Manager, CGI Art Director - Pottery Barn

The Manager, CGI Art Director role helps drive the look, feel, and execution of our photo-realistic product CGI assets in partnership with our digital photography in-studio. Proper design and art direction combined with the right content drives customer engagement with the brand. Visual content created from this role directly translates the brands business needs, ultimately driving revenue for the business. 

Responsibilities: 

Art Direct with a solid grasp of Pottery Barn’s brand aesthetic. Collaborates with VP and SVP Creative and Photo Art Directions teams, Digital and Photo Merchant partners, Post-Production team, and Product and Digital Design teams to deliver the best photorealistic for our e-commerce & digital channels and support key product initiatives for each season. Collaborate and communicate cross-functionally to ensure concepts, brand vision, and assets are compelling & on brand. 

• Provide art direction, interior design, and styling of room scenes for photorealistic rendering (architecture and interior plan, materials, composition, lighting, propping, window scenes, post-rendering effects, crops, etc.)

• Provide feedback and direction on collaborative reviews, proofing, and quality assurance (QA) with cross-functional teams

• Plan delivery schedules and milestones for creative development, modeling, and rendering teams

• Collaborate with product designers, photography, post-production, and merchant teams for final asset approvals

• Ensure assets are presented and shared in final and intended crops 

• Develop CG visual standards and room environments for lighting, composition by product category and scene(s)

• Build a CGI library (models, materials, scenes, props) and create optimized strategies for CGI asset reuse

• Research and evaluate best-in-class partners and asset standards to bring to Pottery Barn

• Refine the CGI pipeline workflow, tools, and processes.

• Attend corporate, creative meetings – maintain an understanding of business goals & creative direction

• Research & compile inspiration/references for render planning

• Research photography, styling, interior, art & design trends, talent & vendors

• Stay up to date on current best practices, creative references & competitive landscape to maximize creative output & efficiencies

• Maintain a complete understanding of style guides, shot lists, shot direction, product assortment, & scheduling 

• Support in the development & maintenance of style guides, creative tools, & strategy 

• Bring cost effective creative ideas & solutions to the table while supporting asset development & creative

• At times may require art direction with on-set photography. Collaborate & clearly communicate with Stylists, Photographers & Set team ensuring concepts, sets, lighting, styling & execution of assets are on brand & efficiently produced maintaining quality & consistency across all photography

Qualifications:

You'll need a strong understanding of photo art direction, CGI / rendering, and the ability to lead a team for product photography needs on our website and digital platforms. You have a passion for design, interiors, art, and fashion with a high taste level, discerning eye, and ability to edit. Key attributes include a love for collaboration, strong communication skills, and a sense of ownership and urgency in delivering quality in all projects. To succeed here, you'll also have a flexible personality to thrive in the fast-paced, reactive environment. Adept and agile in an evolving landscape of content creation. 

• What inspires a customer to purchase, and what visual information does a consumer need to buy? You understand the intersection of e-commerce, marketing, business, and product design, with a customer-first lens on what is required to sell a product

• Macro-to-micro vision – the ability to think big picture and understand goals for the overall Digital and E-commerce experience while contributing to the day-to-day execution of the overall creative direction

• Can balance creative with business goals and work cross-functionally while maintaining quality and consistency across photography and renders

• Experience with research for inspiration, interior design, finishes, and set design and experience with interior finishes required to execute pre-production needs and on-set creative direction

• Bachelor's degree in art/design

• 3-5+ years working on 3D photorealistic imaging; experience managing a CG creative and production team is a plus; CGI experience required

• Previous professional work expe