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Design Director Jobs in Michigan (NOW HIRING)

Recar

Sr. Director of Digital Experience Design

Troy, MI

$146K - $180K/yr

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR We're looking for a Sr. Director of Digital Experience Design to own the design vision and execution across Slate's digital customer and partner facing products: our website ...

Slate Auto

Sr. Director of Digital Experience Design

Troy, MI · On-site

$146K - $180K/yr

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR We're looking for a Sr. Director of Digital Experience Design to own the design vision and execution across Slate's digital customer and partner facing products: our website ...

Sodexo

Senior Director, Solution Design

Detroit, MI · On-site +1

$156K - $242K/yr

Sodexo is seeking a Senior Director of Solution Design (HTM) to lead the development of client-centric solutions that fuel growth across our Healthcare Technology Management business. This position ...

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See Michigan salary details

$32.2K

$118.3K

$211.8K

How much do design director jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 29, 2026, the average yearly pay for design director in Michigan is $118,330.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $95,400.00 and $142,100.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a design director do?

A Design Director leads and oversees the creative vision and direction of design projects within an organization. They manage design teams, collaborate with stakeholders, and ensure that all visual outputs align with the company's brand and objectives. Design Directors are responsible for setting design standards, mentoring team members, and ensuring the quality and consistency of creative work across various platforms. Their role often includes strategic planning, project management, and communication with clients or upper management.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a design director?

To thrive as a Design Director, you need deep expertise in design principles, visual communication, and leadership, often supported by a degree in design or a related field and significant industry experience. Mastery of design software such as Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, and project management tools is essential, along with experience in overseeing brand and creative strategy. Exceptional communication, creative vision, and team leadership skills distinguish top performers in this role. These capabilities are crucial for delivering cohesive design solutions, inspiring creative teams, and ensuring alignment with business objectives.

How does a design director typically collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive project success?

As a Design Director, you will regularly work with product managers, engineers, marketing teams, and other stakeholders to ensure that design solutions align with business goals and user needs. This role often involves leading design reviews, facilitating brainstorming sessions, and providing clear feedback to your team. Effective communication and the ability to advocate for design principles are essential, as you'll need to balance creative vision with practical constraints. Being proactive in building relationships across departments helps streamline workflows and fosters a collaborative environment that leads to successful project outcomes.

What is the difference between Design Director vs Art Director?

AspectDesign DirectorArt Director
ResponsibilitiesOversees overall design strategy, manages multiple projects, and leads design teamsFocuses on visual style, aesthetics, and execution of specific projects or campaigns
Required SkillsLeadership, strategic planning, broad design expertiseVisual creativity, technical skills, attention to detail
Work EnvironmentTypically in corporate, agency, or large studio settingsOften in advertising, media, or entertainment industries
Common UsageUsed when referring to senior design leadership rolesUsed for roles focused on visual and artistic direction

The main difference between a Design Director and an Art Director lies in scope and focus. A Design Director oversees overall design strategy and manages teams across multiple projects, while an Art Director concentrates on the visual style and execution of specific projects. Both roles require strong design skills, but the Design Director's responsibilities are broader and more strategic.

Is it hard to become a design director?

Becoming a design director typically requires extensive experience in design, strong leadership skills, and a proven track record of managing projects and teams. Many professionals advance to this role after years of working in design roles such as senior designer or art director, often developing expertise in design tools and strategic thinking. The path can be competitive and may involve gaining relevant certifications or advanced education in design or management.

What are the most commonly searched types of Design jobs in Michigan?

The most popular types of Design jobs in Michigan are:

What are popular job titles related to Design Director jobs in Michigan?

For Design Director jobs in Michigan, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Design Director jobs in Michigan look for?

The top searched job categories for Design Director jobs in Michigan are:

What cities in Michigan are hiring for Design Director jobs?

Cities in Michigan with the most Design Director job openings:

Design Director jobs near you
Infographic showing various Design Director job openings in Michigan as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 83% Full Time, 10% Part Time, 2% Temporary, 4% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 82% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 13% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $118,330 per year, or $56.9 per hour.

