Website Visual/UI Designer

Overview

The Web Designer has solid experience creating the visual design or look and feel for various types of websites. They should be well versed in design systems and designing on a grid system, know when to break the grid, understand the value of whitespace, and be able to create hierarchy and visual flow in the design. We seek someone with a strong, creative design aesthetic and the flexibility to create high quality work within more or less any set of brand guidelines so that our clients receive designs that match their brand. Your alignment with our client promises and core values (both listed here) and the quality of your design portfolio are key.

We are actively working to build and maintain a diverse and inclusive roster of team members. If you believe you would add value to our team but don’t meet all the criteria listed here, we would still love to hear from you. Please explain the value you would bring in your application.

Specifics

Hourly rate: $30-40/hour depending on experience and employment-type (contractor versus employee).

Employee benefits (for full-time): Education budget, flexible scheduling, health and dental plans, retirement account with company matching.

Generous paid time off for full time employees (pro-rated for part-time): 15 days PTO, 3 additional days of sick leave, 12 Federal holidays (flexible, may swap dates), 5 bonus days PTO between Christmas and New Year’s.

A job with meaning. Work for clients who are making the world a better place by championing climate justice, providing support and resources for immigrants, or providing leadership skills and training (for example).

Location: 100% virtual office (since 2012, so we know how to do it well). U.S. time zones required.

Flexible work schedule: we work with you if you need to move your schedule around for family, emergencies, or just want to take a special 4-day weekend trip.

The opportunity to shape your role to your interests, and to take on significant responsibility that you likely won’t get at a larger firm.

Training and education opportunities, as we believe strongly in the importance of continued learning.

Core Responsibilities

Working from provided specifications and existing designs (for the most part) in Sketch, provide design support for changing needs of our client websites. 

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

1. Be a problem-solver and offer your opinions about the best approach to design challenges
2. Communicate regularly and as scheduled with the project team
3. Deliver work on time and to the highest quality
4. Create quality, branded, accessible designs using a design system, with a basic understanding of the underlying frontend code (you don’t need to be an HTML/CSS expert)
5. Create breakpoints and comps for desktop, mobile, and in-between if needed
6. Ensure designs meet accessibility standards for readability, color contrast, and more
7. Conduct internal presentations and attend internal critiques/reviews
8. Provide final design comps
9. Create templates for production of assets like team headshots, blog post images, etc
10. Review your work once coded (by the dev team) to check for errors
11. Conduct research to source photos, icons etc.
12. Very strong attention to detail
13. Maintain order in your design files and set them up to be easy for the developer or other designers to work with

Qualifications & Skills

This is an entry level position aimed at people who can demonstrate knowledge and skill using   Sketch, Illustrator, and Photoshop to create web designs or to provide edits, new features, or updates to existing web designs. 

You should have a basic understanding of HTML and CSS that informs your design decisions. The goal is to be able to create designs that are not overly difficult to code.

Must have knowledge of WCAG 2.1 AA website accessibility, or a keen interest in learning it, as it pertains to design. Accessibility is core to our design practice.

You should be familiar with WordPress. Knowledge of other CMSes is ok instead … the goal is for you to have a general understanding of how CMSes work and some of the issues that can come up in designing for a site running on a CMS.

You must be self-directed and proactive, reliable and responsible, and be able to deliver high quality work that meets or exceeds expectations.

Nice-to-Have

(if you have all of the above experience, and 1-2 or these, that will take you to the top of the list)

1. 1-2 years of working experience (especially with an agency)
2. Ability to write HTML/CSS
3. Ability to design customized icons
4. Print design experience

Working with Wire Media

We value our team members highly. We aim to have people doing work they love, learning and growing in their role, and taking on increasing levels of responsibility. We have very high expectations when it comes to quality of work, thoughtfulness and forward-thinking, and learning from mistakes.

We do not expect you to work nights, weekends, or holidays (unless there’s a real emergency, which is 99% never). We’re serious about flex time. We are open and straightforward with each other regarding feedback. We have fun and make nerdy  jokes. We work together as a team. We delight in delivering real solutions to our clients that are effective, and that look fantastic.

Come join us.

How to Apply

Please send your resume and examples of website design work with a statement about why you want to work for us, and how you think your employment with Wire Media could make us a better company. Feel free to reveal your particular sense of humor!