VML & Ogilvy | Senior Digital Designer (WPP Content Studio), Japan

About WPP Content Studio:

Our Content Studio is dedicated to producing automated, performance-driven creatives at scale. This means we don't just make ads; we engineer dynamic, intelligent content that learns, adapts, and is optimized for maximum impact. We move beyond traditional static campaigns to content that resonate with individual audiences.

Our capability is enabled by AI and Analytics. We harness AI to understand audience nuances, predict trends, and automate complex creative variations. Our integration with analytics ensures that every creative decision is data-informed, allowing us to continuously measure, learn, and refine for media effectiveness and performance.

Our team consists of talent across:

• Creative: Our designers and content creators push the boundaries of visual storytelling and compelling messaging, ensuring every asset is engaging and on-brand.
• Ad engineering: Our template designers build the messaging and data frameworks and pipelines that make dynamic, scalable creative possible.
• Innovation: We are always exploring new technologies, platforms, and methodologies to stay at the forefront of the dynamic creative space.

By seamlessly integrating art and science, the WPP Content Studio delivers:

• Relevance at scale: Tailored messages and visuals that speak directly to each consumer.
• Effectiveness: Automated production processes that drastically reduce time-to-market and cost.
• Performance: Creatives that are continuously optimized by data, driving higher engagement, conversions, and ROI for our clients.

About the Role:

You are the visual craft lead inside a social-first (not just social media first) Content Studio in Japan, working on brands such as Nestlé and BAT, to name a few. 

Content Creators and Strategists shape the ideas. 
You shape how those ideas live in Japanese feeds. 

You understand Japanese design sensibility. 
Balance. Precision. Restraint. Impact. 

You know when minimal wins. 
You know when bold typography or kinetic motion cuts through. 

You design for how Japan scrolls. 
TikTok behaviour. Instagram grids. X culture. LINE ecosystems, and many more digital platforms. 

You understand subcultures. 
Street. Luxury. Tech. Cafe culture. Fandom. Motorsport. Gaming. 

You bring global craft, but filter it through local taste. 

You are also confident explaining your design decisions. 
You can clearly articulate why a layout, motion style or typography choice supports the brand, the audience and the platform. 

This role is sometimes client-facing. 
You are comfortable presenting work and defending it with logic, not ego. 

AI is an essential part of your workflow. 
You prototype fast. Refine with care. Deliver with discipline. 

What You'll Do:

Translate Ideas into Japanese-Ready Visual Work 

• Turn creative concepts into strong, social-first visual executions 
• Adapt content across Meta, TikTok, X, YouTube and others 
• Design static, motion and short-form video assets built specifically for feed behaviour in Japan 

Lead Aesthetic Standards 

• Own typography, layout, spacing and motion precision 
• Maintain visual consistency while respecting Japanese brand expectations 
• Ensure work feels native, not imported 

Articulate Design Rationale 

• Present and explain visual decisions to internal teams and clients 
• Connect design choices to strategy, audience behaviour and platform logic 
• Provide clear reasoning behind adaptations and refinements 

Design for Culture, Not Just Format 

• Stay close to Japanese visual trends, memes and platform shifts 
• Understand seasonal nuances, local events and digital behaviour 
• Apply global brand systems through a local cultural lens 

Collaborate in a Bilingual Environment 

• Work closely with Content Creators and Writers 
• Partner with motion designers, photographers and producers 
• Contribute visual thinking early without owning overall concept direction 
• Navigate feedback across languages and functions 

Use AI with Intent 

• Integrate AI tools into daily design workflow 
• Explore visual generation, rapid mockups and versioning 
• Improve efficiency without sacrificing craft 

What We're Looking For:

• 5+ years of digital design experience in Japan, ideally within an agency or content studio 
• Strong social-first portfolio built for Japanese audiences 
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma 
• Strong eye for typography, motion and spatial balance 
• Understanding of Japanese consumer taste and digital behaviour 
• Confident presenting work and explaining design rationale 
• Business-level Japanese preferred, conversational English 

How You'll Be Measured:

• Visual quality and consistency across platforms 
• Relevance to Japanese audience behaviour 
• Ability to articulate and defend design decisions 
• On-time delivery in a fast-paced studio 
• Strong collaboration across teams and stakeholders