Senior Color Designer

Our Customer’s mission is to create groundbreaking sports innovations, by making their products more sustainable, building a creative and diverse global team, and making a positive impact in the communities where we live and work. Their purpose is to bring inspiration and innovation to unite the world through sport to create a healthy planet, active communities, and an equal playing field for all.

Our Customer is seeking an innovative and highly motivated Senior Color Designer on a contract basis to help support their business needs. We’re looking for a Senior Color Designer, to work with the Color Design Director to plan and execute color designs, strategize the use of palettes across a range of products, and manage a small team of designers. Working collaboratively with Design, Product Marketing, Merchandising, and Development, you will create focused solutions for success.

What you’ll do:

• Plans and executes color designs.
• Collaborates with design, product marketing, development, and material consultants to focus on color solutions for market success.
• Reviews all samples to achieve marketable solution review with design, marketing, and development.
• Clearly communicates all changes for final confirmation.
• Displays advanced knowledge and practices in all phases of product execution – shares knowledge with others.
• Maintains color calendar/timelines/deadlines for category/division resulting in the timely completion of each product.
• Develops line art, color design server, GPIN, merchandising line, cutting samples & working with a material consultant to coordinate materials for products.
• Finalizes product details and proactively follows through on execution of color on each product.
• Creates innovative, retainable color solutions for the category or gender-specific lines.
• Researches and delivers color, design, market, and lifestyle trends that influence and impact the product category process from product briefing to product concept to samples.
• Explores options and proposes with Color Design Managers and/or senior Color Designers a seasonal color strategy for products, line segments, and initiatives.
• Creates seasonal category-specific direction of color, materials, and graphics.
• In partnership with the Category and Design Director, creates and leads color merchandising strategies and stories seasonally.
• Knows the consumer. Displays in-depth understanding of consumer, brand-positioning needs as it relates to category/division.
• Utilizes knowledge of category/division consumer & their culture to improve product performance & appearance.
• Demonstrates strong knowledge about competitor products, consumer retail habits, color, and market trends.
• Applies insights from a consumer perspective into color solutions.
• Presents and communicates category-specific color direction and color merchandising direction of the seasonal line to appropriate groups.
• Works with design/category to produce presentation materials that effectively communicate color direction related to the consumer, product concepts, and creative strategy to internal audiences.
• Participates in and delivers bi-annual category/divisional specific color needs for incorporation into footwear color committee preparation.
• Develops excellence as a color designer.
• Together with Color Design Manager, advances the value of color to clients by bringing a high level of functional expertise (i.e. materials, special effects, technology, advanced development, presentation, tools) to the color design organization.
• Educates and mentors more junior designers in category or color design organizations.
• Undertakes projects and opportunities to enhance knowledge of the business, color, and design.

The ideal candidate must have:

• Minimum of 5 years of progressively technically challenging color design experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Macintosh computers using Photoshop, FreeHand, and/or Illustrator.
• Knowledge of CAD programs, preferably in a Mac environment.
• Understanding of color trends, color mixing, color compatibility, and color placement.
• Knowledge of product design and development process.
• Familiarity with product manufacturing processes including materials/fabrics; plastics; pigments.
• Strong verbal, written, visual, and high-profile communication skills in local market language, including meeting facilitation and presentations.
• Ability to understand challenges or underlying concerns, share ideas, and develop effective responses or elevate to higher management.
• Ability to work independently and cooperatively in a diverse group.
• Ability to network, influence, and utilize internal and external resources.
• Ability to articulate how color can affect product and sales

Education:

• Bachelors Degree preferred

Hours & Location:

• M-F, 40 hours/week. This role will be remote while COVID restrictions are in place. The expectation is to be onsite at our Customer’s Beaverton, OR location once it is deemed safe to do so.

All applicants applying for U.S. job openings must be legally authorized to work in the United States and are required to have US residency at the time of application.

Please note: In order to create a safe, productive work environment, our client is requiring all contractors who plan to be onsite to be fully vaccinated according to the CDC guidelines (please inform your employer if you need a medical or religious exemption). Prior to onboarding, contractors will be required to attest that they are fully vaccinated.

Perks are available through our 3rd Party Employer of Record (Available upon completion of waiting period for eligible engagements)

Health Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life (including spouse & child), 401k, STD/LTD, AD&D, and Commuter Benefits program.