Welcome to the MILK MAKEUP FAM:

At Milk Makeup, we’re all about cool clean beauty fueled by creativity. Born out of Milk, a creative hub in downtown New York City, innovation, self-expression, and community are at the heart of everything we do. We believe beauty isn’t about how you do your makeup, it’s what you do in it—and how you Live Your Look—that matters.

Who YOU are:

• Community connector: You’re always thinking about how to improve your and your community’s future. You’re passionate about building a global community where everyone can feel seen and inspired in beauty.

• Courageous but chill: Wherever you come from, you’re driven by the hardworking New York spirit that Milk embodies. You’re flexible and ready to get the job done, but you’re humble and make moves thoughtfully. You strive for quality, have fun doing it, and always have the greater good of the brand in mind.

• Fearlessly innovative: You’re not afraid to take calculated risks and enjoy problem solving. You’re down to disrupt the status quo and innovate in order to raise the bar. You value a forward-thinking space that encourages you to lead change, never follow.

• Champion of self-expression: You’re creative at heart and are always genuinely you. You live your look and want to grow with people who celebrate individuality.

• Inclusive + mindful: You believe an open mind is always the best place to start and value active listening. You embrace differences and help foster a safe working environment for yourself and your peers.

The ROLE:

MILK MAKEUP is looking for a Freelance Art Director responsible for building and maintaining Milk Makeup’s visual brand experience. Supports Senior Art Director in high-level concept development and execution of 360 marketing campaigns and programs, from concept to launch and sustain execution across media.

How You’ll Thrive

• Brand Builder: Partners with Creative Director to develop brand expression. Must be proficient in concepting, building shot lists, and on-set art direction. Lead graphic design for campaigns and serve as a video expert (concepting, on-set direction, and editing) to ensure consistency across all channels.
• Strategic Thinker: Partners with the Creative Director to develop 360 creative strategy supporting business goals. Drives integration of art direction and design across all touchpoints, including in-store, gondola, print, events, OOH, site, email, paid media, social, and video.
• Creative Collaborator: Partners closely with Editorial, Marketing, Product Development, and Visual Merchandising teams to develop robust 360 client experiences. Aligns with production/ops to ensure accurate execution of the creative vision.
• Cross-functional Partner: Builds and maintains relationships across internal teams—including Brand & Product Marketing, Ecomm, Social, Influencer, and Retail Marketing—to ensure strategic objectives are met.
• External Partner: Partners with and manages external creative vendors (photographers, retouchers, illustrators, CGI artists, type designers) to ensure work is aligned with the brand and executed effectively.
• Inspirational Mentor: Works with junior team members to ensure all executions are of the highest quality, helping to educate the team in art direction, photography, design, typography, print, and video.
• Skilled Presenter: Effectively represents the creative team across a variety of settings, from small working groups to formal leadership presentations.

We’d like YOU to have:

• 5-6+ years of creative experience, preferably with an understanding of beauty/fashion and current industry trends.
• College degree (BA/BFA preferred) in Graphic Design, Communication Design, or equivalent portfolio track.
• Proficient knowledge of Figma, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere.
• Deep understanding of design, typography, layout, graphics, digital/social best practices, and production processes.
• Strong expertise in video concepting, pre-production, on-set direction, editing, and motion graphics.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• Solid organizational and time management skills; ability to thrive and meet tight deadlines in a very fast-paced environment.