Senior Graphic Designer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Graphic Designer

Company: Milani Cosmetics

Location: Culver City, California, United States

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Creative & Media / Art & Design / Marketing / Retail

Date Posted: 2026-09-16

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive brand expression across retail, packaging, and physical consumer touchpoints, ensuring a cohesive and impactful brand presence.

• Develop and implement scalable design systems for visual merchandising, retail environments, and product launches, maintaining brand consistency across diverse formats and categories.

• Translate creative and art direction into distinctive visual designs, focusing on typography, imagery, color, composition, and product storytelling to enhance the consumer experience.

• Provide clear creative guidance and quality control to production designers and external partners, overseeing the execution of design concepts from initial ideation through final production.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is focused on the physical manifestation of the brand, bridging creative strategy with tangible consumer experiences. It requires a designer with strong systems thinking to ensure consistency and efficiency across various retail and packaging applications. The emphasis on "what's inside matters" for Milani's products suggests a need for design that communicates quality and premium ingredients.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Partner with the Art Director to conceptualize and extend campaign key art and launch visuals across various retail applications, ensuring a unified brand message.

• Define and evolve Milani's physical brand identity, translating it into a recognizable and impactful consumer experience across all touchpoints.

• Build and maintain scalable design systems that govern typography, imagery, color palettes, hierarchy, product communication, and retailer-specific adaptations, ensuring editorial visual integrity.

• Develop sophisticated visual merchandising concepts and systems for fixtures, displays, signage, and promotional environments that enhance storytelling, hierarchy, and shopability.

• Lead retail design programs from initial concept development and visualization through to final production, ensuring seamless execution and brand adherence.

• Prepare detailed, production-ready files, including dielines, mechanicals, dimensions, imagery specifications, and final artwork, for various print and fabrication needs.

• Provide clear creative direction, templates, feedback, and final approvals to production designers and external partners, ensuring quality and brand consistency.

• Review proofs, prototypes, and production outputs meticulously to uphold creative intent and quality standards.

• Contribute to broader physical brand initiatives, including packaging systems and print collateral, as needed, to support integrated brand campaigns.

• Manage multiple complex projects and shifting priorities effectively, maintaining organized workflows, project files, timelines, and approval processes using tools like Monday.com.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strong focus on translating 2D campaign assets into 3D retail experiences. The need to develop "scalable design systems" indicates a requirement for strategic thinking beyond individual design executions, focusing on frameworks that can be applied consistently. The mention of "shopability" and "shopper behavior" points to a design approach that is both aesthetically pleasing and commercially effective.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While not explicitly stated, a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Fine Arts, or a related field is typically expected for a Senior Graphic Designer role.

Experience: 6+ years of relevant design experience with demonstrated senior-level ownership across visual merchandising, retail, environmental, or integrated brand programs.

Required Skills:

• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, with expert-level skills in Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.

• Demonstrated ability to create scalable visual systems, not just individual design executions.

• Exceptional visual judgment across typography, composition, color, photography, hierarchy, and product storytelling.

• Strong conceptual thinking with the ability to develop original ideas and execute established creative direction effectively.

• Deep knowledge of retail and print production processes, including fixtures, displays, dielines, materials, fabrication, and mechanicals.

• Understanding of shopper behavior and how design influences navigation, storytelling, and shopability within a retail environment.

• Ability to manage projects from concept and design system development through adaptation and final production.

• Highly detail-oriented with strong organizational, communication, and production accuracy skills.

• Proven experience in managing multiple complex projects and shifting priorities without compromising quality. Preferred Skills:

• Retail fixture, print, and fabrication vendor experience.

• Experience in developing visual merchandising or retail brand guidelines.

• Packaging graphics and packaging systems design experience.

• Familiarity with 3D visualization, rendering, or environmental design tools.

• Experience within the beauty, fashion, luxury, lifestyle, entertainment, retail, or culturally relevant consumer brand sectors.

📝 Enhancement Note: The emphasis on "systems thinking" and "scalable visual systems" suggests that candidates who can demonstrate a strategic approach to design, rather than just aesthetic execution, will be highly valued. The "Additional Strengths" section clearly indicates preferred areas of expertise that would make a candidate stand out.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase sophisticated visual merchandising and retail design examples, demonstrating an understanding of physical space and consumer interaction.

• Include examples of campaign key art development or extension, illustrating how 2D concepts are translated into broader brand expressions.

• Present evidence of creating and implementing scalable design systems, highlighting the strategic framework behind the executions.

