Graphic Designer (Mid-Senior Level) - Tokyo-based Bilingual Creative Agency

Jobs / Graphic Designer (Full-Time)

Graphic Designer (Full-Time)

Shiitake Creative Tokyo

DesignGraphic Design

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Language

EN: Business

JP: Business

Salary

Unavailable

See Salary Ranges

Employment Type

Full time

Job Description

Shiitake Creative is a bilingual creative agency based in Tokyo and we're looking for a Graphic Designer who thrives on variety. Our clients range from tourism bureaus and government agencies to private businesses across all kinds of industries, so no two weeks look the same. One week, it's a print brochure for a regional tourism board. The next it's social content for a client. Then it's a full brand visual refresh for a business expanding into new territory. We work with print year-round, so a real love for it matters. You'll need a sharp, creative instinct, an ear for what clients need, and the ability to turn their ideas into something visual and compelling.

Experience (junior, mid-level, etc.): Minimum mid-level

Candidates can apply from: Japan only

Visa sponsorship support: Available

Work style: Hybrid (three days in office, two days WFH)

Days off: Weekends, Christmas, New Year, your birthday, plus paid vacation

Monthly salary: Based on experience

Responsibilities

You'll work closely with our Creative Director, Sales and Marketing team, and Content team across all projects, but independent thinking and initiative are key. Beyond technical skills, we want someone with a sharp eye for detail, confidence in their own work, a balance of openness to others' ideas, a solid understanding of Japanese culture and lifestyle, and a global mindset. Key responsibilities include:

• Work with our Creative Director to keep projects on track and on brief
• Maintain design consistency across the team's output
• Create compelling print and digital designs
• Support our project management team on Japanese client accounts
• Communicate ideas clearly and make confident design decisions
• Bring new ideas to the table that benefit the team and our clients
• Stay current on design trends and the competitive landscape
• Care about craft at every level, from a keynote slide to a multi-market campaign rollout
  
  

Qualifications

This is a Tokyo-based role for someone with a professional graphic design background and a strong sense of design craftsmanship and teamwork.

• Professional experience: You have professional graphic design experience and have experience working within a creative team. You have a portfolio of work.
• Strong design fundamentals: You are proficient in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. You have strong conceptual thinking, with advanced skills in typography, color, and print design. You have knowledge of print production and preparing artwork for printing.
• Experience designing for the Japanese market: Your portfolio includes designing for the Japanese market, working with Japanese text and typography, and demonstrates consideration toward aesthetic, behavioral and cultural factors. Experience at a Japan-based company is a plus.
• Language and cultural skills: You have business fluency in Japanese and/or English, ideally both. Priority will be given to candidates who demonstrate continuous effort to improve language ability, and have JLPT N2 conversational and reading level.
• Strong communication and organizational skills: You are comfortable working within a team and are able to maintain a positive and professional attitude.
• Creative with commercial awareness: You have flexibility and a willingness to think outside the box. "Good enough" makes you uncomfortable but you’re also aware of deadlines. You have the ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines and the ability to work within established brand guidelines.
• Japan-based: You currently reside in Japan (ideally in and near Tokyo) and can commute to the office three days a week.
• Openness: You’re a team player who has the ability to take feedback and iterate on designs.
  
  

Nice To Have

• Proficiency in Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects and Figma
• Photography or video editing experience
• Experience in marketing, advertising, or social media, or have worked within a company/team in related fields

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• UI/UX design experience
• Experience working with Japanese copy
• Please note that this role requires professional graphic design experience and full proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite. Applications from candidates whose experience is primarily tool-based (e.g. Canva) will not be considered.
  
  

About The Company

Shiitake Creative is a Tokyo-based bilingual creative agency founded in 2021. Day-to-day, we help our Japanese clients brand themselves for an international audience and help our overseas clients reach the right audience in Japan. The bigger goal: helping Japan become more diverse and inclusive through creative work.

While not exclusive to travel, it's where we spend most of our time — regional tourism bureaus, agencies, and private companies make up a large share of our clients, and we've produced everything from travel websites to brochures to full campaign design. We also run the annual Japan Travel Awards.

