Experiential/Senior Experiential Designer

Job description

About Gradient Gradient is an experiential marketing agency that creates immersive, in-real-life brand experiences designed to connect with audiences in meaningful and memorable ways. We bring together strategy, creative, design, production, and execution to help brands show up in the world through thoughtful, high-impact experiences. We work across industries including luxury, spirits, fashion, entertainment, hospitality, technology, and lifestyle, creating everything from intimate brand moments to large-scale activations and environments. We are looking for a talented and highly creative Experiential Designer to join our team. This role is ideal for a designer who is excited by spatial storytelling, understands how brands translate into physical environments, and can develop ideas from early concept through detailed design and production. About the Role As an Experiential Designer, you will work closely with our Creative, Strategy, Account, and Production teams to concept and design immersive brand experiences. You will help translate client objectives, brand identities, and creative strategies into thoughtful physical environments, installations, activations, and consumer experiences. The role requires both strong conceptual thinking and the technical ability to communicate ideas through renderings, floor plans, visualizations, and design documentation. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable generating ideas, developing visual concepts, and working through the practical details required to bring those ideas into the real world. What You’ll Do Concept & Experiential Design Develop creative concepts for experiential activations, events, installations, pop-ups, and branded environments. Translate client briefs, brand identities, and creative strategies into compelling spatial experiences. Participate in brainstorms and contribute thoughtful, original ideas to the creative development process. Create mood boards, visual references, sketches, floor plans, layouts, renderings, and other materials that clearly communicate design intent. Think through the complete guest journey and how consumers will move through, interact with, and experience a space. Develop design solutions that balance creativity, brand storytelling, functionality, and production feasibility. 3D Design & Visualization Create polished 3D renderings and visualizations for internal reviews and client presentations. Develop spatial layouts and floor plans that consider flow, scale, functionality, and guest experience. Produce design assets that clearly communicate materials, finishes, environmental details, signage, furniture, lighting, and other experiential elements. Iterate quickly on concepts and designs based on internal, client, and production feedback. Help evolve early creative ideas into increasingly detailed and production-ready designs. Creative Collaboration Partner closely with Creative Directors and other designers throughout the concept and design process. Collaborate with Strategy and Account teams to ensure creative solutions support the client's objectives and brand. Work closely with Production to ensure designs are feasible, buildable, and appropriately scaled to budget and timeline. Participate in internal reviews, client presentations, production meetings, and project briefings. Communicate design intent clearly to internal teams, vendors, fabricators, and production partners. Design Development & Production Support projects from initial concept through design development, fabrication, installation, and onsite execution. Create and maintain design documentation needed for production and fabrication. Review materials, finishes, samples, shop drawings, and fabrication details as needed. Help ensure the final built experience reflects the approved creative vision and design intent. Work with Production to solve design challenges while maintaining the integrity of the concept. Participate in onsite installations and event execution when required. Who You Are The ideal candidate is someone who: Has a strong creative point of view and a passion for experiential and spatial design. Understands how to translate a brand into a physical experience. Is both conceptual and detail-oriented, with an ability to think big while considering how ideas will actually be built. Has a strong eye for composition, materials, color, scale, typography, and environmental storytelling. Can communicate ideas clearly through compelling renderings and presentations. Is comfortable receiving feedback and iterating quickly. Thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative agency environment. Can manage multiple projects and shifting priorities without sacrificing quality. Is proactive, resourceful, and comfortable working independently. Is curious about culture, design, architecture, art, fashion, hospitality, technology, and emerging experiential trends. Enjoys collaborating across disciplines and seeing an idea through from concept to physical execution. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Experiential Design, Exhibition Design, Interior Design, Architecture, Industrial Design, Environmental Design, or a related field preferred. 2+ years of professional experience in experiential design, environmental design, interiors, events, exhibitions, retail, or a related creative discipline. Experience working within an agency, studio, or other fast-paced creative environment preferred. Strong portfolio demonstrating spatial design, experiential thinking, and high-quality visualization. Experience designing branded environments, activations, events, hospitality spaces, retail environments, or installations is strongly preferred. Experience working with premium or luxury brands is a plus. Understanding of fabrication, materials, construction, and experiential production is a strong plus. Ability to travel and work onsite for installations and events when needed. Technical Skills Strong proficiency in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Strong proficiency in at least one 3D modeling and rendering platform. Experience with Rhino, Blender, SketchUp, Cinema 4D, Unreal Engine, or similar 3D software. Experience with V-Ray, Enscape, KeyShot, Twinmotion, or comparable rendering tools is preferred. Working knowledge of AutoCAD or other technical drafting software is preferred. Comfortable working in Google Workspace and collaborative project environments. Hand sketching and illustration skills are a plus. Familiarity with AI-enabled visualization and creative tools is a plus. What We Offer Competitive salary based on experience. Medical, dental, and vision coverage. 401(k). Parental leave for new parents. Talkspace membership wellness perk. Citi Bike membership wellness perk. Opportunity for career growth and development. The opportunity to work on ambitious experiential projects for leading global brands. A dynamic, creative, and highly collaborative work environment.