Senior Conceptual Designer – Hire Resolve
Location: Johannesburg, Gauteng
Job Type: Permanent
Posted: 29 April 2026
Industry: Marketing & Advertising
Division: IT / Creative & Digital
Functional Area: Art / Creative / Experiential Design
Salary: R360 000 – R480 000 per annum (negotiable based on experience)
Hire Resolve is recruiting a Senior Conceptual Designer for an advertising services and brand activation company based in Johannesburg. This is a high-level creative role focused on developing innovative, visually compelling, and commercially effective experiential designs for retail environments, brand activations, exhibitions, and large-scale promotional events.
In today’s competitive marketing landscape, brands are no longer satisfied with traditional advertising alone. Instead, they are investing heavily in immersive, physical experiences that allow consumers to interact directly with products and brand stories. These experiences often take place in shopping malls, expos, product launches, and pop-up installations designed to capture attention, generate social media engagement, and create memorable brand impressions.
The Senior Conceptual Designer plays a critical role in shaping these experiences from initial idea to final concept execution.
Role Purpose and Strategic Function
The primary purpose of this role is to lead the conceptual design process for high-impact experiential marketing campaigns.
You will be responsible for translating creative ideas into visually engaging environments that communicate brand identity, influence consumer behaviour, and drive measurable business outcomes such as engagement, foot traffic, and sales conversions.
This role is not just about design aesthetics. It is about combining creativity, strategy, consumer psychology, and brand storytelling to create environments that perform commercially in real-world settings.
Key Responsibilities Explained in Detail
1. Experiential and Retail Concept Design
You will design immersive retail and activation experiences that bring brands to life in physical spaces.
This includes:
- Designing mall activations, centre court displays, and pop-up stores
- Creating launch event environments for beauty and lifestyle brands
- Developing visually impactful exhibition stands and experiential spaces
- Ensuring designs are aligned with brand identity and marketing objectives
Your work must capture attention instantly and encourage consumer interaction.
2. Trend Research and Creative Translation
You will be responsible for staying ahead of global design, fashion, and lifestyle trends.
This includes:
- Researching international beauty, fashion, and retail trends
- Translating trends into physical design concepts
- Adapting global aesthetics for local market relevance
- Incorporating cultural and consumer behaviour insights into design work
Your designs must feel current, relevant, and future-focused.
3. Consumer Journey Mapping
You will design how consumers move through and interact with physical brand environments.
This includes:
- Planning intuitive visitor flow in retail and expo spaces
- Identifying key engagement points within a space
- Designing experiences that encourage interaction and conversion
- Enhancing customer experience through spatial storytelling
The goal is to guide the consumer journey from attraction to engagement to action.
4. Rapid Concept Visualisation
You will quickly bring ideas to life through visual storytelling tools.
This includes:
- Creating moodboards and conceptual presentations
- Producing quick 3D sketches and spatial layouts
- Developing storyboards for client presentations
- Visualising ideas in a clear and compelling format
Speed and clarity are essential in a fast-moving pitch environment.
5. Pitch Development and Client Collaboration
You will work closely with the sales and account teams to develop winning pitch proposals.
This includes:
- Contributing to high-impact pitch decks
- Presenting innovative design concepts to clients
- Supporting business development through creative input
- Helping increase pitch success rates through strong conceptual thinking
Your creativity directly influences business growth.
6. Creative Leadership and Team Collaboration
You will lead brainstorming and ideation sessions with the creative team.
This includes:
- Driving creative direction during internal workshops
- Inspiring junior designers and creative staff
- Challenging conventional thinking to push innovation
- Ensuring high creative standards across all deliverables
Leadership in creativity is a core part of this role.
7. Concept Integrity and Execution Oversight
You will ensure that final production matches the original creative vision.
This includes:
- Reviewing design implementation during production phases
- Ensuring consistency between concept and execution
- Collaborating with production teams and suppliers
- Maintaining brand integrity throughout project delivery
Attention to detail is critical from concept to completion.
Minimum Requirements Explained
5+ Years Experience in Conceptual / Experiential Design (Essential)
Proven experience in designing physical environments such as retail spaces, activations, or exhibitions is required.
Strong Trend Awareness (Beauty & Lifestyle Focus)
Deep understanding of cosmetics, fashion, retail, and global consumer trends is essential.
Visual Communication Skills
Ability to communicate ideas quickly through sketches, layouts, and 3D blocking.
Strategic Thinking Ability
Design work must go beyond aesthetics and support marketing and business objectives.
High Energy and Adaptability
Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven creative environment.
Key Skills and Competencies
- Strong conceptual and visual thinking ability
- Expertise in experiential and spatial design
- Excellent sketching and visual communication skills
- Strong understanding of branding and consumer psychology
- Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines
- Strong collaboration and communication skills
- Innovative and forward-thinking mindset
- High attention to detail and design quality
- Ability to translate ideas into commercially viable concepts
Work Environment
This role operates in a creative agency environment where deadlines are tight, expectations are high, and innovation is constant.
You will work closely with:
- Sales teams
- Creative directors
- 3D designers and production teams
- Brand clients across beauty, lifestyle, and retail sectors
The environment is dynamic, competitive, and highly collaborative.
Performance Expectations
Success in this role will be measured by:
- Quality and originality of conceptual designs
- Success rate of client pitches
- Ability to translate concepts into executed experiences
- Creativity and innovation in design thinking
- Contribution to brand activations that generate engagement and ROI
Application Process
Interested candidates can apply by sending their CV to:
📧 itcareers@hireresolve.za.com
Applicants should demonstrate strong conceptual design portfolios showcasing experiential, retail, or activation-based work.
The Senior Conceptual Designer role is a high-impact creative position designed for an individual who thrives on innovation, storytelling, and visual communication.
It is ideal for a designer who is passionate about creating immersive brand experiences that influence consumer behaviour and drive business results. This role offers the opportunity to work on cutting-edge experiential campaigns for global beauty and lifestyle brands, where creativity directly contributes to commercial success.
