Principal Designer, Brand Studio

Overview

As a Principal Designer at Expedia Group, you will define the design standard across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo. You’ll blend design and motion to shape brand perception at scale, balancing craft with speed in a high-volume studio. You’ll explore AI-enabled creativity while guiding the studio’s creative direction, systems, and playbooks. This role offers influence over brand identity, cross-brand storytelling, and a culture that prioritizes craft and innovation to delight travelers.

Responsibilities

• Develop an ideas-first approach to briefs, turning strategy into compelling brand narratives with strong storytelling
• Lead craft across campaign, brand, commercial and retail work from concept to delivery
• Define the studio’s visual direction and craft standards, including AI-enabled capabilities
• Own and evolve the brands’ visual identity systems, guidelines, and playbooks for Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo
• Build reusable templates, toolkits, and workflows (including AI-driven ones) to scale on-brand work
• Mentor designers and motion designers, guiding freelance and agency partners
• Present and advocate creative work to senior leadership and collaborate with marketing, product and cross-functional teams
• Experiment with new tools, formats, and technologies to inform the studio roadmap

Key requirements

• 7+ years in design with senior in-house brand studio, agency, or design consultancy experience
• Portfolio showing craft across brand identity, campaigns and digital work
• Strong motion design skills and understanding of motion’s impact on identity
• Hands-on experience with generative/AI tools (e.g., Comfy, Weave, Midjourney, Flora, Adobe Firefly, Runway)
• Solid understanding of brand systems and design at scale
• Experience presenting to senior stakeholders
• Ability to balance creative ambition with deadlines, budget, and business priorities

• collaboration
• leadership
• stakeholder management
• motion design
• brand systems
• design leadership

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