in prototyping and conducting user tests to refine creative concepts and validate design decisions.

• Motion Graphics & Animation: Proficiency in creating motion graphics or directing motion design projects.

• Illustration: Experience with illustration for brand applications or ability to guide illustration work.

• CRM & Marketing Automation Familiarity: Understanding how brand assets are deployed within marketing and CRM systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The experience requirement of 7-10+ years, combined with the emphasis on end-to-end brand building and system design, suggests a role requiring significant strategic and execution-level expertise. The preference for premium lifestyle brands indicates a need for a sophisticated aesthetic sensibility. Proficiency in Figma is implicitly expected given the mention of UI and design systems, a common tool for collaborative design operations.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Brand System Definition: Showcase examples of establishing brand pillars, visual identity, and comprehensive brand guidelines from inception. Detail the strategic thinking behind these elements.

• High-Craft Execution: Present a range of high-quality design work across digital platforms, including website redesigns, campaign creative, and marketing collateral, demonstrating polish and attention to detail.

• System Scalability: Provide evidence of creating design systems or scalable asset libraries that effectively maintain brand consistency across various applications and touchpoints.

• Project Leadership & Impact: Include case studies that highlight leadership of significant creative projects (e.g., website launches, brand identity evolutions) and quantify the impact of the design work, if possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, enhanced brand perception).

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Demonstrate how you've partnered with other teams (product, marketing) to achieve project goals and ensure brand alignment.

Process Documentation:

• Brand Guideline Development: Detail your process for creating and documenting brand guidelines, including how you ensure they are accessible and adopted across an organization.

• Design System Implementation: Explain your methodology for building and implementing design systems, including how you manage components, ensure version control, and facilitate collaboration with developers.

• Creative Workflow Management: Outline your approach to managing creative projects from brief to final delivery, including concept development, iteration, feedback incorporation, and quality assurance.

• Asset Management Strategy: Describe how you would structure and maintain a scalable asset library for images, motion graphics, and other brand assets to ensure efficient access and consistent usage.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "defining brand foundation," "building guidelines that scale," and "delivering polished creative" strongly suggests that a portfolio showcasing the process of brand system creation and its consistent application is crucial, not just the final output. Demonstrating the ability to create operational frameworks for design will be key.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $180,000 - $220,000 per year.

Benefits:

• Financial: Competitive base salary, bonus opportunities, and 401k plan with potential company match.

• Wellness & Lifestyle: Comprehensive health benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance. Subsidized gym membership.

• Workplace Perks: Free lunch, snacks, and beverages provided at the office.

• Professional Growth: Opportunity to shape a premium brand and gain significant visibility with leadership.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours are expected, with the flexibility often associated with creative roles. The hybrid model requires 4 days per week in the New York City office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is competitive for a senior-level design role in New York City. The benefits package is typical for a well-established company, with a notable emphasis on workplace perks that contribute to a positive office environment. The hybrid requirement with specific in-office days is a key aspect of the work arrangement.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services / Lifestyle Membership Platform. FoundersCard operates within the fintech and premium lifestyle sectors, providing exclusive travel, business, and lifestyle benefits to entrepreneurs and innovators.

Company Size: While specific numbers are not provided, the description suggests a lean, high-impact team with direct partnership opportunities with product and marketing leadership. This implies a dynamic, possibly fast-paced environment where individual contributions are highly visible.

Founded: FoundersCard was founded with a mission to empower founders and innovators, suggesting a culture that values entrepreneurship, ambition, and forward-thinking.

Team Structure:

• Operations Team Aspect 1: The role reports directly to leadership, indicating a flat or semi-flat organizational structure where collaboration with product and marketing is direct and frequent.

• Operations Team Aspect 2: As the Lead Brand & Visual Designer, this role likely sits within or closely collaborates with the marketing department, potentially leading or influencing a small creative function.

• Operations Team Aspect 3: Cross-functional collaboration is a core expectation, particularly with product design, marketing, and executive leadership, emphasizing a highly integrated approach to brand and product development.

Methodology:

• Operations Process 1: The role requires a data-informed approach to design, utilizing member feedback and testing to refine creative concepts and strategies.

• Operations Process 2: Workflow planning and optimization are critical for establishing and maintaining scalable brand guidelines and design systems.

• Operations Process 3: The emphasis on "delivering polished creative" and "building guidelines that scale" points to a focus on efficiency and repeatable processes in design execution.

Company Website: https://founderscard.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: FoundersCard's focus on empowering entrepreneurs suggests a culture that is ambitious, results-oriented, and potentially innovative. The company's positioning as a "premium lifestyle and business membership platform" implies a strong emphasis on quality, exclusivity, and member experience, which will be reflected in the brand's visual identity.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a senior-level individual contributor role with significant leadership and strategic influence over the brand's visual direction. It sits at the "Lead" level, suggesting responsibility for setting standards and guiding creative output, rather than managing a large team.

