Jun 12, 2008

DESIGN BY HUMANS is looking for an In-house Art Director

Should I apply? Not that I could get it.

Job Description

DESIGN BY HUMANS is looking for an In-house Art Director who is interested in design, art, music and most of all, t-shirts.
Summary

This position requires a creative individual with strong graphic and illustration skills, an understanding and passion for t-shirt design as well as an in-depth understanding of screen printing, inks and mixed media techniques.
Duties and Responsibilities

* Manage and collaborate with designers in the process of interpreting concept art into the final product
* Produce tech-packs for production
* Press check t-shirt production
* Design and create art primarily for T shirts but also for print and web media
* Maintain monthly design and production calendars
* Monitor blank and printed inventory
* Stay in tune with the needs of Design By Human's market & customer base
* Stay current with the trends in and outside of the immediate market
* Stay informed on competitor's product

Job Requirements

* A Design, Merchandising, Graphic Arts degree or Bachelor's degree is preferable
* Ability to interpret fashion forward design and concept art into a product that is right for the market
* Fast moving & creative in a deadline driven environment
* Project Management and organization
* In depth knowledge of design techniques and processes
* Thorough knowledge of printing techniques and understanding of how graphics will translate onto a printable garment
* Excellent sense of style and color
* Strong drawing and or painting skills
* Strong graphic design skills
* Self motivated
* Advanced knowledge of Illustrator and Photoshop in a Mac environment
* Demonstrated ability as an individual thinker and collaborative team player
* Ability to work with various personalities in diverse environments creating a team atmosphere
* Must have singular ability to manage time professionally
* Demonstrated excellent presentation and negotiation skills
* Excellent Verbal and written communication skills
* Maintain a strong work ethic with organizational skills
* Must be detail oriented

Computer Skills

* Advanced to Expert - Illustrator CS2, CS3 (Mac OSX)
* Advanced to Expert - Photoshop (Mac OSX)
* Intermediate - Word, Excel (Mac OSX)

IMPORTANT

You MUST ) a resume and 2) submit a portfolio or sample work with your application. Applicants without an portfolio will not be considered. Please submit as a PDF, or link to portfolio site, or by email to jobs@designbyhumans.com

Please add "DBH Art Director" into the subject line when emailing your resume.

Location: Irvine, CA.
Experience: 3 years
Rate: N/A (Full-Time)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

you should apply

Anonymous said...

Why not, it never hurts you to apply for jobs.

jimiyo said...

I think I might. Even if I get rejected, I've gotten several job offers.

Here's the pros and cons

1. Working for someone, your salary will always be capped somehow. Working for self, you can make whatever you want depending on how hard you work.

2. Working as an AD for a major up and coming company, although will probably provide notoriety, the role is less art, more administrative.

3. Working as a freelancer sure is a lonely walk of life. I'm not very good with getting into social networking outside of the internet, and a job would fulfill a little bit of that through coworkers.

4. If I were to continue freelancing, moreover the pursuit of becoming internet famous, and maybe even famous as an artist, I could eventually after years of hard work work myself into a good self made income. Working for someone would take time from that, and sometimes motivation.

5. Although I have no debts, money in the bank, etc. I am cognitive of the lack of income, health insurance, etc without a steady source of income.

6. I just keep coming back to 3.

Anonymous said...

I would say apply and see what happens. If they invite you to an interview, they will likely give you a lot of information about the company and your position, and you may find that you would like it, and the "pros" of that job are worth the "cons". Or you may think it stinks, and that really doesn't cost you anything.

My aunt recently talked to me and tried to convince me of the utility of working independent of others for the very reasons you said, because you can earn as much as you want, where as in a traditional working system, you will only earn as much as they allow you (and usually what you are allowed isn't what you are worth). However, there are benefits to working within an organization, such as higher security, guaranteed income, and the other health benefits you described. You just have to decide what is more important to you.

Though in the meantime, applying won't hurt you.

-k

Anonymous said...

apply! never hurts...
that is if OC people make you sick to the stomach!..

Irvine....hmmm.. I've worked in OC before...beware of superficial..../ shallower than Hollywood... absolutely uncultured.... sheltered....don't have a clue.........People......
I'm not a hater but just tellin the truth...
hehe ;)

other than that....
nice clean place...rich....new....corporate dominated....easy to live place...

Anonymous said...

It can't hurt to apply. if they say no, all you've lost is the time spent collecting the resume and portfolio.

