Discord is used by over 200 million people every month for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does on our platform: play video games. Over 90% of our users play games, spending a combined 1.5 billion hours playing thousands of unique titles on Discord each month. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to talk and hang out before, during, and after playing games.
The Discord Creative Systems Team is seeking a versatile systems illustrator with strong technical craft and conceptual ideation skills. The ideal candidate combines illustration expertise with systematic thinking and precision in designing for product environments. You'll enhance the user experience by creating cohesive iconography, illustrations, and abstracted UI graphics that bring consistency and delight to Discord's visual language. We're looking for someone who can independently craft thoughtful graphics, establish and document design guidelines, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to align creative work with product goals.
Our work on Creative Systems focuses on designing scalable creative solutions and maintaining the system that defines how graphics are used and experienced on Discord. This includes developing icons, illustrations and abstracted UI that communicate features clearly, collaborating with animators, and codifying guidelines that ensure consistency while allowing for creative evolution.
As a Systems Illustrator on Creative Systems, you'll develop graphic solutions that strengthen product communication across web, desktop, and mobile platforms. You'll take shared ownership of the visual system, establishing and refining guidelines for new graphic styles as they emerge; documenting principles, creating exemplars, and ensuring your work both respects existing guidelines and thoughtfully pushes them forward when appropriate. You'll bring experience illustrating for digital products at multiple scales and contexts, understanding how graphics adapt across platforms while maintaining visual consistency. You'll collaborate closely with designers, engineers, and stakeholders to design compelling creative solutions that scale across Discord's ecosystem.
What You'll Be Doing
- Develop high-quality creative assets that communicate a message, tell a compelling story, and align with guidelines, stakeholder expectations, and product goals.
- Work with the Product Design Team on reactive projects to produce a diverse range of in-product creative assets, including illustrations, icons, abstract UI, and animated illustrations.
- Taking on proactive initiatives that are driven by the Creative Systems team to update and maintain the platform and visual systems.
- Partner with the Design Systems Team to uphold the visual style and ensure design quality is consistent across all surfaces and use cases.
- Ensure all designs meet project requirements, brand guidelines, and technical specifications.
- Manage multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery while adapting to changing priorities.
- Maintain an understanding of current design trends and techniques, and incorporate them into your work.
- Bring new ideas to the table and push the visual standards for graphic content.
- Collaborate with team members, designers, and animators to create cohesive and visually captivating creative solutions.
- Provide valuable feedback on the work of team members and iterate on creative based on constructive feedback.
- Working in Figma for graphic reviews and asset handoff, partnering with engineers to implement assets into code for use in product.
What you should have
- 6+ years working as an illustrator in a product design environment.
- Excellence in illustration, with the ability to create a wide range of subjects and styles.
- Strong conceptual skills, able to present a wide range of concepts and iterate upon ideas.
- Experience working with guidelines, maintaining guidelines and a strong understanding of design principles.
- Experience creating illustrations for animation.
- High Proficiency in industry-standard software and tools such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Figma.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills; comfortable presenting concepts and providing feedback to fellow designers.
- Ability to work with a low-ego, highly collaborative, cross-functional team.
- Excited about working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Bonus Points
- Strong product design and layout skills, including the ability to create UI-oriented solutions.
- Experience building out illustration and icon guidelines and libraries.
- Knowledge of 2D animation techniques, able to storyboard and communicate direction to animators.
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $196,000 to $220,500 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.
Why Discord?
Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!
Discord is committed to inclusion and providing reasonable accommodations during the interview process. We want you to feel set up for success, so if you are in need of reasonable accommodations, please let your recruiter know.
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