Junior Art Director

ROLE: Junior Art Director TEAM: Creative REPORTS TO: Group Creative Director LOCATION: Toronto (Hybrid)

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Ethnicity Matters is Canada's leading multicultural marketing agency, helping brands build authentic connections with diverse communities through culturally relevant insights, strategy, and creative. We believe the best ideas come from understanding people, and we're passionate about creating work that reflects the diversity of the audiences we serve.

ROLE OVERVIEW

As a Junior Art Director, you'll partner with Copywriters, Strategists, and Account teams to develop bold, insight-driven creative concepts and see them through to execution across fully integrated advertising campaigns. Reporting to the Group Creative Director, you'll contribute to the creative process from brief to final delivery, leading with big ideas and following through with strong art direction and visual execution.

This role is ideal for an emerging creative who thinks conceptually first and has a portfolio that demonstrates 360° advertising campaign thinking across OOH, broadcast, digital, and experiential. You bring curiosity about culture, a passion for advertising and ideation, and the craft skills to execute your ideas with intention, creating work that authentically resonates with diverse audiences.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Creative Concept Development

Collaborate with Copywriters to develop original, strategic, and culturally relevant campaign concepts.

Translate client briefs into engaging visual ideas across multiple platforms.

Contribute creative thinking during brainstorming sessions and creative reviews.

Support the development of integrated campaigns across digital, social, print, experiential, video, and out-of-home media.

Ensure creative work aligns with brand guidelines and campaign objectives.

Design & Creative Execution

Design campaign assets for client presentations and creative executions.

Produce high-quality creative across digital, social, print, and experiential platforms.

Assist in developing visual concepts from initial idea through final production.

Apply strong attention to typography, layout, imagery, colour, and composition.

Prepare files for production while ensuring quality, consistency, and accuracy.

Collaboration & Presentation

Work collaboratively with Creative, Strategy, Account Management, and Production teams throughout projects.

Present creative ideas confidently during internal reviews.

Incorporate creative feedback while maintaining the integrity of the concept.

Build strong relationships across teams and contribute positively to the creative culture.

Support new business pitches and agency initiatives when opportunities arise.

Learning & Professional Development

Continue developing your art direction, conceptual thinking, and design skills.

Stay current on design trends, advertising, multicultural marketing, social media, and emerging technologies.

Seek opportunities to improve workflows and creative processes.

Learn and leverage AI-assisted creative tools to support ideation, image exploration, mood boards, and creative development.

Demonstrate curiosity, initiative, and a commitment to continuous learning.

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS

Diploma or Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Advertising, Visual Communications, or a related discipline.

1–3 years of experience in an advertising, creative, or marketing agency.

Strong portfolio demonstrating conceptual thinking, design excellence, and creative problem-solving.

Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign); familiarity with After Effects or Figma is an asset.

Understanding of design principles including typography, layout, colour, composition, and visual hierarchy.

Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.

Positive attitude, strong attention to detail, and eagerness to learn from feedback.

Experience using AI-powered creative tools (such as Adobe Firefly, Midjourney, ChatGPT, or Microsoft Copilot) to support ideation and creative exploration is considered an asset.

The anticipated annual base salary range for this position is $50,000+. Individual compensation within this range is determined based on job related factors such as experience, skills, level of responsibility, internal equity, and business needs. This range represents the expected base salary for this role and does not include other elements of Ethnicity Matters total rewards program.