• Demonstrate strong typography and product storytelling skills, showing how visual elements are used to communicate brand messaging and product benefits.

• Provide clear evidence of concept-to-production ownership, detailing the journey from initial idea to final, manufacturable output. Process Documentation:

• Highlight your process for developing and documenting visual merchandising or retail brand guidelines, if applicable.

• Showcase examples of how you've managed the production process for retail or print projects, including how you ensure accuracy and quality control.

• Illustrate your approach to collaborating with external vendors (e.g., printers, fabricators) to ensure design intent is maintained throughout production.

• Detail your system for managing project workflows, timelines, and approvals, particularly if you have experience with project management tools like Monday.com.

📝 Enhancement Note: The portfolio requirements are highly specific, emphasizing not just the final output but also the strategic thinking and process behind it. Candidates must be prepared to demonstrate their ability to create systems and manage projects from inception to completion, with a focus on retail and physical brand experiences.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $85,000.00 to $100,000.00 annually.

Benefits:

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)

• Retirement Plan (401k with Company Match)

• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)

• Generous Vacation Time Policy

• Family Leave

• Short Term & Long-Term Disability

• Flexible Work Environment / Hybrid (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday required on site in Milani’s Culver City Office)

• Dog-Friendly HQ

Working Hours: 40 hours per week, with a hybrid work arrangement requiring three days in the Culver City office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is competitive for a Senior Graphic Designer role in the Culver City, California area, considering the experience level and the industry. The benefits package is comprehensive, offering standard health and retirement benefits alongside generous time off and unique perks like a dog-friendly office. The hybrid model provides flexibility while ensuring in-person collaboration.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Cosmetics / Beauty. Milani Cosmetics operates within the mass beauty market, positioning itself as a brand that offers premium quality and ingredients at accessible price points. They are known for their cult-favorite products and focus on cruelty-free, high-performance formulations.

Company Size: While not explicitly stated in the provided data, Milani Cosmetics is a significant player in the mass color cosmetics market, ranking as the #7 U.S. mass color cosmetics brand and the third fastest-growing. This suggests a mid-to-large-sized organization with established creative and marketing departments.

Founded: Milani has been in operation for over 20 years, indicating a stable and established brand with a long-standing presence in the beauty industry.

Team Structure:

• The Senior Graphic Designer will report to the Art Director and partner closely with the Executive Creative Director.

• Collaboration is expected across Creative, Marketing, Visual Merchandising, and Production departments.

• The role will involve directing and partnering with production designers on rollout work. Methodology:

• A strong emphasis is placed on translating brand and campaign strategy into compelling visual ideas with a clear point of view.

• Design systems are crucial for ensuring consistency and scalability across various applications.

• The approach balances creative ambition with practical retail, print, and fabrication requirements.

• Data-driven insights into shopper behavior are expected to inform design decisions that enhance shopability.

Company Website: milanicosmetics.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Milani's brand ethos, "What's Inside is Everything!", suggests a company that values substance, quality, and ingredient integrity. This likely translates into a culture that appreciates thoughtful design that communicates these values. The company's growth trajectory and independent status imply a dynamic environment where creative input can have a significant impact.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Senior Graphic Designer role, indicating a mid-to-senior level position. It requires demonstrated ownership and the ability to lead projects from concept to completion, not just execute tasks. The focus on systems thinking and mentoring production designers suggests a potential step towards leadership.

Reporting Structure: The role reports directly to the Art Director and works closely with the Executive Creative Director, placing it within the core creative leadership team. Collaboration with cross-functional departments like Marketing and Visual Merchandising is a key aspect of the role.

Operations Impact: The Senior Graphic Designer has a direct impact on the brand's physical presence and consumer experience. Their work shapes how Milani is perceived in retail environments, influences purchasing decisions through effective visual merchandising and packaging, and contributes to the overall brand equity and sales performance. The role is critical in translating the brand's premium positioning into tangible visual assets.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Opportunity to deepen expertise in retail design, visual merchandising systems, and packaging design within the beauty industry.

• Leadership: Potential to mentor production designers and take on more complex, high-profile projects, potentially leading to an Art Director or Design Lead role.

• Brand Development: Contribute to the evolution of Milani's brand identity and its physical manifestation, gaining experience in strategic brand building.

• Cross-Functional Exposure: Develop a strong understanding of marketing, product development, and retail strategy through close collaboration.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a clear path for growth for a designer who excels in retail and systems thinking. The opportunity to influence the physical brand experience and mentor others makes it an attractive position for someone looking to advance their career in CPG or beauty brand design.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is hybrid, requiring 3 days per week in the Culver City office. This suggests a collaborative office environment designed to foster teamwork and in-person interaction, balanced with remote flexibility.

Office Location(s): Culver City, California. This location is known as a hub for creative industries, offering a vibrant professional environment.

Workspace Context:

• The office is described as "dog-friendly HQ," indicating a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.

• The hybrid model implies a need for effective collaboration tools and practices to ensure seamless communication between in-office and remote team members.

• The environment likely supports hands-on work with design software and potentially physical mock-ups or material samples for retail and packaging projects.

Work Schedule: The standard work schedule is 40 hours per week, with the hybrid arrangement specifying in-office days on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model and dog-friendly office suggest a company culture that values work-life balance and employee well-being, while still prioritizing in-person collaboration for key creative functions. The Culver City location places the designer in a dynamic creative ecosystem.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: Review of resume and portfolio to assess qualifications and creative output.

• Portfolio Presentation: Candidates will likely be asked to present their portfolio, focusing on how their work aligns with the requirements for visual merchandising, retail design, scalable systems, and concept-to-production ownership. Be prepared to articulate your design process and strategic thinking.

• Creative/Technical Interviews: Discussions with the Art Director and potentially the Executive Creative Director to evaluate conceptual skills, visual judgment, technical proficiency, and understanding of production.

• Cross-Functional Interview: Potential interviews with members of Marketing or Visual Merchandising teams to assess collaboration style and understanding of business objectives.

• Production Focus: Expect questions related to your experience with print and retail production, dielines, materials, and ensuring design integrity through execution.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 3-5 of your strongest projects that directly address the requirements: visual merchandising, retail design, scalable systems, and concept-to-production. Ensure a significant portion showcases retail/environmental work.

• Show Systems Thinking: Clearly articulate how you've developed and implemented design systems, not just individual pieces. Use diagrams or process flows if helpful.

• Tell the Story: For each project, explain the brief, your strategic approach, creative challenges, solutions, and the final impact. Focus on how your design decisions met business objectives and enhanced the consumer experience.

• Highlight Production Expertise: Be ready to discuss the technical aspects of your projects, including materials, fabrication constraints, and how you ensured production accuracy.

• Demonstrate Retail Acumen: Show an understanding of how design functions within a retail space – consider traffic flow, hierarchy, storytelling, and shopability.

Challenge Preparation:

• Systems Design Exercise: You might be given a brief to develop a visual system for a new product launch or a retail display concept, requiring you to think about scalability and consistency.

• Production Problem-Solving: Be prepared to discuss how you would handle a production issue or adapt a design for a specific retailer constraint.

• Brand Translation: You may be asked to take existing campaign assets and conceptualize how they would translate into a retail environment or packaging.

📝 Enhancement Note: The application process will heavily scrutinize the candidate's portfolio for specific types of work and their ability to articulate their strategic and production-oriented processes. Candidates should tailor their portfolio to directly address the "What Success Looks Like" section of the job description.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Adobe Creative Suite: Expert proficiency required in Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign for all design and production tasks.

• Monday.com: Experience or willingness to learn this project management tool for organizing workflows, timelines, and approvals.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly listed, a strong understanding of how design impacts sales and shopper behavior implies familiarity with retail analytics and performance metrics, even if not directly using the tools. CRM & Automation:

• Not directly relevant to this design role, but understanding how design assets are managed and deployed within marketing workflows might be beneficial. Additional Tools (Preferred):

• 3D visualization, rendering, or environmental design tools (e.g., SketchUp, Blender, V-Ray, Cinema 4D) for conceptualizing retail spaces and displays.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core technical requirement is mastery of the Adobe Creative Suite for design and production. The mention of Monday.com highlights the company's use of specific project management software, and familiarity with 3D design tools is a significant plus for visualizing retail environments.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Quality & Craftsmanship: Milani's emphasis on premium ingredients and meticulous detail suggests a value placed on high-quality execution in all aspects, including design.

• Brand Integrity: Maintaining a consistent and elevated brand expression across all consumer touchpoints is paramount.

• Innovation & Growth: As a fast-growing brand, there's likely an appreciation for forward-thinking design that keeps Milani competitive.

• Efficiency & Scalability: The need for "scalable design systems" points to a value placed on creating solutions that are both effective and manageable.

• Collaboration: The cross-functional nature of the role indicates a team that works together to achieve common goals.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expect to work closely with marketing, merchandising, and production teams, requiring strong communication and the ability to translate design ideas into actionable plans for different departments.