Reporting Structure: The role involves direct partnership with product and marketing leadership, and visibility at the executive level. This indicates a reporting line that is likely to a Head of Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), or a similar senior leadership position.

Operations Impact: The Lead Brand & Visual Designer will have a direct impact on how FoundersCard is perceived by its target audience. By defining and executing a premium visual identity, this role will significantly influence brand perception, member acquisition, and member engagement, directly contributing to the company's growth and market positioning.

Growth Opportunities:

• Skill Advancement: Opportunity to deepen expertise in brand strategy, design systems, and potentially UX design through hands-on work and direct collaboration with leadership.

• Leadership Development: Potential to grow into a Creative Director role or expand influence over broader marketing creative initiatives as the company scales.

• Strategic Contribution: Direct involvement in shaping the company's brand narrative and visual language, offering a high level of strategic input rarely found in pure design execution roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "rare autonomy and visibility in a lean team" mentioned in the job description suggests that this role offers significant opportunities for professional growth and impact, allowing the individual to shape a core aspect of the company's identity.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The company has a "brand new office" located at 57th and Madison in midtown NYC, suggesting a modern, well-equipped workspace.

Office Location(s): Midtown Manhattan, New York City. This central location offers excellent accessibility via public transportation.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The hybrid model and emphasis on cross-functional partnerships indicate a work environment that encourages collaboration, ideation, and shared work.

• Operations Tools & Technology: Expect access to modern design software and collaboration tools necessary for executing high-quality creative work within a digital-first company.

• Team Interaction: The requirement for 4 days in the office per week facilitates direct interaction with colleagues, fostering team cohesion and spontaneous creative exchange.

Work Schedule: A hybrid work schedule requiring 4 days per week in the office. Standard business hours are expected, with flexibility potentially available around core working hours.

📝 Enhancement Note: The description of a "brand new office" and the specific location in midtown Manhattan suggests a professional and potentially stimulating work environment. The hybrid schedule balances the benefits of in-office collaboration with some degree of flexibility.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Process Step 1: Initial screening to assess overall fit, experience alignment, and interest in the role. Portfolio submission is a key component.

• Process Step 2: A deeper dive into the candidate's portfolio, focusing on brand strategy, design system development, and hands-on execution. This may involve a presentation or detailed discussion of past projects.

• Process Step 3: Interviews with key stakeholders, including marketing and product leadership, to evaluate collaboration style, strategic thinking, and cultural fit.

• Process Step 4: Potential for a design challenge or case study presentation to assess problem-solving skills and approach to brand challenges. Final evaluation will focus on the candidate's ability to elevate the FoundersCard brand.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Showcase Brand System Thinking: Clearly articulate the strategy behind your brand work, including how you defined brand pillars, established visual identity, and built scalable guidelines.

• Highlight Hands-on Craft: Demonstrate a high level of design execution across various mediums, with a focus on premium aesthetics and attention to detail. Include website redesigns, campaign creative, and collateral.

• Detail Project Process: Explain your creative process for significant projects, including research, concept development, iteration, collaboration, and how you integrated user feedback or testing.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, include metrics or results that demonstrate the effectiveness of your design work, such as improvements in engagement, conversion, or brand perception.

• Tailor to FoundersCard: Research FoundersCard's current brand and target audience. Show how your skills and aesthetic align with their premium positioning and mission.

Challenge Preparation:

• Brand Auditing: Be prepared to discuss how you would audit an existing brand's visual identity and identify areas for improvement.

• Design System Elements: Understand how to outline the key components of a robust design system and their importance for brand consistency.

• Creative Problem-Solving: Practice articulating your approach to solving design challenges, such as refreshing a logo or designing a key campaign.

• Stakeholder Communication: Prepare to discuss how you communicate design decisions and rationale to non-design stakeholders.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on a portfolio that demonstrates both strategic brand building and hands-on execution is paramount. Candidates should be prepared to discuss their process and rationale in detail, particularly regarding the creation of scalable design systems and brand guidelines.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design Software: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) is essential for asset creation and refinement.

• UI/UX Design & Prototyping: Figma is highly likely to be a core tool for collaborative design, UI design, and system development, given the mention of UI and design systems.

• Presentation Tools: Tools like Keynote, PowerPoint, or Google Slides will be necessary for presenting portfolios and design concepts.

Analytics & Reporting:

CRM & Automation:

• While not a direct requirement, understanding how brand assets are deployed within CRM and marketing automation platforms (e.g., email marketing tools, marketing automation software) would be beneficial for ensuring cohesive brand application.

📝 Enhancement Note: Proficiency in Figma is strongly implied for this role due to the focus on design systems and UI. A strong command of the Adobe Creative Suite is also a baseline expectation for a Lead Brand Designer.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Craftsmanship & Quality: A commitment to high-quality design and meticulous attention to detail across all brand touchpoints.

