Design Director in London

Join to apply for the Design Director role at big fish. We are looking for a rare breed: a Design Director who doesn’t just follow trends, but questions them. Someone who understands that good design isn’t decoration; it’s behavioural science with better shoes.

The job (if we must define it)...

• You’ll lead design projects from the front – sleeves up, hands-on, occasionally barefoot (optional).
• You’ll mentor, not manage, sharing what you know without sounding like a TED Talk.
• You’ll present work to clients, persuading them to be braver, bolder and just a bit less beige.
• You’ll take the kinds of briefs that make normal people cry and turn them into work that makes people fall in love with brands again.
• You’ll be a bit like a creative Swiss Army Knife, with strategy, identity, packaging, art direction... all in your back pocket.

What we’re looking for:

• Have bloody great taste and can explain why something works without using the words "sort of..." or "kinda".
• Can art direct photography, illustration and motion like a bad ass boss.
• Can spot bad typography from 1,000 paces, even in the dark.
• Can talk to clients without corporate bollocks, industry jargon, psychobabble or death-by-Google slides.
• Have a portfolio that’s more "Oh my God" than "meh".
• Know how to craft, polish, and send out beautiful design.
• Are obsessed with digital, but not afraid of getting inky fingers.
• Can name more than three typefaces without Googling them.

Things that will help:

• You’ve worked on startups, scale-ups and transformations in food, drink and lifestyle categories.
• You’ve developed challenger brands that have disrupted and out-performed the market on minute budgets.
• You’ve got leadership vibes, or at least people voluntarily ask your opinion because you know your stuff.
• You’ve got hands-on skills in Ai MidJourney, Sora, Canva, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Google Slides, crayons, whatever works.
• You’re the kind of person who says, "Why not?" more than "Why?".
• You think design should change behaviour, not just decorate it.

What’s in it for you (besides glory):

• No creative pitches. No spec work. No tossers.
• Proper holidays, including your birthday, Christmas, and a company-wide summer break.
• A riverside studio in Chelsea with actual daylight, actual dogs and actual humans.
• Work that’s commercially serious, creatively liberating, and ethically sound.
• A way of working that means "we’re all in this together".
• Clients whose products we actually use. People we actually like. Work we’re actually proud of.

What we believe (and if you don’t, best you stop reading):

• That creativity thrives under constraints, not key performance indicators.
• That being kind is more important than being clever, but both is best.
• That design can save the world, but it helps if it’s also beautiful and doesn’t cost the Earth.
• That hierarchies are for penguins, not creative businesses.
• That laughing and swearing occasionally helps us do better work.

Apply now if...

• You’ve spent your career challenging convention, and you’re ready to help brands do the same.
• You believe in design as strategy, not just decoration.
• You’re brilliant, humble, a bit weird, and know that all the best ideas begin with "this might sound mad, but...".