Recess Studios is a brand agency built to challenge the expected. With offices in Portland and New York, we deliver end-to-end brand solutions, foundational development, consistent application across every touchpoint, and strategic amplification that drives impact. Our multidisciplinary team imagines worlds, crafts honest narratives, and creates experiences at the intersection of culture and commerce. We prize Good Honest Work by Good Honest People, building lasting partnerships through clear standards, tidy operations, and results that exceed expectations.
JOB OVERVIEW
Recess Studios is seeking a Freelance Senior Designer to support a range of client and internal projects on a project basis. This role is ideal for a versatile designer who can drive ideation, support creative direction, and execute high quality design across multiple mediums including campaigns, experiential work, content, social, and integrated productions.
The Freelance Senior Designer will partner closely with internal creative, strategy, and production teams to help shape conceptual vision and deliver thoughtful, culturally relevant design solutions. This role requires strong craft, sound creative judgment, and the ability to move fluidly between concept and execution.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Lead creative concepts and design execution from initial ideation through final production
- Scale creative direction, aesthetics, and design output across a variety of brands, formats, and platforms
- Develop visual mood boards, brand tone and imagery, and design systems as needed per project
- Provide clear and constructive creative feedback to internal teams and external collaborators throughout production
- Partner with Creative and Strategy to develop compelling visual presentations
- Collaborate with internal teams to recommend creative collaborators and talent when appropriate
- Work directly with project teams and clients to understand vision, present design concepts, and refine work
- Translate client needs into effective visual design solutions that support strategic goals
- Apply strong judgment around typography, layout, illustration, imagery, and overall visual systems
- Gather project specifications and collaborate with team members to define design scope and priorities
- Manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines and quality expectations
- Maintain a high level of technical and design expertise across relevant multimedia platforms
QUALIFICATIONS
- Advanced knowledge of design principles, visual systems, and creative execution
- Strong understanding of photography, visual storytelling, typography, and production technique
- Ability to communicate clearly and professionally with internal teams, vendors, and clients
- Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver work on agreed timelines
- Experience providing visual and design direction within a creative studio or agency environment
- Ability to conceptualize and execute original visual designs across digital and physical touchpoints
- Comfort collaborating with cross discipline partners including creative, strategy, production, and technology
- Strong presentation and communication skills with the ability to articulate design rationale and approach
- Proficiency in industry standard design tools including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, and related software
ENGAGEMENT DETAILS
- This is a freelance, project based role with scope and duration dependent on studio and client needs.
- Compensation will be hourly or project based and aligned with experience and project requirements.
- Remote collaboration is welcome, with availability during core working hours required.