Freelance Youtube Thumbnail Designer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

About NewWorld:

NewWorld is an awardwinning nextgeneration media company operating at the intersection of culture, storytelling, and impact. Our stories, shows and campaigns meet audiences at the speed of culture, shining a light on the world as it is, while inspiring courage and confidence to change it. Our team combines cultural intelligence, creative storytelling and strategic intervention to build trust, shape narratives, and move people from outrage to optimism - and from optimism to action. We are building the media infrastructure of the next decade - developing hit digital shows, scaling fandoms, and organizing a multiracial working-class generation around belonging, belief, and real-world participation.

About the role:

The Senior Designer is a hands-on, concept-first creative who can move seamlessly between the biggest ideas and the smallest details.

You will design across NewWorld's full creative universe - show branding and episodic identity systems, client brand identities, campaign concepts, and scalable design systems that work across print, digital, social, video, and experiential. You'll start with insight, develop bold creative territories, and execute with precision, building toolkits that make the work consistent, flexible, and fast.

This role is ideal for someone who can art direct with taste, design with craft, write with clarity, and deliver across formats - from the first concept deck to the final production files.

This role will be hybrid - preferred candidates are based on either NYC, NY or Toronto, ON

Key Areas of Ownership:

1- Build iconic visual identities for shows, brands, and campaigns

2- Design scalable systems that work across channels and teams

3- Execute high-craft creative with speed, rigor, and detail obsession

What Makes You Successful Here

You have taste and range. You can generate concepts quickly, then illustrate craftsmanship for typography, layout, and the finishing touches that make the work feel finished to the very last detail. You understand how brands live in the real world - on social, on-screen, in print, in decks, and in motion. You're energized by building systems and making standout hero assets. You take feedback well, hit deadlines, stay on top of trends and raise the bar without ego.

Responsibilities:

1. Show Branding & Episodic Identity Systems

• Design and evolve show brands: logos, title treatments, design systems, visual worlds, and repeatable episodic systems
• Create identity systems that scale across platforms (YouTube, TikTok, IG, podcasts, newsletters, etc.)
• Develop show toolkits: thumbnail systems, lower thirds, templates, cover art, social modules, and production-ready assets
• Partner with producers/editors to ensure designs translate cleanly into motion and post-production workflows

2. Client Branding, Campaign Concepts & Design Systems

• Lead the design of brand identities and campaign systems for both clients and NewWorld-owned initiatives - translating audience insight and strategy into bold, campaignable creative territories.
• Develop flexible visual systems (typography, color, layout frameworks, graphic languages, and motion principles) that maintain integrity at scale - enabling high-volume production without sacrificing quality or clarity.
• Execute high-craft creative across print, digital, web, social, and presentation formats from hero assets (posters, key visuals, launch moments) to scalable production assets (brand guidelines, social series, decks, landing page modules, and toolkits).
• Produce platform-native social content with thoughtful versioning and adaptation across formats, ensuring consistency and perform
• Ensure every deliverable is production-ready with clean files, organized systems, and clear handoffs so the work remains usable, extensible, and cohesive beyond our direct involvement.

4. Art Direction & Creative Ideation

• Art direct in partnership with senior creative leadership and our production partners (video, editors, illustrators, etc) - helping to shape visual approach, references, and execution choices
• QA every output for typography, layout, hierarchy, accessibility, and brand consistency
• Push the work through iteration - tightening concept, sharpening craft, and landing the final execution
• Support and elevate collaborators (freelancers, illustrators, photographers, editors) through clear creative guidance
  

5. Creative Communication, Copywriting & Conceptual Storytelling

• Clearly articulate creative ideas - visually and verbally - in ways that build belief across internal teams, leadership, and clients. Confidently present concepts, explain rationale, and connect design decisions back to strategy and audience insight.
• Collaborate closely with Strategy to ensure creative work aligns with narrative goals, cultural context, and audience realities.
• At times, contribute written elements in support of the work - including headlines, short-form social copy, on-screen text, or light brand language - when it strengthens the concept or speeds execution.
• Develop lightweight voice/tone guardrails when needed to support cohesion across campaigns or show brands, and proof work for clarity, accuracy, and message strength.
  

6. Tools, Workflow & AI-Enabled Design Practice

• Work fluently across modern creative tools (Adobe Creative Suite + Figma, etc)
• Use AI tools thoughtfully to accelerate ideation, exploration, versioning, and production workflows (without lowering taste)
• Maintain organized file systems and repeatable processes that support speed and collaboration
• Stay current on platform aesthetics, cultural trends, and creative best practices without trend-chasing
  

Preferred qualifications:

Successful candidates will have all of the following:

• 6-10+ years of experience in design, creative studios, agencies, or media environments
• Portfolio that shows conceptual thinking + high craft across brand systems and campaigns
• Strong typography, layout, and visual systems fundamentals
• Ability to art direct and carry a visual world across formats
• Strong writing chops (headlines + social + narrative framing
• Fluency in Adobe Creative Suite; strong Figma skills preferred
• Production savvy: understands timelines, handoffs, and multi-format delivery
• Detail-obsessed, deadline-responsible, and collaborative with low ego

This contract role is expected to last three months, at 40 hours a week for the contract duration. The expected salary for this position is between $9,000 and $10,000 monthly and will be commensurate with experience. Though this is a Freelance role, there will be routine meetings and deliverables expected during the course of a traditional workday. NewWorld primarily works East Coast business hours (9am-6pm EST).
Preferred Additional Qualifications:

Few candidates will bring all of these strengths, and none are strictly required; experience in the following areas would be an additional asset:

• Experience building show brands or episodic/social-first identity systems
• Motion literacy (After Effects, or strong collaboration with motion editors)
• Experience in mission-driven, political, labor, or cultural storytelling environments
• Experience building toolkits for distributed teams (locals, partners, multi-channel orgs)
• Familiarity with audience insight, creative testing, or performance-driven iteration
  

Application Instructions

Please submit a Resume and Portfolio, as well as a Cover Letter detailing relevant experience.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Equity is at the heart of NewWorld. From the clients we partner with and vendors we engage, to the team we're building, we are committed to creating opportunities for the diverse community of talented, creative professionals who have been systematically denied opportunities across the professional communications industry. Women, people of color, LGBTI people, people of any religion or nationality and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Opportunities for advancement exist, and NewWorld is committed to helping all staff develop and grow.