Brand & Design Systems Lead

This is a hands-on, high-leverage engagement focused on building foundational systems that make design repeatable and scalable across the firm. The engagement is organized around three workstreams: 1. Client-Facing & Internal Materials / Templates Design and standardize the firm's highest-frequency branded materials (cover sheets, partner decks, internal presentations, marketing collateral, email templates) so they can be reused across teams, adapted quickly for new partners and products, and produced by non-designers without degrading quality. All templates delivered in production-ready formats. Templates should be designed with automation in mind; structured so that asset generation can be triggered from data inputs (e.g., new partner onboarding) with minimal manual intervention. At least one workflow should demonstrate this step-change in efficiency. 2. Brand Refresh Modernize and unify the firm's visual identity across all touchpoints: web properties, client portal, print materials, and communications. Produce a concise brand standards document covering logo usage, color palette, typography, and iconographic style that internal staff and external vendors can follow. 3. Strategic Brand Input Provide recommendations on naming conventions and tagline positioning as the firm's product suite evolves. This is advisory input to leadership, not a standalone workstream. ---------- Ideal Profile: You are not a traditional designer. You likely sit at the intersection of: Design systems Product thinking Tooling / workflow design Strong signals: Proven experience in financial services, asset management, or institutional markets brand work Strong visual design sensibility combined with strategic brand thinking — able to both define the framework and produce the assets You think in inputs → outputs, not just visuals Comfortable working with ambiguity and incomplete source material Experience producing templates and standards that non-designers can actually use Highly organized and deadline-driven Strong use of AI in your design workflow What We’re Not Looking For Pure visual/brand designers focused on aesthetics only Agencies or large teams (we are looking for an individual contributor) Strategy-only consultants who don’t execute Designers who rely heavily on manual, one-off workflows