Mid-Weight Designer

About the company

Activation Union is an independent creative agency focused on retail, shopper and experiential marketing. The agency builds brand experiences that connect with people at important moments, and works with well-known global and premium brands such as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Bundaberg Rum, Colgate, Miele and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Role overview

This position is for a Mid-Weight Designer / Finished Artist based in Surry Hills, Sydney, reporting to the Design Director. It is suited to someone who can move confidently from early concepting through to polished final artwork, with a sharp eye for detail and a strong sense of design craft. The role spans retail, experiential, BTL and digital work, and requires close collaboration with the design, account and broader creative teams.

Key duties

You will create design solutions for retail, experiential, BTL and digital projects, turning briefs into effective visual outcomes that are aligned with brand standards and project goals. A major part of the role is preparing accurate artwork for print and digital delivery, checking files thoroughly, and ensuring all output is production-ready. You will also contribute to idea sessions, help solve creative challenges, present work internally, and manage your own projects, timelines and working files in an organised way.

What the role involves

• Developing creative design concepts across retail, experiential, BTL and digital campaigns.
• Producing artwork and design files that are visually strong and consistent with brand direction.
• Keeping a very high level of precision in typography, layout, imagery and visual structure.
• Preparing final artwork suitable for print and digital production.
• Performing detailed quality checks before assets are released.
• Working with internal stakeholders and suppliers to support smooth delivery.
• Applying practical knowledge of print processes, finishes and manufacturing.
• Joining creative workshops and helping shape design solutions from briefs.
• Communicating design thinking clearly when sharing work internally.
• Managing multiple tasks at once while meeting deadlines and maintaining workflow discipline.
• Contributing ideas to improve efficiency and team processes.

About you

You should have at least 3 years of experience in design, preferably in an agency setting, along with a portfolio showing retail, experiential, campaign and digital work. Strong proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, especially Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, is expected. You will need excellent typography, layout and visual communication skills, solid artwork and print-production understanding, and the ability to deliver both concept-led work and finished art. Experience with motion design, AI tools or 3D is helpful but not mandatory. The ideal candidate is organised, proactive, collaborative and able to stay accurate under pressure in a fast-moving environment.

Success in this role looks like

Success means consistently producing high-quality creative work, delivering accurate and well-organised artwork with minimal rework, and taking ownership of projects so they are completed on schedule. It also includes making a positive contribution to team culture and continuously building both creative and technical capability.

Perks and benefits

• Opportunity to work on globally recognised brands and high-profile campaigns.
• Join a growing independent agency with a strong creative environment.
• Modern office space in Surry Hills.
• Career development and progression opportunities.
• Birthday leave.
• Supportive and collaborative team culture.

Additional information

The role is based in Surry Hills, Sydney and is a full-time onsite position. The start date is to be confirmed. Performance reviews include monthly 1:1 meetings and six-month reviews. The agency works with clients across FMCG, liquor, retail, tech and experiential categories. Activation Union is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants fairly, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin or disability status. If application support is needed, contact the hiring team at the email address provided in the original job posting, quoting the job title. The employer is looking to hire quickly.