Senior Art Director (Product)

Senior Art Director (Product) — North Actionsports Location: Katwijk, Netherlands (On-site) Department: Creative / Graphic Design Reports To: Chief Brand Officer Employment Type: Full-Time The Role in a Nutshell At North Actionsports, home to iconic watersports brands including North Kiteboarding, North Foils, North Windsurfing, and Mystic, we design and build world-class equipment for riders who demand the highest levels of performance and reliability. Everything we create, from first concept to final production, is driven by innovation, precision engineering, and a deep connection to life on the water. As the Senior Art Director (Product), you will hold the ultimate creative vision for how the North and Mystic brands are manifested across our entire product portfolio. You are the strategic and creative anchor, sitting at the intersection of brand strategy, product management, and visual execution. While the Product Graphic Designer focuses on the execution of graphics, colorways, and seasonal artwork, you define the overarching visual philosophy, brand design language, and identity systems that guide them. This is a high-level creative leadership role that requires a master storyteller who understands how brand ethos translates into physical hardgoods. You will oversee the visual direction of our equipment, ensuring that every harness, wetsuit, Kite, Wing, foil component, and control bar feels the part. What You Will Be Working On You will lead the high-level visual and artistic direction across the full North hardgoods and Mystic equipment range, including:

Kites, wings and sails.

Kiteboards, foil boards and windsurf boards.

Hardware, control bars, and foils

Wetsuits, harnesses, and impact vests

Accessories, gear bags, and travel luggage

Apparel and water wear

Key Responsibilities 1. Overarching Creative Vision & Brand Governance

Define, evolve, and guard the long-term product visual identity, design language, and brand DNA for the designated brands within North Actionsports.

Author and maintain comprehensive product-level visual guidelines, ensuring scalability and consistency across multiple seasons and product families.

Translate macro-level brand strategies into concrete, inspiring design directions that the product graphic design team can execute.

2. Seasonal Direction & Strategy

Conceptualize and launch the annual and seasonal creative frameworks (mood boards, conceptual themes, narrative directions, and signature design elements).

Oversee and sign off on the annual color architecture and graphic systems developed by the product graphic design team, ensuring they align with the brand’s premium market positioning.

3. Creative Leadership & Team Mentorship

Act as the direct creative mentor to Product Graphic Designers, guiding their execution from initial concepts to factory-ready artwork.

Foster an environment of creative excellence, pushing boundaries in material expression, finishes, and branding techniques.

Review prototypes, pre-production samples, and final product layouts to ensure absolute alignment with the approved artistic vision.

4. Cross-Functional & Category Alignment

Partner closely with Category Directors and Product Managers to align artistic vision with commercial priorities, launch timelines, and market opportunities.

Serve as the primary creative bridge between the Marketing/Brand team and the Product Development team, ensuring the product looks as impactful on the water and in retail as it does in global marketing campaigns.

5. Technical & Manufacturing Collaboration

Collaborate with Technical Leads and Technical Designers to deeply understand the constraints of specialized materials (neoprene, composites, hardware alloys).

Ensure that high-level creative ambitions are grounded in real-world feasibility, durability, and on-water performance without sacrificing aesthetic integrity.

Who You Are

Experienced Leader: 5+ years of relevant experience in creative direction, art direction, or premium graphic design leadership, ideally within the action sports, outdoor gear, or premium performance equipment industries.

Visionary Storyteller: A proven track record of building cohesive, multi-season visual identity systems for physical products. You know how to make a product tell a story through its form, finish, and branding.

Aesthetic Authority: Exceptional eye for typography, color theory, material expression, and minimalist, high-performance aesthetics.

Strategic & Collaborative: Able to command a room, present complex creative concepts to executive stakeholders, and effortlessly collaborate with technical engineers and factory suppliers.

Watersports Enthusiast: A deep, authentic connection to watersports (kiteboarding, foiling, windsurfing, or surfing). You understand the culture, the riders, and how equipment needs to perform under extreme conditions.

Why Join North

Shape an Icon: Hold the creative keys to the visual future of some of the most respected brands in watersports.

See Your Vision in Action: Watch your concepts go from mood boards to being pushed to the absolute limit by world-class athletes on the water.

Thrive on Progression: Work within a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment surrounded by people who live and breathe the sport.

Beautiful Location: Work from our creative hub in the Netherlands, a stone’s throw from world-class riding spots.

How to Apply This is an on-site role based in the Netherlands. Please share your CV, a motivation letter, and a link to your portfolio (demonstrating comprehensive product branding, art direction, or advanced graphic systems) with [email protected] and [email protected] by 08th of July 2026.