Senior Associate, Art Director - Brand Design System & Standards

Overview

Senior Associate, Art Director - Brand Design System & Standards

We are seeking a Senior Associate Art Director to join the Brand Design Systems team at Capital One. This role is for a designer with a branding and design background, a deep mastery of visual storytelling and a systems thinking approach. You will be responsible for developing, designing, and documenting our brand identity, including enterprise-wide brand standards and the visual systems that power our experiences.

In this role, you must be a strategic thinker capable of balancing high-level enterprise brand needs with the specific nuances of individual audience segments. You won't just maintain what exists; you will imagine how our design system flexes and evolves to meet the needs of tomorrow, proactively identifying opportunities to make our brand identity more modern, relevant, and distinctive. You’ll be at the intersection of a world-class financial institution and a cutting-edge in-house creative team. You’ll have the resources to build at scale and the creative freedom to push a Fortune 100 brand into its next chapter of visual identity.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Design, develop, and document our brand identity and its delivery systems. You’ll ensure that every rule and asset is clear, accessible, and ready for enterprise-wide implementation.

  • Pivot between high-level conceptual "big ideas" and the meticulous documentation required to scale them effectively.

  • Proactively evolve our visual language. You’ll anticipate future market trends and technical needs to ensure our design system remains modern, relevant, and resilient.

  • manage and improve a complex library of assets, specifically focusing on the user experience for our internal associates to ensure the system is intuitive and frictionless to use.

  • Act as a strategic partner, rationalizing every creative decision through the lens of brand strategy, usability, and measurable business impact.

  • Maintain a holistic view of the brand, ensuring consistency and "integrated thinking" across diverse channels, products, and audience segments without losing the core brand essence.

  • Actively learn from consumer data and behavioral insights, allowing them to directly influence and sharpen your design solutions.

  • Be willing to push the process and mindsets of others to create great customer experiences and strengthen our brand.
    

• Collaborate with a lot of smart people.

  • Work with your team—copywriters, creative directors, brand and marketing strategists.

  • Work with your partners—internal marketing and line-of-business

  • Get stuff done. On time. Every time.

  • Manage multiple deadlines on numerous projects happening at the same time. 

  • Deliver error-free work, using best practices with keen attention to detail.

  • Listen to and incorporate feedback.

  • Determine when to use existing solutions or start from scratch, so you can invest your time where it matters.

  • Understand the goals of a project, take direction well, and ask questions when you need clarity. 

  • Present your work in a compelling way to create support across different audiences.

WHO YOU ARE:

You want to be an EVIDENCE-BASED MARKETER.

• Your curiosity is endless. There’s always something else to learn.

• You’re flexible and not afraid of change—in fact, you welcome the challenge.

• You share your point of view but seek out what might be missing and listen.

• You have big ideas and know the best ones are driven by proof, persistence and patience.

• You’re a storyteller. You simplify the complex and compel your audience to act.

• You know how to enjoy yourself. While fun isn’t mandatory, it certainly seems to follow you.

• You care—about the work, your team and the customers you serve.  

Candidates must provide a portfolio of their creative work for consideration 

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• At least 2 years of design experience in a professional setting

• At least 3 years of experience in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign)

• At least 1 year of experience working with a prototyping software, such as: Figma, Sketch or Adobe XD

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Brand design system experience 

• Bachelor’s degree or military experience

• Experience in UX/UI or wireframing

• Experience in one or more of the following marketing areas: B2B, Experiential, Performance, or Direct Response

• Experience in the financial services industry or in-house creative team

• Experience with credit card design, manufacturing, testing, and prototyping

At this time, Capital One will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

Chicago, IL: $87,700 - $100,100 for Sr. Associate, Art Director

McLean, VA: $96,500 - $110,100 for Sr. Associate, Art Director

New York, NY: $105,300 - $120,100 for Sr. Associate, Art Director

Richmond, VA: $87,700 - $100,100 for Sr. Associate, Art Director

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan.

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at theCapital One Careers website. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.

This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days.

No agencies please. Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.

If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Capital One Recruiting at 1-800-304-9102 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@capitalone.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.

For technical support or questions about Capital One's recruiting process, please send an email to Careers@capitalone.com

Capital One does not provide, endorse nor guarantee and is not liable for third-party products, services, educational tools or other information available through this site.

Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).