Design Lead

About Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck is an independent global creative studio building brands and digital experiences that define tomorrow. We help shape the stories and visual identities behind some of the most respected brands in Crypto and DeFi. We employ design as a vehicle to create narratives that accelerate our clients’ success, relentless in our pursuit of better—never settling for best.*

We apply this same radical approach with our people behind our world-class designs. We live by our people-first mentality. It’s not an empty buzzword for us; it’s how we celebrate, uplift, and inspire the minds behind our work.

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Our values

We’re not about you being “a good fit.” This breeds homogeny and we believe that we’re strongest when we celebrate our differences. We look for team players who are invested in our vision and share our values.

• We relentlessly pursue better (it’s a theme). In other words, we welcome new experiences, enjoy being wrong, and seek new ways to grow. Many people hit the brakes when they feel fear— we hit the pedal and embrace the unknown.
• We’re good people. We’re honest and transparent, we create space for others, and we lead with kindness.
• We do the work. This is not a covert ad for grind culture; it means we’re committed to manifesting the future we envision through the effort we invest. Our work is our ticket to shaping a new tomorrow, our designs the bridge that propels the future into existence.

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The studio

• We’re a fully remote, global team! We encourage you to work when you are most productive within the constraints of project work or meetings. Keep in mind that due to the nature of our business, we can’t promise a rigid 9-5 schedule in your local timezone but we always plan ahead and prioritize your well-being.
• As a global team with asynchronous schedules, effective communication is critical to our collective success. At a minimum, we require* team members to possess an active command of the English language (the equivalent of a B2 level on the CEFR scale).

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The Role

As Design Lead, you’re at the helm of our projects, orienting the team’s focus on delivering best-in-class digital design. You’re a positive team orchestrator responsible for the end-to-end management of project deliverables, advocating for better design and championing for the stakeholder’s success. Whether you’re leaning into the creative work as co-leader, contributor, or managing client expectations, you steer the project to maximize the potential of your design team.

What sets you apart from our senior design talent is your vested interest in helping other creative team members create their best work. You’re both a coach and a mentor. You recognize your team’s strengths and weaknesses and use those insights to fuel individual growth and in turn, help our studio to evolve. You’ll still deal in pixels, but you’ll also play an integral role in your team’s success through your leadership, guidance, and encouragement. ****A typical day in this role is split between leading projects, mentoring team members, and advocating design thinking in all directions.

Thriving in our team’s start-up culture requires a growth mindset, exceptional communication skills, and an innate ability to deal with ambiguity. You dig into problems, learn quickly, and take action.

• Guide the design process throughout the entire project lifecycle, collaborating with diverse creative professionals to achieve objectives and mitigate risks, all while maintaining studio design standards—and setting the bar higher when the opportunity presents itself.
• Act as the main point of contact between Wonderstruck and clients, fostering positive client relationships through setting clear expectations and being a knowledgeable, reliable, and prompt collaborator.
• Navigate competing demands, and collaborate with global team members to ensure that project plans are realistic and achievable, inspiring the creative team to do their best work in a fast-paced environment.
• Create an inspiring and inclusive team environment, promoting a healthy feedback loop through leading team stand-ups, facilitating pod team retrospectives, and representing operational studio improvements as the team leader.
• Coach and mentor team members by guiding work opportunities towards their desired career growth paths, sharing tailored feedback and guidance, and monitor overall fulfillment.
• Promote a culture of autonomy and accountability that’s balanced by a shared respect of proven production practices.
• Collaborate with leadership to build and engage with the freelance talent pool. Identify opportunities to bring external specialists onboard to provide additional skills as needed.
• Enhance our work by staying ahead of emerging trends and developments in digital design.

• A portfolio that reflects your mastery of visual design principles and demonstrates a wider, strategic design thinking in your solutions.
• Minimum 3 years experience guiding, executing, and delivering creative content. Prior experience leading teams with interaction design, 3D design, and WebGL experiences is a plus.
• An established track record of solving difficult design problems and creating or adjusting existing frameworks to optimize future work.
• Intermediate to advance knowledge of creative platforms. Figma required, Adobe CC and other motion or 3D design applications a plus.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate yourself in an asynchronous environment and deliver compelling design rationales in both client and internal contexts.
• Outstanding multitasking skills with the ability to work on a variety of projects across multiple clients with various constraints, harness ambiguity, and translate stakeholder goals to effective project plans.
• 2+ years in a coach or mentorship role with noted results and a natural inclination to take the lead and help everyone arrive at a deeper understanding and greater appreciation of the work.
• Prior experience in Crypto or Web3 is a plus.

Compensation will vary based on the following considerations: market location based on your primary work location, job-related knowledge, skills, and qualifications. We prioritize fair and equitable compensation for our team, and both welcome and encourage questions on this topic should we ask you to interview with us.

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