• Strategic Thinking: The ability to align design decisions with overarching business objectives and brand strategy.

• Collaboration & Partnership: A proactive and cooperative approach to working with cross-functional teams to achieve shared goals.

• Innovation & Experimentation: A willingness to explore new creative approaches and test concepts to drive brand evolution and effectiveness.

• Efficiency & Scalability: A focus on creating systems and processes that allow for consistent and efficient brand application as the company grows.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expected to work closely with product, marketing, and leadership, requiring strong communication and partnership skills.

• Feedback Exchange: A culture that values constructive feedback for continuous improvement of brand assets and strategies.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of insights and best practices within the creative and marketing functions to elevate the overall quality of work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's mission to "empower founders and innovators" suggests a culture that values drive, ambition, and a forward-thinking mindset, which should be reflected in the brand's visual expression and the designer's approach.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Strategy and Execution: The role requires setting strategic brand direction while also executing designs hands-on, demanding strong time management and versatility.

• Elevating a Premium Brand: The challenge of transforming a profitable platform into a truly aspirational premium brand requires a sophisticated aesthetic and a deep understanding of luxury branding.

• Scalability of Design Systems: Developing and maintaining design systems and guidelines that effectively scale across a growing company and diverse applications.

• Cross-functional Alignment: Ensuring consistent brand application and buy-in across different departments and stakeholders.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Brand Strategy Mastery: Deepen expertise in brand development, positioning, and storytelling within the premium lifestyle sector.

• Design System Leadership: Gain experience in building and governing robust design systems that drive efficiency and consistency.

• Industry Exposure: Opportunity to work within the dynamic fintech and lifestyle membership space.

• Executive Visibility: Direct exposure to and collaboration with executive leadership, providing insights into business strategy and decision-making.

📝 Enhancement Note: The opportunity to "both set the creative direction and design the work yourself" is a significant draw for experienced designers looking for high-impact roles with considerable autonomy.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Brand Foundation: "How would you approach defining the core visual identity and brand pillars for a premium lifestyle membership platform like FoundersCard?" (Be prepared to discuss your process for research, inspiration, and translating brand values into visual elements.)

• Design System Approach: "Describe your process for creating a scalable design system and brand guidelines. What are the key components, and how do you ensure adoption across teams?" (Focus on structure, accessibility, and governance.)

• Problem-Solving Scenario: "Imagine we need to redesign our website to better reflect our premium positioning. Walk us through your design process, from initial audit to final execution and testing." (Highlight your strategic thinking, hands-on skills, and user-centric approach.)

Company & Culture Questions:

• Brand Perception: "What is your perception of the FoundersCard brand currently, and where do you see opportunities for its visual identity to evolve?" (Show you've done your research and have thoughtful insights.)

• Collaboration Philosophy: "How do you typically collaborate with product managers, marketers, and developers to ensure design projects meet business objectives and technical requirements?" (Emphasize your partnership approach.)

• Impact Measurement: "How do you measure the success of your design work, particularly in relation to brand perception and user engagement?" (Discuss metrics, A/B testing, and qualitative feedback.)

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Narrative Structure: Organize your portfolio around key projects that showcase your brand-building and design system expertise. Tell a story for each project, explaining the challenge, your approach, and the outcome.

• Highlight Process: Dedicate sections or slides to illustrating your design process, especially for brand system development and website redesigns. Show mood boards, wireframes, style guides, and iterations.

• Demonstrate Craftsmanship: Ensure all presented work is high-quality, polished, and reflects a premium aesthetic. Use high-resolution mockups and clear visuals.

• Quantify Results: If possible, include data points or testimonials that demonstrate the impact of your design work on business objectives.

• Conciseness and Clarity: Be prepared to present your portfolio within a specific timeframe, focusing on the most relevant and impactful pieces for the FoundersCard role.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should be ready to articulate not just what they designed, but why and how. Demonstrating an understanding of FoundersCard's specific market and target audience will be crucial for tailoring responses and portfolio examples.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Lead Brand & Visual Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided Lever link.

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your portfolio to highlight projects demonstrating brand system development, premium visual design execution, and website redesign experience. Prioritize work that aligns with FoundersCard's premium lifestyle and business membership positioning.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly outlines your 7-10+ years of experience in brand design and creative direction, using keywords such as "brand identity," "design systems," "website design," "creative leadership," and "premium branding." Quantify achievements where possible.

• Interview Preparation: Practice presenting your portfolio, focusing on articulating your strategic approach, design process, and the impact of your work. Prepare to discuss your vision for the FoundersCard brand.

• Company Research: Thoroughly research FoundersCard, its mission, target audience, and current brand presence. Understand their positioning in the market and identify opportunities for brand enhancement.

⚠️ 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.