Kern Culture
Website:
kernculture.com
Job details:
Company Description Kern Culture is a strategic design consultancy built on the belief that clarity is the most valuable asset in a crowded marketplace. The studio helps brands uncover their most precise and enduring expression through a balance of rigorous strategy and culturally aware creativity. Guided by its “Kerning Cultures” philosophy, Kern Culture designs at the intersection of a brand’s core strategic foundation and the evolving cultural context around it. Using its proprietary Clarity Framework™, the team moves from deep diagnosis and insight gathering to focused brand platforms and refined visual and verbal identities. Kern Culture partners with clients who value expertise, respect a thoughtful process, and aim to build brands with long-term impact.
Role Description The Design Manager will lead end-to-end brand design projects, from strategic interpretation to final delivery of visual systems, ensuring that all work reflects Kern Culture’s standards of clarity and craft. This full-time, on-site role in Mumbai involves guiding a multidisciplinary design team, providing clear creative direction, and reviewing work at key stages to maintain conceptual strength and executional excellence. The person in this role will collaborate closely with strategy leads, writers, and clients to translate the Clarity Framework™ into coherent visual identities, brand systems, and collateral. Day-to-day responsibilities include planning project timelines, delegating tasks, mentoring designers, and facilitating internal critiques to advance the quality of ideas and outcomes. The Design Manager will also participate in client presentations, gather feedback, and refine deliverables, while contributing to internal processes, toolkits, and best practices that elevate the studio’s overall design practice.
Qualifications
- Strong brand and visual design capabilities, including experience developing visual identity systems, typography, layout, and design systems across digital and print.
- Proven experience leading and mentoring design teams, managing workloads, giving constructive feedback, and fostering a collaborative, inclusive studio culture.
- Ability to translate brand strategy into clear design directions, align creative concepts with strategic objectives, and work closely with strategists and writers.
- Comfort presenting work to clients, articulating design rationale, handling feedback professionally, and building long-term client relationships.
- Solid project management skills, including scoping, scheduling, prioritisation, and coordination with cross-functional partners and external vendors.
- Proficiency in industry-standard design tools (such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, or similar) and familiarity with preparing files for production.
- 5–8+ years of professional experience in brand, graphic, or communication design, including prior leadership responsibilities, ideally in a studio or consultancy setting.
- Bachelor’s degree in Design, Visual Communication, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Curiosity about culture, media and AI tools.
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