Job Overview

The Brand Designer plays a key role in elevating the University of Cincinnati’s reputation, recruitment, and reach through bold brand activation and compelling digital storytelling. This role is responsible for creating scroll-stopping creative and action-driving content that amplifies UC’s brand across digital platforms. The content produced will spark awareness, fuel affinity, and drive action among various audiences — from prospective students to alumni and the broader community.

The Brand Designer is a visual storyteller, strategist, and brand builder who helps elevate the University of Cincinnati’s reputation, recruitment, and reach through compelling, design-led creative. This role brings bold ideas to life through digital-first design concepting and executing engaging, on-brand assets that support UC’s integrated marketing campaigns while elevating our digital and social presence. The designer will work across platforms to create cohesive visual systems, develop flexible templates, and produce design that inspires connection and drives action.

In close collaboration with the Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, UC’s agency of record, and MarCom colleagues, the Brand Designer will create branded assets that stretch across digital, social, and environmental spaces, design high-impact graphics that power storytelling and campaign performance, bring a deep understanding of layout, hierarchy, movement, and accessibility to every deliverable.

This role is strategic, detail-oriented, and grounded in design thinking. The ideal candidate is fluent in UC’s brand and fearless in exploring fresh creative approaches. The position offers a flexible hybrid work schedule with a combination of in-office and remote days.
 

Essential Functions

• Translate strategic goals and brand priorities into bold, digital-first design by crafting compelling assets for campaigns, motion graphics, dynamic assets, social media, web, email environmental branding and presentations.
• Design branded visual systems, templates, and toolkits that bring cohesion and clarity to UC’s storytelling across platforms and teams.
• Design and maintain UC's visual identity standards and branded assets including logos, lockups, co-branded graphics, templates, and toolkits for MarCom, strategic partners, and the broader campus community, ensuring consistency, clarity, and brand integrity across all touchpoints.
• Design infographics, social graphics, and data-driven visuals that simplify complexity, highlight impact, and capture audience attention.
• Act as a design consultant and creative advisor, offering recommendations on formats, platforms, and executions that best meet campaign or content needs.
• Manage file organization, archiving and production processes—including prepping final art for deployment across digital, print, and environmental platforms.
• Support quality control by reviewing, refining, and proofing creative for accuracy, accessibility, and alignment with brand standards.
• Stay current with design trends, tools, and digital engagement strategies to bring new ideas and approaches to the team.
• Liaison or manage selected vendors, contractors, suppliers, etc. for assigned projects; write all specifications for needs, bids, etc.
• Perform related duties based on departmental need. This job description can be changed at anytime.

Required Education

Bachelor's Degree

Required Experience

Three (3) years of relevant work experience required

Additional Qualifications Considered

• Proven proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud, particularly InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects.
• Strong portfolio that demonstrates conceptual thinking, design systems, brand storytelling, and an eye for layout, color, and typography.
• Experience working with brand guidelines and contributing to their evolution through thoughtful, on-brand executions.
• Experience developing infographics, social media graphics, and presentation decks that simplify complex information and enhance visual communication.
• Familiarity with digital accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and how to apply them to visual design.
• Familiarity and examples of AI prompting for design and concepts.  
• Familiarity with digital asset management (DAM), organizing and delivering assets to clients and effectively utilizing metadata for search and sort .
• Desirable skills include UX/UI principles, motion design, basic web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), data-driven design, and visual storytelling.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, with a track record of meeting deadlines in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
• Strong attention to detail, organization, and file management best practices.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to articulate design choices and receive feedback constructively.

Physical Requirements/Work Environment