Description:
Topaz Events is hiring a Senior Event Art Director to lead our end-to-end creative for large-scale events, exhibitions, and brand activations. You’ll own the creative vision from moodboards and sketches to photorealistic 3D and technically buildable drawings while mentoring a high-performing team of 3D/visual designers.
The ideal leader blends world-class taste with practical build knowledge, ensuring ideas are innovative, executable, on-brand, and on budget.
What You’ll Lead (Key Responsibilities)
- Creative Direction: Define the visual strategy, experience flow, and storytelling across stages, scenography, immersive zones, exhibition booths, photo ops, and content touchpoints.
- Team Leadership: Manage and mentor 3D/visual designers (and freelancers as needed); set quality bars, review work, and drive continuous upskilling.
- Concept to Reality: Convert ideas into build-ready outputs layout plans, elevations, material boards, technical notes aligned with production, AV, rigging, and HSE constraints.
- Client Pitching: Build persuasive decks and lead presentations; communicate rationale, references, and feasibility with clarity and confidence.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work hand-in-hand with Production, AV/Lighting, Fabrication, and Procurement to optimize design for cost, durability, and install time.
- Standards & Governance: Establish design systems, file hygiene, naming/version control, templates, and QA processes for consistently high-quality output.
- Trend & Innovation: Track global trends (AR/VR, immersive content, sustainable materials, modular builds) and bring practical innovations into live projects.
- Commercial Support: Partner with BD/Account teams on briefs, scopes, BOQs, and value-engineered alternatives without compromising design integrity.
- On-Site Ownership: Participate in pre-builds, mockups, and key site checks to safeguard fidelity from render to reality.
Experience & Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Fine Arts, Architecture, Interior Design , Event Design or related field.
- 7 - 10 years in event/experiential/exhibition design at top-tier Event agencies or production houses (UAE/GCC preferred), including 5+ years leading teams.
- Portfolio of high-profile events with render-to-reality evidence (stages, exhibitions, immersive activations).
- Proven track record of client pitching, multi-vendor coordination, and delivering under tight timelines.
Tools & Skills
- 3D/CAD: 3ds Max / Cinema 4D / Blender, SketchUp, AutoCAD
- Design/Motion: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects (Notch/Resolume nice-to-have)
- Realtime/Interactive (plus): Unreal Engine / Unity
- Sound working knowledge of rigging/truss, lighting, audio, LED/projection
- Strong presentation/storytelling; excellent written/verbal English (Arabic a plus)
- Familiar with UAE venues (halls, hotels, outdoor) and supplier ecosystem