Art Director at Amazon – Toronto

AI Summary

This Art Director role at Amazon's Brand Innovation Lab in Toronto seeks a versatile creative to lead the design and execution of innovative advertising campaigns.

Key duties involve creating unique brand experiences across Amazon's platforms, partnering with various teams, and owning client relationships.

Candidates should be multi-disciplinary talents proficient in design, advertising, and AI tools, with strong conceptual and project management skills.

About the Role at Amazon's Brand Innovation Lab

Amazon's Brand Innovation Lab (BIL) is actively seeking a highly versatile and multi-disciplinary Art Director in Toronto, Ontario. This pivotal role is designed for a creative professional who excels across various disciplines, leveraging a comprehensive AI toolkit to deliver visually stunning design, impactful big ideas, frictionless user experiences, and sharp copy. The successful candidate will own the entire creative workflow, from developing insight-driven pitch decks to executing polished digital campaigns that resonate with global brands.

As an Art Director, you will be instrumental in creating one-of-a-kind campaigns for a diverse range of leading global brands spanning every advertising vertical. This involves close collaboration with other multi-disciplinary creatives, solutions managers, producers, and software developers to craft first-class, full-funnel customer experiences. These experiences will be deployed across the expansive 'Amazon Canvas,' which includes prominent platforms such as Prime Video, Alexa, Twitch, Live Sports, and Amazon Music. Your responsibilities will include leading projects and fostering strong client relationships, always with a focus on creating work that genuinely benefits the end customer while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of creative possibility from initial brief through to final execution.

This role demands a deep understanding of how to use data, insights, and creativity to formulate compelling campaign strategies and concepts. You will be responsible for developing innovative designs and establishing the overall look and feel for various experiences, as well as creating templates for novel brand experiences that effectively solve customer problems, both on and off Amazon platforms. A strong portfolio showcasing interesting, innovative, and insight-driven campaigns that address advertiser challenges through a variety of media channels—including video, social, digital (such as website design), activations, and outdoor advertising—is essential. The ability to ideate across both traditional and non-traditional formats, with a proven track record of creating new mediums for advertising, is highly valued in this dynamic environment. You will also be expected to deliver high-quality designs and exceptional art direction for campaigns across different Amazon touch points, demonstrating a keen attention to detail and a deep passion for understanding customers to deliver impactful results.

A Day in the Life and Team Collaboration

A typical day for an Art Director within Amazon's Brand Innovation Lab is dynamic and diverse, reflecting the innovative nature of the team. You might find yourself partnering with IMDb to conceptualize a reality content series for a travel brand, or perhaps inventing a groundbreaking product designed to revolutionize cooking alongside a major CPG brand. Presenting a new campaign to brand clients and their partner media agency is a regular occurrence, requiring strong presentation and storytelling skills. Other tasks could involve designing an engaging trivia experience for a FinServ brand using Prime Video titles, or meticulously reviewing video edits for an influencer product launch campaign. A significant aspect of the role is to continuously innovate and explore 'what's next' on Amazon for our fashion advertisers and other key clients, ensuring Amazon remains at the forefront of digital advertising.

The Brand Innovation Lab (BIL) is an award-winning global team renowned for conceptualizing and executing bespoke advertising experiences for some of the world's most prominent brands, including Nike, Purina, Gap, Santander, and P&G. These brands invest in media with Amazon Ads, and the BIL team's success often leads to scaling successful campaign elements into new products or features within existing Amazon offerings. Our team of storytellers and innovators is truly global and multi-faceted, comprising creatives, strategists, design technologists, engineers, producers, and more. We collaborate seamlessly to create customer-focused solutions across the entire Amazon canvas—from Alexa and Twitch to Prime Video and Fire TV—all meticulously customized to meet our advertisers' unique goals. We foster an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are celebrated and actively fuel our creativity, believing that the best ideas emerge from teams that reflect the customers and communities we proudly serve. We are deeply committed to supporting every team member's professional growth and overall well-being, ensuring a collaborative and inspiring workplace where you can truly thrive and create impactful advertising.

Essential Skills and Qualifications for this Amazon Opportunity

To excel as an Art Director at Amazon's Brand Innovation Lab in Toronto, candidates must possess a robust foundation in marketing, brand advertising, media sales, or online advertising, coupled with extensive experience working closely with senior advertisers and agency stakeholders. A minimum of six years of professional experience is required, demonstrating a proven track record in the field. Proficiency with industry-standard design tools is paramount; this includes expert-level command of Figma and the Adobe Creative Suite, specifically Adobe XD, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Familiarity with InDesign, Dreamweaver, Premiere, and After Effects is also highly beneficial, showcasing a comprehensive skill set across various design and media production platforms.

Beyond technical proficiency, strong conceptual, presentation, storytelling, and project management skills are critical for success in this role. You will be expected to manage multiple projects simultaneously, consistently meeting deadlines while maintaining high standards of quality. The ability to mentor and inspire junior designers and creatives is also a valued attribute, contributing to the overall growth and collaborative spirit of the team. Preferred qualifications include a deep knowledge of branding guidelines and corporate identity, visual design principles, and both print and digital layout design. This comprehensive skill set will enable you to contribute significantly to creating innovative advertising solutions and memorable brand experiences across the vast Amazon ecosystem. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering an inclusive culture where diverse perspectives empower Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers.