Design Director

Location: Pune (Full-Time)
Exp: 7-8+ yrs
Compensation: ₹12-15 LPA
Reports To: Head of Marketing & Brand

Team: Designers, Jr. Designers, Motion Graphic Artists, Stop-Motion Artists; collaborates w/ Copywriters & Freelancers

About Together Hospitality

Together Hospitality is home to five distinct brands, each w/ its own personality, audience & creative world. We believe design is a strategic tool that builds desire, creates memory, drives awareness & shapes how people experience our brands.

We're looking for a Design Director to own & elevate the visual identity of all five brands while leading a multidisciplinary design team to produce exceptional creative work.

About the Role

The Design Director is the design conscience of Together Hospitality, owning the visual language across all five brands & ensuring every creative output meets a consistently high standard. This senior, hands-on leadership role brings creative decision-making on visual hierarchy, illustration, direction & execution directly into the design function, reducing reliance on external creative intervention.

You'll lead designers, Jr. designers, motion & stop-motion artists, while collaborating closely w/ copywriters, strategists & the Creative Director. You think first about what an audience needs to understand, feel or do, then determine the most effective way to communicate it visually.

We're looking for someone w/ exceptional creative range, strong design fundamentals & a constant appetite for experimentation across graphic design, motion, illustration, photography, retouching, stop-motion & emerging creative tech.

What You'll Do

Own the Design Language Across Five Brands

- Define & maintain each brand's visual identity
- Establish & evolve typography, colour, image treatment, motion & illustration styles, & layout systems
- Keep each brand distinct, recognizable & true to its identity
- Make key creative decisions on hierarchy, emphasis & storytelling
- Evolve brand aesthetics while preserving brand equity

Set & Maintain the Creative Standard

- Serve as the final quality filter before work is published
- Translate communication objectives into clear visual direction
- Define what audiences should notice first & how creative should make them feel
- Give actionable, developmental feedback to designers
- Reduce dependency on founder/leadership-level creative reviews

Lead & Grow the Design Team

- Manage designers, Jr.



designers, motion & stop-motion artists
- Allocate projects, review work, unblock challenges & mentor
- Brief & direct copywriters so words & visuals work together
- Build stronger creative judgment & execution across the team

Direct Craft Across Mediums

- Design-direct graphic design, motion, illustration & stop-motion work
- Oversee photography editing & retouching standards
- Develop inventive, on-brand motion/stop-motion executions
- Introduce new formats, techniques & references so design stays ahead of trends

Build Systems & Scale Consistency

- Create design systems, templates & brand guidelines
- Establish workflows for consistency across teams & freelancers
- Onboard new designers/creative partners efficiently
- Integrate AI tools where they improve quality, creativity or execution

Working w/ the Creative Director

This role partners closely w/ the Creative Director, who owns storytelling, narrative, content concepts, brand films, shoots, reels & video production. The Design Director owns brand identity, visual systems, design craft & creative consistency.

Where storytelling & design intersect, both collaborate as equals.

What This Role Does Not Own

- Storytelling, video production, shoots & editing
- Content strategy & content calendar management
- Campaign strategy & brand narrative development
- Photography/videography execution on shoots

Key Result Areas (KRAs)

- Creative Quality & Standards (25%): Better creative quality across brands; less need for leadership intervention; strong visual POV in major deliverables
- Brand Integrity Across Five Brands (20%): Distinct, consistent identities; no visual overlap or dilution
- Team Capability & Leadership (20%): Stronger team output; better briefing; greater autonomy
- Creative Range & Experimentation (20%): New formats/techniques adopted; elevated motion, illustration & editing; contemporary, differentiated work
- Reliability & Delegation (15%): Consistent delivery; scalable systems; full ownership w/ minimal oversight

What We're Looking For





Education & Foundation

- Degree from a leading design institution (NID, MIT-ID, Srishti, NIFT, Symbiosis or equivalent)
- Strong grounding in typography, composition, colour theory, hierarchy & visual communication
- Ability to teach & develop these fundamentals in others

Experience

- 7-8+ yrs in design & creative leadership
- Exp owning the visual identity of one or more brands
- Proven success leading designers/multidisciplinary teams
- Exp in hospitality, F&B;, lifestyle, culture or consumer brands preferred

Craft & Creative Range

- Strong graphic design foundation w/ fluency in motion, illustration & image editing
- Exp directing retouching & photography post-production
- Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite; familiar w/ motion workflows & After Effects
- Portfolio showing breadth, experimentation & adaptability

Leadership & Brand Thinking

- Strong briefing & communication skills
- Deep understanding of brand-building through design
- Ability to coach, mentor & elevate creative talent
- Clear, actionable & constructive feedback style

What Sets Great Candidates Apart

- Portfolio showing range across multiple brands & mediums
- Evidence of elevating both teams & brands over time
- Ability to articulate design decisions through communication objectives
- Proven examples of evolving a brand's visual identity over time

Who You Are

- Sets the standard: creative quality improves simply because you're in the room
- Has range: adapts approach to brand needs rather than imposing a signature style
- Experiments constantly: curious about new formats, tools, AI workflows & creative possibilities
- Leads through others: enjoys building great teams as much as great work
- Teaches the thinking: develops people, not just projects
- Brand obsessed: instinctively protects & strengthens brand identity
- Has exceptional taste: notices every detail & won't let mediocre work ship
- Thrives in complexity: managing multiple brands & priorities energizes you

Compensation & Benefits

- ₹12-15 LPA (based on exp & fit)
- Full-time role based in Pune
- Chance to shape the visual identity of five growing brands
- Lead a multidisciplinary creative team
- Significant ownership, creative freedom & impact

If you're passionate about building brands through design, leading creative talent & pushing visual craft forward, we'd love to hear from you.

📌 Design Director (Nagpur)
🏢 Together Hospitality
📍 Nagpur