If you apply and they say yes, you can always politely decline if it's not what you expected.

good luck!

Anonymous said...

I think it would be a great opportunity. Like you said, DBH is growing. It may never be on the same level as Threadless because of a later start and a more narrow demographic, but it's growing. When I signed up I was "Human #5800" or something like that and now they've got about 35,000 users (minus fake accounts to puff up vote totals). If you look at the Flickr pictures from the executives at Threadless you'll see people who have more money than they know what to do with. Skate ramps in their huge offices, custom-built mansions in the mountains, they are about as filthy rich as people in their 20's can be. DBH executives may never reach that level but you never know.

Also, you already know the art side -- this gives you a chance to learn more of the business side. That give you more options in the future, like a move to Obey or Affliction or Threadless, or starting your own business.

However, I disagree with the people who say, "you can always just turn it down" like there will be no consequences. DBH has been good to you and you've been good to them -- will that relationship change if they take the time (and that also means the money) to interview you, have internal meetings to discuss you, figure out an offer, and then you say NO? They might be really cool and just shrug it off, but where I work they'd shrug it off THEN make a note in your file (we have a file for every candidate, not just people we make offers to) that says "no future interest". You never want to burn any bridges. Not only might you affect any chance of being hired in the future (why would they go through the hassle and expense of interviewing you again, ever?) but if you piss them off that might affect their decisions (either consciously or subconsciously) about whether or not to print one of your designs. Most people in most circumstances can just try for a job they might not really want; it doesn't matter if they piss off some random strangers in some random Human Resources department. I don't think you and this job fit that criteria.

If you want it, go for it. If you're not sure you want it, contact one of the guys from DBH and ask to talk over the phone. You're a printed artist, you probably have a phone number already, so use it. Be straight with them, tell them you're possibly interested, and ask as many questions as it takes to make up your mind one way or the other. If they are the kind of cool people you want to work with they'll appreciate the interest.

If at the end of the call you're still unsure,or if you know it is a NO, say that you're going to give it some serious thought but that you won't submit your resume if you decide you're not the right fit for the job* because you don't want to waste their time. That should help avoid making them think you ALREADY wasted their time with the phone call, and avoid any lingering aftertaste that might affect you later.


By the way, I actually just came here to say that "Life, 'tis Precious" is completely sold out in Men's sizes and more than half sold out in Women's -- congratulations! I'm glad I bought mine the first day it went on sale.

Oh, and if you do get the job here's what we need:

1) More sales. DBH shirts are top-notch but they're expensive. Every sale I buy about 6-8 shirts, my favorites they've printed since the last sale. Then I wait for the next sale and do it again. If they had the equivalent of a Thriftee or an Insaneetee I wouldn't have to wait 3 or 4 months between purchases and I'd buy more shirts overall.

2) Andreas Mohacsy has a fucking amazing design he submitted at Threadless called The Immortal Coil (http://www.threadless.com/submission/151832/the_immortal_coil/showmore,designs)
that DBH must print -- make it happen!

3) More Mr. Rocks prints!

It's late and I need to go to bed so I'm not going to check for spelling or to see if I left a word or phrase out. Hopefully it'll all make sense.

G'night!
Maggie H

*"I'm not the right fit for the job" sounds better than "I decided I don't want the job" which can sound a bit insulting.

Anonymous said...

Just to clarify one thing, I chose the term "filthy rich" for a reason. I don't think you should choose a job because of the possibility of getting so much money you can live like a spoiled Hilton sister, but I do think the possibility of a salary that will let you live comfortably (or very comfortably) is an important factor. Eating ramen or mac & cheese for dinner is fine if you choose them, but they suck if you have no choice.

Also, imagine being able to spend an extra week or two on a piece of art because you can afford to wait before selling it. That might be a welcome luxury. You can plus it all you want with no deadlines to force you to stop.

On the other hand (why is there always another hand?), would the extra time help or does the pressure to make a sale push you to make better work? That's something to consider. Extra time may equal a piece of work that languishes forever. If you work best under pressure you might have to manufacture some on your own.

Also, most musicians create their best work before they've "made it" -- a punk in a limo has stopped being a punk, the edge has been filed off. Is the same true for illustrators? I'm guessing it isn't, and that you generally improve with age regardless of circumstances so I wouldn't worry too much about success ruining you but I thought I'd throw it in because I like to cover all the bases.

Anyway, I need to get ready for work. Have a nice day!

Maggie H