Art Director at lovepop

About Lovepop Lovepop is on a mission to create one billion magical moments.  We combine art x engineering to create the most magical paper art cards & gifts.  Featured on Shark Tank in 2015, Lovepop has become one of the top 10 Shark Tank investments with over $300m in lifetime sales ($30m+ annually).  Lovepop consistently ranks in the top Google results for cards online, enjoys 29% national brand awareness in the category, and has helped its customers create over 65 million magical moments (30 million+ units sold).  We live by our four values: engineering, hunger, magic, and connection.  The opportunity ahead of us is large, exciting, and meaningful.  We seek A+ talent to help us become the #1 online card destination in the US. About the role   The Art Director will lead the visual and conceptual direction of Lovepop's product design organization, ensuring every 3D pop-up card and paper-art gift delivers an extraordinary, emotionally resonant "magic in a card" experience. Reporting to the VP of Design, the Art Director is a senior manager-level role responsible for setting and upholding the creative bar across Lovepop's owned and licensed product portfolio. As Art Director, your mission is to (1) provide art direction across all product lines, (2) creative management of Lovepop's license portfolio, shepherding products through licensor approval workflows while protecting Lovepop's creative integrity, and (3) manage external creative resources — freelance illustrators, agencies, and specialty vendors — to extend the team's capacity, bring in diverse art styles, and deliver on time and on budget. You will partner closely with the VP of Design, Merchandising, and Operations to translate creative vision into production ready, scalable products. Accountabilities Art Direction & Creative Excellence Set and uphold the visual bar across Lovepop's product portfolio. • Provide Art Direction: Establish and articulate clear creative vision for each product line and collection. Provide constructive, decisive feedback to designers and illustrators to elevate work, reduce revision cycles, and ensure every product reflects Lovepop's "art x engineering" identity. • Define Visual Language & Design Systems: Develop and maintain product-line design systems that ensure consistency across occasions, recipients, sentiments, and licensed properties — while preserving the distinctiveness of each line. • Champion the Magic Standard: Act as the dedicated guardian of "magic in a card" across every product. Ensure illustration, color, typography, paper engineering, and sentiment work together to create emotional resonance. • Translate Customer Insight into Design: Partner with Merchandising and analytics to interpret sales, sentiment, and assortment data. Use insights to inform creative direction for upcoming collections, occasions, and sentiment expansions. License Portfolio Management Creatively steward Lovepop's licensed-IP portfolio as a strategic and creative asset. • Lead Licensor Approval Workflows: Own creative direction for every licensed product development through: concept submission, prototype review, production sample sign-off — across multiple concurrent licensors with different style guides and submission cadences. External Resource Management Build, maintain, and deploy a roster of external creative talent to extend Lovepop's capacity and creative range. • Source & Onboard Talent: Continuously discover illustrators, designers, and specialty studios whose styles complement Lovepop's product range. Maintain a tiered roster (go-to partners, specialists, emerging talent) and onboard new vendors to Lovepop's brand standards, file specs, and workflow. • Brief & Direct External Creative: Write tight, decisive creative briefs that set vision, references, technical specs, deliverables, timelines, and revision boundaries. Team Leadership & Development Lead and develop a highly creative and high-performing illustration team. • Build & Coach the Team: Recruit, develop, and retain A+ designers and illustrators. Provide clear strategic direction, mentorship, and accountability. • Plan Capacity & Workload: Forecast team capacity against the product roadmap. Identify capacity gaps, and balance internal vs. external resourcing decisions for efficiency and cost. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Operational Excellence Operate as the design org's creative partner to the rest of the business. • Partner with Engineering & Operations: Collaborate with 3D Engineering and Operations on design feasibility, cost engineering, and production scalability. • Partner with Merchandising: Align art direction with assortment strategy, sentiment design plans, and occasion calendars. • Manage the Illustrations Asset Library: Ensure illustration assets, brand guidelines, licensor style guides are maintained, accessible and scalable. Qualifications Experience: Minimum 5–10+ years in design with progression of titles into senior creative leadership, including a current or recent role at the Art Director / Senior Manager level. Demonstrated experience in product design for physical consumer goods (greeting cards, paper goods, gift, stationery, toy, collectible, or licensed consumer products). Licensed IP Experience: Hands-on experience managing licensed IP end-to-end (concept → licensor approval → production), with multiple concurrent licensors strongly preferred. Familiarity with major licensor approval workflows (Disney, Sanrio, Universal, music estates, sports leagues, etc.) is a significant advantage. External Resource Management: Proven experience sourcing, briefing, and managing external creative resources (freelance illustrators, agencies, specialty studios), with ownership of vendor budgets and performance. Art Direction & Judgment: Strong creative eye with mastery of visual storytelling, illustration direction, color, composition, typography, and character design. Ability to provide clear, constructive feedback that elevates a team's output. Design System Thinking: Ability to define, document, and uphold a consistent visual language across a multi-product portfolio, balancing collection distinctiveness with brand coherence. Tools: Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Figma). Comfort with 3D rendering tools is a plus. Leadership & Team Building: Proven team leadership managing 5+ direct reports. Track record of recruiting, developing, and retaining design talent. Strategic Thinking: Strategic thinker who translates vision into actionable plans, output metrics, and measurable outcomes. Data-informed mindset — uses sales, sentiment, and customer insights to sharpen creative decisions. Portfolio: A portfolio demonstrating creative leadership across product design — ideally including licensed-IP work, illustrated product, packaging, and evidence of team leadership — is required for consideration. Cultural Fit: Genuine passion for Lovepop's mission to create magical moments and natural alignment with our values: Engineering, Hunger, Magic, Connection. Education: Bachelor's degree in Design, Illustration, Fine Arts, Visual Communication, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. Lovepop Values Engineering: Curiosity to discover how the world works Hunger: Desire to take on more than is expected Magic: Delivering unexpected experiences Connection: Building relationships with each other Lovepop Operating Philosophies A+ talent loves working with A+ talent.  A+ talent delivers 10x outcomes. Growth mindset.  We believe people develop over time, that capability increases through belief and hard work.  Most increases in productivity come from leveling up and applying more leverage and focus over time rather than by applying more resources or hours. The team I’m on is more important than the team I lead. From Patrick Lencioni’s “The Advantage”: leaders need to put their working team’s objectives ahead of the objectives of the team they themselves lead for an organization to be effective. Executive leadership team commitments: We value our time together, Create a safe space, Get everything on the table, Make clean agreements, Set the standard.