• Feedback-Driven: The process of reviewing proofs and directing production designers implies a culture where constructive feedback is given and received to refine creative output.

• Shared Vision: The goal is to collectively translate brand strategy into compelling physical experiences, requiring alignment and shared understanding across teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture likely blends creative passion with a pragmatic understanding of business needs and production realities. The emphasis on "What's Inside is Everything!" suggests a company that values authenticity and quality, which should be reflected in the design approach.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Creative Vision with Production Constraints: Translating sophisticated creative concepts into mass-producible, cost-effective retail elements requires a keen understanding of materials, manufacturing, and budget limitations.

• Maintaining Brand Consistency Across Diverse Retailers: Adapting designs to fit various retailer formats, sizes, and brand guidelines while upholding Milani's core identity is a complex task.

• Managing Multiple, High-Priority Projects: The fast-paced nature of the beauty industry and Milani's growth trajectory means juggling numerous launches, campaigns, and evergreen programs simultaneously.

• Evolving Brand Identity: Contributing to the evolution of Milani's physical brand presence requires staying ahead of trends while remaining true to the brand's established values.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into Retail Design: Gain extensive experience in the intricacies of visual merchandising, fixture design, and in-store branding.

• Systems Thinking Mastery: Refine skills in creating and implementing comprehensive design systems that ensure brand consistency and efficiency.

• Production Expertise: Develop a granular understanding of print, fabrication, and retail production processes through hands-on project management.

• Cross-Industry Collaboration: Learn how design integrates with marketing, product development, and sales strategies within a thriving consumer brand.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to guide and develop junior production designers, honing leadership and communication skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers significant opportunities for professional development in a high-growth consumer brand environment, particularly for designers interested in the intersection of creative strategy and tangible retail execution.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you developed a scalable design system for a brand. What were the key components, and how did you ensure its successful implementation across different applications?" (Focus on systems thinking, process, and execution.)

• "How do you balance creative ambition with the practical constraints of retail production, including budgets and materials?" (Highlight your understanding of the production lifecycle and problem-solving skills.)

• "Walk us through a visual merchandising or retail design project from concept to final execution. What was your role, what challenges did you face, and what was the outcome?" (Prepare a concise case study from your portfolio.)

• "How do you ensure brand consistency when adapting designs for multiple retailers with different formats and requirements?" (Emphasize your strategic approach to brand guardianship.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on your research, what do you see as Milani's key brand strengths in the current beauty market, and how would your design approach amplify those?" (Show you've researched the brand and understand its positioning.)

• "How do you approach collaboration with marketing, merchandising, and production teams? Can you give an example of a successful cross-functional project?" (Demonstrate your teamwork and communication skills.)

• "What excites you about Milani's brand ethos, 'What's Inside is Everything!' and how would you translate that into the physical consumer experience?" (Connect your design philosophy to the company's values.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly state the objective, your role, the strategy, the creative solution, the production process, and the results or impact.

• Highlight Systems and Retail: Prioritize projects that showcase your ability to create design systems and your experience in retail or environmental design. If you don't have direct retail experience, emphasize transferable skills in environmental graphics or large-scale brand campaigns.

• Be Ready for Production Details: Be prepared to discuss materials, dielines, color specifications, and the challenges of bringing designs to life physically.

• Articulate Your "Why": Explain the strategic rationale behind your design choices, not just what they look like.

• Conciseness is Key: Respect the interviewer's time; aim for clear, impactful presentations without unnecessary jargon.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interviewers will be looking for a candidate who is not only a strong visual designer but also a strategic thinker with a solid understanding of the retail environment and production processes. The portfolio is the primary tool for demonstrating this.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Graphic Designer position:

• Submit your application through the provided link, ensuring all requested information is included.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight your 6+ years of experience, specifically mentioning achievements in visual merchandising, retail design, systems thinking, and production management. Quantify your impact where possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select and organize your strongest, most relevant projects as outlined in the "Portfolio Requirements" section. Ensure your portfolio is easily accessible via a URL and directly addresses the job description's needs, particularly in retail/environmental design and systems.

• Prepare Your Presentation: Practice walking through your portfolio, focusing on the strategic rationale, design systems, production process, and collaboration aspects. Be ready to discuss your experience with Adobe Creative Suite and any 3D design tools.

• Research Milani: Understand their brand, current market position, key products, and design aesthetic. Consider how your work can contribute to their growth and brand evolution.

⚠️ 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.