In a nutshell:

IDEO Shanghai is in search of a Communication Design Lead who will guide, inspire and move both teams and clients using the craft of visual communication. Your creative leadership will be required to create compelling stories to add context and texture to meaningful business strategy that starts with people.

Why is this role important for IDEO’s work?

Communication Design Lead makes the biggest impact to solving complex challenges by helping to bring ideas to life visually. We count on them to consult, art direct and deliver good design.

Once here you will:

• Be called upon to work or consult on a wide range of things: brand identities and full brand implementation, graphics for retail spaces, packaging, workbooks and publications, rapid prototypes for consumer testing, illustrations of business ecosystems, exhibition graphics, user interfaces and even rolling your sleeves up to help create beautiful presentation decks.
• Work seamlessly with people come from diverse backgrounds to tackle complex challenge (including but not limited to Industrial Designer, Design Researcher, Business designer, Interaction Designer and Environments Designer);
• Get exposure to and involvement with all aspects of the design consultancy projects: research, inspiration gathering, brainstorm, strategy defining, concept development, prototyping etc..
• Go out in the field and build empathy with users through activities like observing the life of a cosplay model and riding a car with a professional race car driver;
• Support and mentor junior design talent across the studio.

What does IDEO offer you?

IDEO is a place unlike any other. It’s a place where you can solve diverse, complex challenges for our clients or the organization, alongside thoughtful, intelligent individuals who lead with curiosity, empathy, and optimism. Sure we work hard, but we also intentionally craft moments that allow our community to pause, create, and connect. We encourage our community to bring their whole selves to work, respect the need for work-life balance, and allow for autonomy in the design process and your career.

IDEO has been in China for over a decade and our mission is to create new value by enabling enlightened leaders to answer the right questions and to tackle systemic challenges. These can range from working with ambitious Chinese enterprises, multinationals and enterprising entrepreneurs on challenges to do with healthcare, mobility, education or food safety. Over the years, we have grown in the scale of our influence and impact, and we are now looking for talented individuals who share our mission and sense of purpose to join our vibrant and dynamic Shanghai location.

Some previous projects to check out:

Society of Grownups: A storefront designed to connect the MassMutual brand to young adults through focusing on their money-spending habits over great food and conversation.

Pill Pack: An IDEO startup-in-residence. We helped build a venturing strategy for its prescription home-delivery system. IDEO refined the company's brand vision, strategy, and identity across channels and used this framework to redesign PillPack’s website and private dashboard for customers.

Relevant experience and mindset:

• Design craft: successful candidates will bring a wide range of experiences in multiple fields within communication design including: Brand Identity, Editorial Design, Information Graphics, Typography, Packaging Design, Exhibition Design.
• Diverse experience: you have been in the creative industry for minimum 8 years, and have worked on a variety of industries and projects, preferably had experience in different international markets.
• Business & Strategy: you are a strategic thinker, always trying to connect the dots between business, organizations and how design can make impacts.
• Leadership & Consultancy: you had minimum 3 years of experience being on client-facing and consultative roles.
• Career Aspirations: You’re looking for a place that will challenge your curiosity. You want to blur the edges of your craft in an environment where you will constantly be learning from others and doing work that will have real impact in the world.
• Culture: you are comfortable working in an ambiguous and dynamic environment and comfortable with non- hierarchical organizations.
• Language: you are fluent in both Mandarin and English.

Application requirements and instructions:

Is this you? If so, please apply with your CV, portfolio and a cover letter, to help us understand why this role is the right one for you.