Visual Designer
Vital Design, Portsmouth, NH, United States
The Short Version
We need a designer who can’t stop designing. Someone who geeks out over type pairings, obsesses over whitespace, and gets genuinely excited when a brand system clicks into place. You’ll work across 100+ active clients spanning higher ed, manufacturing, fintech, eCommerce, and everything in between — which means Monday might be a university rebrand and Friday might be a campaign concept for a Fortune 500. If that range excites you more than it intimidates you, keep reading.
Careers Position: Visual Designer Office Location: Portsmouth, NH Years of Experience: 2+ Years Salary Range: $50,000 - $95,000+
What You’d Actually Be Doing Vital’s designers aren’t pixel-pushers waiting for direction. You’re a problem solver. Clients and strategists lean on you for your expertise — not just your execution. Here’s what that looks like day to day:
Brand & Visual Design Build and extend brand identities across digital and print. You’ll develop visual systems that hold up across websites, social, paid media, pitch decks, and beyond. Versatility is the baseline here — we need someone who can shift between refined and editorial one day and bold and disruptive the next.
Web & Interaction Design Concept and design responsive websites and landing pages with a strong UX sensibility. You’ll create high‑fidelity prototypes and collaborate directly with developers to see your work built right. User‑centered thinking isn’t a buzzword on your resume — it’s how you approach every layout.
Campaign Concepting Contribute original creative ideas for digital ad campaigns, social content, and integrated marketing efforts. You’ll partner with strategists, copywriters, and our studio team to take concepts from napkin sketch to polished execution.
Studio Collaboration Our studio team handles animation, motion design, and social content production. You’ll work alongside them to make sure the visual direction translates beautifully into motion and video. Think of them as an extension of your design toolkit.
AI as a Creative Tool We’re an agency that embraces AI as part of our creative workflow, not one that’s afraid of it. You should be curious about how tools like generative AI can accelerate ideation, production, and iteration — and willing to push boundaries with them.
Who You Are You’re early in your career but you’ve already proven you can do the work. Maybe you’ve done a year or two at an agency, an in‑house team, or a solid freelance run. What matters more than years on a resume is the quality of your portfolio and the hunger in your gut.
You’re a self‑starter. You don’t wait to be told what to do. You see what needs to happen and you move.
You live for typography and graphic design. This isn’t just your job — it’s the thing you’d do on a Saturday afternoon for fun. You have opinions about kerning and you’re not afraid to share them.
You’re versatile. You can hit any style. Clean and minimal. Bold and expressive. Illustrative. Editorial. Whatever the brand calls for, you can meet it.
You thrive in fast‑paced environments. We move quickly and the work is high quality. That combination is energizing to you, not stressful.
You’re not precious about your work. You take feedback well, iterate fast, and understand that great design comes from collaboration, not ego.
You take risks. Safe design is boring design. You push for ideas that surprise, challenge, and move the needle for our clients.
You’re passionate about marketing. You understand that design in an agency context exists to drive results. Beautiful work that doesn’t perform isn’t enough.
The Specifics
Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, or related field (or equivalent portfolio and experience)
1‑2+ years of professional design experience, preferably with some agency exposure
Proficiency in Figma (our primary tool for digital) and Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
Strong portfolio showing range across web design, brand identity, and digital marketing collateral
Solid understanding of UX principles, responsive design, and interaction patterns
Excellent communication skills — you can present and defend your design decisions
Familiarity with HTML/CSS and how designs translate to development is a plus
Motion design or animation skills are a plus but not required — you’ll have a studio team for that
Why Vital Vital is an award‑winning digital marketing agency headquartered in downtown Portsmouth, NH with offices in Boston, Charlotte, and San Francisco. We work with clients that range from local nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies, with deep specializations in higher education, manufacturing, and B2B marketing.
