Freelance Surface Pattern Design Jobs in Minnesota

Reporting to the Senior Director of Merchandise, the Manager, Merchandise Creative Design leads the creative execution of all merchandise-related design work while overseeing project intake, resource allocation, work prioritization, and on‑time delivery. This role combines hands‑on design leadership with team coordination, workflow governance, and cross‑functional stakeholder communication to ensure efficient execution. The Manager is responsible for project sequencing, maintaining production handoff quality, and ensuring creative output meets brand standards and production requirements. Through strong operational oversight and personal design contribution, this position delivers high‑quality creative solutions that support organizational priorities and production timelines without disruption. This position is a full‑time, on‑site role in Augusta, GA.

• Design and develop merchandise graphics, artwork, and visual concepts across product categories, maintaining alignment with brand standards, tournament objectives, business priorities, and production requirements.
• Provide campus‑wide creative support for design collateral, template creation, logo and brand design/development, resource materials, and other visual assets that support organizational priorities and maintain brand consistency.
• Lead art‑to‑product execution from initial concept through production‑ready file delivery, serving as a hands‑on designer on high‑impact and high‑visibility merchandise initiatives.
• Create original designs and execute revisions based on stakeholder feedback, supplier requirements, material constraints, decoration methods, scale, and final product application.
• Own and operate the creative intake process using Wrike as the central resource for request intake, prioritization, status tracking, and reporting, ensuring all merchandise creative requests are evaluated for completeness, feasibility, priority fit, and strategic alignment.
• Exercise decision‑making authority to advance, return, defer, or deny creative requests based on brief readiness, team capacity, business priorities, and production timeline impact.
• Maintain a clear, current, and prioritized project queue tied to merchandise deadlines, tournament calendars, campaign needs, supplier schedules, and organizational objectives, re‑sequencing work as needed to protect critical deadlines, reduce delivery risk, and support production commitments.
• Assign and distribute creative work across internal designers and external partners based on skillset, project requirements, available capacity, workload balance, complexity, and business need.
• Lead workflow reviews to monitor project progress, surface blockers early, resolve issues, and keep creative work moving across internal teams, external partners, and supplier timelines.
• Serve as the central coordination point between Creative Services, Product Development, Merchandise leadership, Brand and Marketing, and external partners to align creative concepts, product requirements, business needs, brand standards, project timelines, priority shifts, delivery risks, decision needs, and handoff expectations.
• Partner with Product Development teams and suppliers to validate artwork feasibility, material compatibility, decoration techniques, technical specifications, and production constraints early in the development process.
• Coordinate artwork delivery schedules, revision cycles, approval workflows, and production handoffs to support supplier timelines, manufacturing deadlines, and on‑time product execution.
• Own final review and quality control for creative assets, ensuring file readiness, technical accuracy, brand integrity, production compliance, and execution quality before handoff.
• Design, implement, and refine creative workflows, accountability standards, review processes, and performance measures to improve speed, consistency, output quality, and reduce rework.
• Support creative direction, visual strategy, licensing initiatives, brand campaigns, special projects, and cross‑functional planning sessions by representing Merchandise Creative priorities, timelines, capacity, and execution requirements.
• Assist with onboarding, training, coaching, and development of junior designers and creative team members to strengthen team capability and execution standards.
• Evaluate, maintain, and coordinate relationships with external creative vendors, freelancers, and print or production suppliers to support capacity, capability, and project needs.
• Contribute to brand standards documentation, creative style guides, merchandise design libraries, and ongoing awareness of design trends, materials innovation, and the competitive landscape.
• Perform other duties which are deemed by management to be an important part of the job.

• Expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign) and a strong understanding of graphic design principles—including typography, color theory, composition, and visual hierarchy—with the ability to apply them effectively across merchandise, licensed products, and retail apparel.
• Familiarity with project management and workflow platforms (e.g., Asana, Monday.com, or Wrike) is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of merchandise production methods and decoration techniques, including screen printing, embroidery, heat transfer, sublimation, woven and knit applications, and hard goods, with the ability to prepare accurate, production‑ready artwork that meets print, color, and supplier specifications.
• Strong understanding of brand standards and visual identity systems, with the ability to maintain brand consistency and quality across a diverse portfolio of products, production methods, and supplier partners.
• Proven ability to manage high‑volume creative workflows across multiple concurrent projects while balancing production timelines, and business priorities.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with proven ability to manage complex priorities, allocate creative resources, translate creative concepts for diverse audiences, foster cross‑functional partnerships, and deliver high‑quality results under pressure.
• Demonstrated leadership with a proactive, solutions‑oriented approach, exercising sound judgment, upholding creative standards, and leading by example through accountability and quality of work.

• Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Fine Arts, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience demonstrating the same level of competency.
• Three to five years of progressive graphic design experience, with a strong portfolio demonstrating merchandise, licensed product, or retail apparel design.
• Two plus years of experience in a lead, senior, or supervisory design role with direct responsibility for managing creative workflow, assigning work, and overseeing team output.
• Demonstrated experience managing art‑to‑product development from concept through production handoff, including direct collaboration with manufacturers and suppliers.
• Proven track record of delivering high‑quality creative work on time in a fast‑paced, deadline‑driven environment with multiple concurrent projects.
• Experience in sports, entertainment, events, licensing, or other consumer product environments, including managing external creative vendors or freelance resources and contributing to brand identity development, style guides, and visual standards documentation.

Possess a valid driver's license and/or successfully complete the Club's internal motor vehicle training program.

Normal work hours are 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Must be available to work nights, weekends, and holidays.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. We are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position.

Acceptable level of hearing and vision to perform job duties. Occasionally required to walk and work with hands and arms, lift up to 25 pounds and/or drive a golf cart. Constantly required to sit, sometimes for several hours at a time, and use their hands and fingers to operate a computer. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.