Associate Director, Experience Design

Publicis Groupe Holdings B.V

Birmingham, MI • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 14 hours ago

Publicis Groupe rating

6.1

Company rating: 6.1 out of 10

Based on 5 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

38th of 52 rated marketing agency

Job description

Company description
Digitas is the Networked Experience Agency, built on the vision that we create magnetic experiences that earn the right for brands to exist in human networks. Today, and tomorrow. We deliver Networked Experiences by leveraging comprehensive data, technology, creative, media and strategy capabilities. Digitas delivers ambitious outcomes via unique solutions that include Creative Experiences, Integrated Media, Addressable Relationships, Social Marketing and Total Commerce. Celebrated by AdAge as Data and Insights Agency of the Year, U.S Campaign's Brand Experience Agency of the Year, Media Network of the Year and celebrated by Forrester and Gartner, Digitas serves the world's leading brands through a global network comprised of more than 5,500 employees across over 65 offices in 43 countries.
The Digitas culture is made up of fearless, inventive and generous Unicorns of all kinds.
Overview
Our Experience Design team crafts digital experiences people love to use. We are collaborators and innovators who thrive in multidisciplinary teams. We can start from a blank page and help realize the vision for a great experience, and aren't afraid to get our hands dirty making that vision a reality.
Our experience runs the gamut from site to mobile, eCom to campaign, marketing to editorial to product, with one foot in beautiful visual expressions and the other in rock-solid user experience. At heart we are designers who love creating new, meaningful experiences and are well versed in the practice of modern digital experience creation.
We're looking for a leader who will help set the vision for their teams and their projects. You'll be as comfortable sweating the details of a design interaction as you are presenting your teams' work. You'll be a mentor and a manager, developing talent to be their best. And you're passionate about growing your own talent, as well.
Responsibilities
Things we want to see in you:
  • A portfolio of beautiful, usable experiences designed for all kinds of devices and contexts, showcasing impactful experiences for products and platforms, campaigns and content
  • Hybrid design experience: strong UX fundamentals paired up with refined UI and visual design skills
  • Well versed in the fundamentals of visual design: color, typography, illustration, motion, etc.
  • (Not so) basic prototyping capabilities
  • Exceptional ability to create, maintain, evolve and use a design system
  • Strong experience in discovery-based activities, user research, and agile processes
  • Demonstrated ability to think holistically about an experience to ensure user and business needs are met
  • Competency to create site maps, wireframes, user flows, journey maps and other experience models
  • Complete comfort sketching and riffing with a team to arrive at exceptional design solutions
  • Experience partnering with other capabilities to strategize, design and build the work, including annotating complex interactions
  • High level of proficiency in Figma and Adobe CC
  • Experience with generative AI tools (e.g., Figma AI, ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, Midjourney, Runway) is a plus, especially for tasks like ideation, research, or content generation
  • Amazingly awesome written and presentation skills that showcase passion, informed opinions and design rationale
  • Strong experience leading project teams of designers and content strategists to produce on time and quality deliverables - you must be able to get briefed on a new project, collaborate with a team to tackle the challenge, and manage, organize and defend the work of your team members, while also contributing to the day to day outputs
  • At least a couple years of experience managing and mentoring direct reports and junior talent in their career growth

Qualifications
Great candidates often have:
  • A four-year degree
  • A formal design education, and 7-9+ years of experience being sort of amazing
  • Additional study in HCI, Human Factors or Graphic Design
  • Enough research experience to be dangerous
  • A robust portfolio of work across devices and platforms
  • Basic understanding of front-end development technologies
  • A familiarity with common social platforms
  • Creative agency experience desired
  • Prior experience with CRM as a channel

Got the sparkle? Apply if you believe your unique skills are a fit.
Additional information
Our Publicis Groupe motto "Viva La Différence" means we're better together, and we believe that our differences make us stronger. It means we honor and celebrate all identities, across all facets of intersectionality, and it underpins all that we do as an organization. We are focused on fostering belonging and creating equitable & inclusive experiences for all talent.
Publicis Groupe provides robust and inclusive benefit programs and policies to support the evolving and diverse needs of our talent and enable every person to grow and thrive. Our benefits package includes medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401K, as well as parental and family care leave, family forming assistance, tuition reimbursement, and flexible time off.
If you require accommodation or assistance with the application or onboarding process specifically, please contact USMTTACompliance@publicis.com.
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.
Compensation Range: USD $106,780.00 - USD $146,100.00/Annually. This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant along with the requirements of the position, and the Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. Temporary roles may be eligible to participate in our freelancer/temporary employee medical plan through a third-party benefits administration system once certain criteria have been met. Temporary roles may also qualify for participation in our 401(k) plan after eligibility criteria have been met. For regular roles, the Company will offer medical coverage, dental, vision, disability, 401k, and paid time off. The Company anticipates the application deadline for this job posting will be 1/1/2028.

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