Benefits
Competitive salary ($50k–$80k based on experience)
Health benefits
Simple IRA
Hybrid flexibility — work from our Portsmouth HQ or remote, your call
Unlimited Vacation
A team that actually likes working together
Real mentorship and growth path — we’re specifically looking to develop talent, not just fill a seat
Let’s Go Send us your portfolio, a cover letter that tells us why Vital (not just “a design job”), and your salary expectations. We want to hear your voice — skip the template cover letter and tell us something real.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Careers Position: Visual Designer Office Location: Portsmouth, NH Years of Experience: 2+ Years Salary Range: $50,000 - $95,000+
What You’d Actually Be Doing Vital’s designers aren’t pixel-pushers waiting for direction. You’re a problem solver. Clients and strategists lean on you for your expertise — not just your execution. Here’s what that looks like day to day:
Brand & Visual Design Build and extend brand identities across digital and print. You’ll develop visual systems that hold up across websites, social, paid media, pitch decks, and beyond. Versatility is the baseline here — we need someone who can shift between refined and editorial one day and bold and disruptive the next.
Web & Interaction Design Concept and design responsive websites and landing pages with a strong UX sensibility. You’ll create high‑fidelity prototypes and collaborate directly with developers to see your work built right. User‑centered thinking isn’t a buzzword on your resume — it’s how you approach every layout.
Campaign Concepting Contribute original creative ideas for digital ad campaigns, social content, and integrated marketing efforts. You’ll partner with strategists, copywriters, and our studio team to take concepts from napkin sketch to polished execution.
Studio Collaboration Our studio team handles animation, motion design, and social content production. You’ll work alongside them to make sure the visual direction translates beautifully into motion and video. Think of them as an extension of your design toolkit.
AI as a Creative Tool We’re an agency that embraces AI as part of our creative workflow, not one that’s afraid of it. You should be curious about how tools like generative AI can accelerate ideation, production, and iteration — and willing to push boundaries with them.
Who You Are You’re early in your career but you’ve already proven you can do the work. Maybe you’ve done a year or two at an agency, an in‑house team, or a solid freelance run. What matters more than years on a resume is the quality of your portfolio and the hunger in your gut.
You’re a self‑starter. You don’t wait to be told what to do. You see what needs to happen and you move.
You live for typography and graphic design. This isn’t just your job — it’s the thing you’d do on a Saturday afternoon for fun. You have opinions about kerning and you’re not afraid to share them.
You’re versatile. You can hit any style. Clean and minimal. Bold and expressive. Illustrative. Editorial. Whatever the brand calls for, you can meet it.
You thrive in fast‑paced environments. We move quickly and the work is high quality. That combination is energizing to you, not stressful.
You’re not precious about your work. You take feedback well, iterate fast, and understand that great design comes from collaboration, not ego.
You take risks. Safe design is boring design. You push for ideas that surprise, challenge, and move the needle for our clients.
You’re passionate about marketing. You understand that design in an agency context exists to drive results. Beautiful work that doesn’t perform isn’t enough.
The Specifics
Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, or related field (or equivalent portfolio and experience)
1‑2+ years of professional design experience, preferably with some agency exposure
Proficiency in Figma (our primary tool for digital) and Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
Strong portfolio showing range across web design, brand identity, and digital marketing collateral
Solid understanding of UX principles, responsive design, and interaction patterns
Excellent communication skills — you can present and defend your design decisions
Familiarity with HTML/CSS and how designs translate to development is a plus
Motion design or animation skills are a plus but not required — you’ll have a studio team for that
Why Vital Vital is an award‑winning digital marketing agency headquartered in downtown Portsmouth, NH with offices in Boston, Charlotte, and San Francisco. We work with clients that range from local nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies, with deep specializations in higher education, manufacturing, and B2B marketing.
Benefits
Competitive salary ($50k–$80k based on experience)
Health benefits
Simple IRA
Hybrid flexibility — work from our Portsmouth HQ or remote, your call
Unlimited Vacation
A team that actually likes working together
Real mentorship and growth path — we’re specifically looking to develop talent, not just fill a seat
Let’s Go Send us your portfolio, a cover letter that tells us why Vital (not just “a design job”), and your salary expectations. We want to hear your voice — skip the template cover letter and tell us something real.
#J-18808-Ljbffr