Brand/UI Designer

Focus Lab is a strategic brand agency that’s looking for the next addition to our team. We're an international, all-remote team with thoughtful, creative professionals passionate about partnering with good companies. Leveraging our craft and care for others, we exist to unlock the potential in the people around us, both internally and externally. We approach challenges with process-driven intentionality to inform the solutions we create. Craft is our calling card, camaraderie is our brand.

Role location: Remote, USA

We are looking for a seasoned brand/UI designer with at least 4 years of experience to join our Design team. Candidates must be able to work within 9AM-5PM Eastern Time Zone hours. For international contractors, we need at least a 6 hour overlap between the hours of 9AM-5PM Eastern Time Zone for collaboration.  We're flexible on exact start and end times, but consistent availability during our core collaboration hours is important.

About the role:

The ideal candidate is a champion of all things visual. You have a deep understanding of the branding process and its relationship with strategy and communications. You will be leading both visual identity and website projects at Focus Lab, working closely with our team of brand strategists, writers, project managers, and interactive writers.

You’ll be responsible for creating original, industry-leading creative work, making sure the brand/UI visuals follow the defined strategy and achieve the visual goals of the project. While the actual needs per client may vary, it all has the same purpose: define what problem they’re solving, find out what makes them different, capture their essence, and communicate that through visual storytelling.

Finally, you will be a member of our tight-knit, supportive community of designers at Focus Lab, being inspired and challenged to create your best work. You’ll engage with the Design team through collaboration sessions, design critique, and more.

Note: This is not a UX design role. A portfolio demonstrating brand and UI design experience is required.

You can expect to:

Strive for Excellence:

• Lead branding/UI projects for a variety of clients in the B2B space
• Create brand identity and UI systems rooted in strategy from the ground up that move our clients’ brands forward
• Keep a pulse on the latest brand design/UI trends and tools

Empathy in Action:

• Build rapport with our clients and our team to help generate and deliver tangible, impactful ideas

Lead with Courage:

• Present and defend your design decisions with expertise, confidence, and strong strategic rationale directly to powerful client stakeholders
• Drive weekly meetings with clients in the visual portion of the project

Assume the Best:

• Approach new challenges with curiosity
• Navigate both team and client feedback with confidence

All Over Ego:

• Give and receive constructive critique with clients and teammates
• Collaborate across Focus Lab and client teams to create successful visual outputs, including on research, analysis, and synthesis in the creation of brand and visual language strategy
• Contribute to the betterment and evolution of Focus Lab culture, processes, and client experiences

Own The Work:

• Work autonomously, self-structuring your week to ship deliverables on a weekly cadence
• Take initiative, guiding the client to the best solution– we’re not order-takers
• Follow through on the little (but important) things like punctuality and file hygiene

You should be comfortable working in:

• Figma
• Adobe Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop)
• AI productivity tools (ChatGPT, etc.)
• AI creative tools as part of exploration and execution

We believe in using AI as part of modern design practice. If you include work in your portfolio where AI was used, please note where AI played a role, whether it was ideation, research, process, or final output. There's no "right" approach; we simply value transparency and curiosity.

The right designer for this role has:

• Proven experience in leading visual work for large, national-level clients
• A portfolio showing full brand identity systems (beyond logos) and UI design/UI kits for large organizations
• Curiosity to dig deep into our clients’ companies, industries, and objectives
• A passion to collaborate with and learn from a team of strategists, writers, project managers, and fellow designers
• Confidence in driving and guiding stakeholders on visual design. They trust you’re in the driver’s seat
• An active and empathic listen-first mindset
• Initiative, seeing what needs to be done, and making a plan to do it
• Detail orientation (include the word "Applebees" somewhere in your application and earn yourself some bonus points)
• Alignment with our core values
• Soft skills in the way of your humility, hunger, and people smarts
• Ability to work within EST collaboration hours (meetings between 9AM-5PM ET)
• Strong proficiency in written and spoken English

Please note: We are open to both U.S.-based candidates and international contractors. If you live in the U.S., we may ask for documentation verifying your legal right to work. Candidates located outside the U.S. will be considered independent contractors. Candidates must display strong proficiency in written and spoken English.

Interested? Cool. Here’s how to apply:

1. Tell us about yourself in the Summary. It doesn’t need to be long! Just let us know what gets you excited about this role, why you’d make a great addition at Focus Lab, two or three projects you’ve worked on and why they’re relevant, and what you see your future looking like with us.
2. Make sure your application materials demonstrate at least some of the experience and qualities listed above.

It doesn’t matter if you have a degree or not. Many of our teammates are self-taught. We're looking to see that you are a creative visual thinker and empathic communicator whose love of the craft goes beyond self-expression.

We understand that candidates will not check every single box we have here; most of us didn’t when we applied. If you are interested and can show that you’re a fit, you should apply.

What happens after you apply?

This job posting will close on Monday, December 15th, at 12PM EST.

Our plan is to get through all the applications as soon as possible after the job posting closes. Our goal is to start interviewing by the first week of January, with an ideal start date in February.

One note about response time: we will be closed for the Holiday after our end-of-year roundtable on Friday, December 19th, and won't be back in the office until Monday, January 5th. We take time off seriously, so don't expect communications during this time. If you send us a note, we'll get back to you in the new year.

What does the interview process look like?

• A phone call with People Ops to discuss your interest and answer any initial questions you may have
• A video interview with a Director or Founder to talk about your experience and Focus Lab culture
• A video interview with the Creative Director to talk about your experience, your portfolio, and how we collaborate

We will cover the full benefits package further into the interview process, but the key benefits provided by Focus Lab are:

• Unlimited paid time off. You’ll be encouraged to take a minimum of 20 days outside of holidays and sick time.
• Health, dental, and vision insurance plans (medical covered at 100% for you 50% for your family dependents, dental covered at 50% for you and your family dependents) beginning first of the month following hire
• Life, disability, accident, critical illness, and cancer insurance plans
• Retirement plan beginning at your one-year anniversary
• Paid parental, adoption/caregiver leave
• Two weeks paid holiday rest at the end of the year

Please note: Candidates hired as independent contractors outside the U.S. are not eligible for traditional employee benefits, such as health insurance or retirement plans. As independent contractors, you will be responsible for managing your own taxes, benefits, and insurance. However, we offer competitive compensation, and you may be eligible for certain perks or bonuses based on project performance. While international contractors are not eligible for formal paid time off (PTO), we encourage a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible scheduling to accommodate personal needs.

Be who you are with us.

We’re devoted to building an inclusive, supportive culture. That means we don’t discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, disability (physical or mental), sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or parental status. We especially welcome people of color, women, and LGBTQIA2S+ to apply.

At Focus Lab, you’ll find an empathetic crew who checks their egos at the door. We aim to assume the best of each other, strive for excellence in all we do, lean into tough situations, and feel empowered to own our work. Sound like you? Super. We expect you’ll be successful here.