Brand Strategist Recruitment Project

Brand Strategist Recruitment Project Objective Antimatter is looking for an experienced recruiter/headhunter to identify and recruit three exceptional Brand Strategists to join our creative team as a freelancer and grow into a role that will occupy the strategist full time. This is not a graphic designer role. We are looking for strategic thinkers who can take a company's business goals, brand positioning, customer research, and visual identity, and transform them into a comprehensive Brand Guide that serves as the blueprint for an entire website project. The successful candidates will become an important part of our website delivery process and will work closely with our SEO Strategists, Graphic Designers, and Project Managers. Our goal is to hire: 1 Primary Brand Strategist who will become our lead strategist and receive immediate project assignments. 2 Additional Approved Brand Strategists who will become part of our preferred talent roster, ready to step into projects as our workload grows or additional capacity is required. Compensation Total Recruitment Fee: $600 USD Milestone 1 – Candidate Research $150 USD Research and present 20–30 experienced Brand Strategists who may be a strong fit. For each candidate include: Name Portfolio LinkedIn Location (Colombia) Years of experience Current position Agency or freelance background English proficiency Availability (if known) Salary expectations (if available) Initial fit rating Notes on previous brand strategy work Milestone 2 – Shortlist & Evaluation $200 USD Present your Top 8–10 candidates. For each candidate explain: Why they are a strong fit Relevant projects Industries worked in Examples of brand guideline documents Examples of visual identity systems Experience directing website creative Experience working with marketing teams Communication strengths Potential concerns Recommendation Milestone 3 – Outreach & Interview Coordination $250 USD Manage the recruitment process including: Initial outreach Screening Portfolio review Interview coordination Communication with candidates Scheduling interviews with Antimatter Candidate follow-up Candidates reaching this stage should have demonstrated strong alignment with our requirements and a genuine interest in joining Antimatter. Recruitment Success Bonus We value quality over quantity. For every Brand Strategist that successfully joins Antimatter, we will pay an additional: $100 USD Recruitment Bonus Our objective is to hire three Brand Strategists, meaning the recruiter has the opportunity to earn up to an additional $300 USD in performance bonuses. What We Are Looking For The recruiter should focus on finding experienced Brand Strategists rather than traditional graphic designers. The ideal candidate understands how to build an entire visual and messaging system that guides a website project from strategy through design. (See example PDFs provided) The examples will show what types of documents they’re able to come up with after looking at an old website or old brand. Their job is to reimagine the brand position and messaging. They should be able to think like a Creative Director, Brand Consultant, and UX Strategist, not simply someone who makes attractive graphics. Required Experience Candidates should have experience producing: Brand Strategy Documents Brand Guidelines Visual Identity Systems Website Creative Direction Campaign Concepts Messaging Frameworks Design Systems Creative Direction UI Inspiration Guides Marketing Assets Bonus - If they understand SEO relations Experience working with agencies is strongly preferred. Portfolio Requirements Candidates must provide examples of previous work. We want to see complete strategy documents, not just logos or finished websites. Ideal portfolio examples include: Brand Guidelines Brand Books Visual Identity Manuals Creative Direction Presentations Brand Systems Design Systems Style Guides Website Creative Presentations The examples should be similar in quality and depth to the attached reference documents. What Success Looks Like The Brand Strategist should be capable of producing a polished 8–12 page Brand Guide that establishes the creative direction for the entire project before UI design begins. The guide should include items such as: Cover Page A professionally designed cover introducing the project and reflecting the future look and feel of the website. Brand Positioning Brand personality Target audience Overall tone Key messaging Taglines Value proposition Logo System Primary logo Secondary logo White version Black version Logo usage rules Color Palette Document all primary and supporting colors including: Color names HEX values Suggested usage Typography System Define: Heading fonts Body fonts Label fonts Button fonts Font hierarchy Sizes Weights Spacing Messaging & Calls-to-Action Develop marketing language such as: Headlines Taglines Calls-to-action Product messaging Section messaging Campaign concepts Creative Direction Demonstrate how the brand should appear across: Posters Advertising Landing pages Hero banners Social media Marketing materials Image Direction Provide examples of photography and imagery that communicate the correct brand personality. Candidates should understand: Mood Lighting Composition Color grading Image selection Images may be sourced from AI, Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Envato, or similar resources. User Interface Direction Show examples of: Buttons Cards Icons Forms Product layouts Navigation styling Interface components For eCommerce projects this should include examples of product cards, category layouts, and shopping experiences similar to those shown in the reference guide. Logo Asset Exploration One of Antimatter's unique differentiators is transforming existing logo elements into reusable brand assets. Candidates should demonstrate creative thinking by identifying ways to extend a logo beyond its original form. Examples include: Patterns Shapes Waves Textures Icons Graphic elements Background treatments Section dividers The Spartan example shows how the wave element from the logo becomes a recurring design asset throughout the brand system. Website Creative Direction Finally, candidates should demonstrate how all branding decisions come together to influence the future website. This includes: Homepage direction Interior page styling Product presentation Section layouts Overall user experience The Brand Guide should become the blueprint that the Graphic Designer and Web Developer use to build the website. Candidate Evaluation Criteria The ideal Brand Strategist should demonstrate: Exceptional creative thinking Strong communication skills Ability to translate business goals into visual direction Experience leading branding projects Understanding of UX/UI principles Experience collaborating with SEO, content, and development teams Strong presentation and documentation skills Attention to detail Excellent English communication (written and verbal) Ability to defend and explain creative decisions Our Process The recruiter should understand that the Brand Strategist is one part of Antimatter's larger website delivery system. Their work sits between SEO research and UI design: Company Context → SEO Research → Brand Strategy → Graphic Design → Website Development The Brand Guide they produce becomes the creative foundation for every website we build. Our expectation is that candidates can demonstrate they have already created work of this caliber in the past or can clearly show the strategic thinking and design maturity to produce it consistently.