Position Summary

Ready to apply your seasoned graphic design chops to bigger challenges? Hungry for a job that goes beyond the surface? We’re looking for self-starters—designers who know how to drive content, lead small teams, and mentor others.

If you’re interested in taking on more of the design process—getting intimately involved in research and client relationships—and consider yourself a true craftsperson, here’s what you’ll need to join us at IDEO San Francisco:

• 6 to 8 years of real experience.

• A passion for identity, packaging, and print. (A bit of digital won’t hurt either.)

• The ability to take brand from vision and personality to visual expression.

• A knack for crafting stories in compelling ways. Meaning, you need to be able to hold the vision of a story even if you collaborate with others to bring it to life.

• The sensibility to know good copy when you read it. Bonus if you can dabble in it yourself.

• A desire to experiment with the work, the process and even your peers. (Bring what you enjoy outside of work – like printmaking or photography or filmmaking – and stir what we make day to day.)

• A love of being a team player. (We know you’ll be fun to work with. We’re talking about knowing how to play nice with people who aren’t rooted in graphic design, and bringing colleagues and clients along respectfully.)

• A thick skin. (Demonstrate a comfort with sharing the rough stuff, as well as the ability to accept that your attention to some of the details may not always get fully appreciated within the context of solving big design challenges in the early phases)

• The maturity to speak out. Know when to forefront the design side and/or the business side.

• Consulting chops. We ask our designers to go beyond craft in many ways. You’ll need to be able to present with polish and express your creative voice in a business setting.

Additional Skills Required

Education – Bachelor degree in Graphic Design or the equivalent. Skills – Comfort with the usual tools. Ability to translate design across print, motion, and web.

If you’re still with us, we’d love to hear from you. Tell us a little bit about yourself, and of course send us a link to your work (resume, portfolio). For extra credit, send us a sample* of something that’s good, and send us a sample of something that’s great.

*Not something you created, and no explanation needed.

Helpful Tips

The Online Application Process:

• Please submit your cover letter, resume, portfolio and/or additional materials as a “Resume Attachment” in the resume attachment section which is located in the Career Center of your application page.
• Attachments must be formatted as an Adobe "text based" PDF, PowerPoint, or Word document.
• If you skip the cover letter section at the start of the application form, please attach your cover letter as a resume attachment per the instructions above.
• Create a profile at OpenIDEO.com to explore how we work and for us to get to you know you better. You'll find a space in the IDEO application form to enter your OpenIDEO username.
• Additional tips can be found in our Careers FAQ.

Equal Opportunity Employer:
IDEO is an equal opportunity employer; applicants are considered for all roles without regard to race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, marital, parental, veteran or military status, unfavorable military discharge, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law.