Art Director Job at CUENTO Marketing in San Diego

Role Details

Role:

Full Time

Location:

4 days/week in our San Diego office M-TH. Remote Fridays.

Compensation:

$95,000–$115,000 annually (depending on experience)

Start Date:

ASAP

Experience Level:

7–10+ years of professional creative/design experience, preferably within an agency, sports, entertainment, or brand marketing environment

Application Requirements:

Resume + Portfolio required

Portfolio should demonstrate conceptual campaign thinking, branding systems, and multi-platform execution.

Apply: https://cuentomarketing.com/careers/

About CUENTO
CUENTO is a creative marketing agency built at the intersection of sports, culture, and brand storytelling. We create strategic, emotionally resonant work for brands, organizations, and teams across sports, enterprise, hospitality, lifestyle, and consumer categories.

Our client roster includes both sports and enterprise brands, requiring creatives who are adaptable, collaborative, and capable of working across a wide range of visual styles, audiences, and business objectives. Sports-related work is a significant part of our creative output, making this role especially well-suited for someone energized by high-visibility campaigns, fast-moving timelines, and culturally relevant storytelling.

We are looking for an Art Director to join our growing creative team in San Diego. This role is ideal for a highly conceptual creative leader who can guide projects from idea to execution while helping elevate the overall quality of work across the agency.

What You’ll Do

Lead creative development across campaigns, brand systems, social content, presentations, motion concepts, and marketing initiatives

Translate strategic direction into compelling visual storytelling and polished execution

Present creative concepts and rationale internally and to clients with confidence and clarity

Partner closely with the Creative Director to help guide overall creative quality and team output

Provide art direction and feedback to designers, editors, freelancers, and production partners

Contribute to concepting sessions, campaign ideation, moodboards, and visual explorations

Help establish scalable design systems and creative frameworks across brands and accounts

Collaborate cross-functionally with strategy, accounts, social, production, and web teams

Ensure projects maintain high creative standards while balancing timelines and business objectives

Stay current on design trends, culture, sports, digital storytelling, AI creative tools, and emerging platforms

What We’re Looking For

Exceptional portfolio demonstrating conceptual thinking, campaign development, and high-level visual execution

Expertise across branding, campaign systems, digital/social creative, and presentation design

Strong leadership instincts with the ability to guide, mentor, and elevate creative teams

Strong typography, layout, composition, and visual systems skills

Ability to balance creative ambition with strategic objectives and executional realities

Excellent communication and presentation skills

Strong attention to detail, organization, and project ownership

Ability to lead projects independently while collaborating effectively across departments

Experience working with sports, entertainment, or culturally driven brands is a plus

Passion for storytelling, culture, branding, and modern creative trends

What Success Looks Like

Elevates the overall quality and consistency of creative output

Brings proactive ideas, references, and solutions to the team

Can confidently lead projects from concept through execution

Balances creative ambition with speed and adaptability

Contributes positively to team culture and collaboration

Builds trust with clients through strong communication and presentation skills

Preferred Tools & Skills

Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)

Canva, Keynote/Google Slides/PowerPoint

Understanding of social-first creative and digital content ecosystems

Experience with photography direction, video direction, or production workflows is a plus

Familiarity with AI-assisted creative workflows and emerging creative technologies strongly preferred

Reporting Structure

Reports to the Creative Director

Collaborates closely with Design, Video, Social, Marketing and Account teams

Helps mentor and guide junior creatives

Why CUENTO

Opportunity to shape creative for nationally recognized brands and organizations

Collaborative, idea-driven culture with strong creative ambition

Diverse client roster spanning sports, lifestyle, hospitality, enterprise, and entertainment

Opportunity for leadership growth and creative ownership

Flexible hybrid work environment based in San Diego

You’ll join a curious, collaborative creative team where designers, editors, and AD’s have real ownership, visibility, and impact across client work.

Benefits & Perks

Hybrid work environment

Medical/dental/vision benefits

Paid time off and holidays

Opportunities for professional growth and development

Exposure to high-profile sports and lifestyle brands

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