See More About Us Here:

Shiitake Creative website: https://shiitakecreative.jp/

Japan Travel Awards website: https://japantravelawards.com/

The Team and Our Culture

We're a small but diverse team of seven: four project managers, one copywriter, one Creative Director, and one senior advisor. Our team comes from Australia, the UK, Japan, Bulgaria, and China, and we work bilingually in Japanese and English day to day.

We also travel a lot within Japan for work — for the Japan Travel Awards and for client projects alike. If you love to travel, you'll thrive here.

We're a team of people who love what we do. Staying curious and passionate about your work is part of the job, and it shows in how you approach your craft and your teammates. That doesn't mean overtime for no reason (we rarely do). It means caring enough that ideas don't stop when you close the laptop.

We also value diversity, the ability to think outside the box, confidence, a good sense of humor, the ability to praise others as you'd praise yourself, and a genuine openness to new ideas and challenges. It's okay to feel nervous about something new, but we'd rather you go for it anyway.

Inclusion & Diversity

Creative ideas have no boundaries, no nationalities, and no fixed idea of "normal." We value inclusion and diversity, and expect anyone who works with us to share that value. Anyone is welcome to apply, as long as you meet the professional requirements. We look forward to getting to know you.

Apply

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You'll Work Closely With Our Creative Director, Sales And Marketing Team, And Content Team Across All Projects, But Independent Thinking And Initiative Are Key. Beyond Technical Skills, We Want Someone With a Sharp Eye For Detail, Confidence In Their Own Work, a Balance Of Openness To Others' Ideas, a Solid Understanding Of Japanese Culture And Lifestyle, And a Global Mindset. Key Responsibilities Include:

• Work with our Creative Director to keep projects on track and on brief
• Maintain design consistency across the team's output
• Create compelling print and digital designs
• Support our project management team on Japanese client accounts
• Communicate ideas clearly and make confident design decisions
• Bring new ideas to the table that benefit the team and our clients
• Stay current on design trends and the competitive landscape
• Care about craft at every level, from a keynote slide to a multi-market campaign rollout
  
  

Qualifications

This is a Tokyo-based role for someone with a professional graphic design background and a strong sense of design craftsmanship and teamwork.

• Professional experience: You have professional graphic design experience and have experience working within a creative team. You have a portfolio of work.
• Strong design fundamentals: You are proficient in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. You have strong conceptual thinking, with advanced skills in typography, color, and print design. You have knowledge of print production and preparing artwork for printing.
• Experience designing for the Japanese market: Your portfolio includes designing for the Japanese market, working with Japanese text and typography, and demonstrates consideration toward aesthetic, behavioral and cultural factors. Experience at a Japan-based company is a plus.
• Language and cultural skills: You have business fluency in Japanese and/or English, ideally both. Priority will be given to candidates who demonstrate continuous effort to improve language ability, and have JLPT N2 conversational and reading level.
• Strong communication and organizational skills: You are comfortable working within a team and are able to maintain a positive and professional attitude.
• Creative with commercial awareness: You have flexibility and a willingness to think outside the box. "Good enough" makes you uncomfortable but you’re also aware of deadlines. You have the ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines and the ability to work within established brand guidelines.
• Japan-based: You currently reside in Japan (ideally in and near Tokyo) and can commute to the office three days a week.
• Openness: You’re a team player who has the ability to take feedback and iterate on designs.
  
  

Nice To Have

• Proficiency in Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects and Figma
• Photography or video editing experience
• Experience in marketing, advertising, or social media, or have worked within a company/team in related fields
• UI/UX design experience
• Experience working with Japanese copy
• Please note that this role requires professional graphic design experience and full proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite. Applications from candidates whose experience is primarily tool-based (e.g. Canva) will not be considered.
  
  

See More About Us Here:

Shiitake Creative website: https://shiitakecreative.jp/

Japan Travel Awards website: https://japantravelawards.com/

The Team and Our Culture

We're a small but diverse team of seven: four project managers, one copywriter, one Creative Director, and one senior advisor. Our team comes from Australia, the UK, Japan, Bulgaria, and China, and we work bilingually in Japanese and English day to day.

We also travel a lot within Japan for work — for the Japan Travel Awards and for client projects alike. If you love to travel, you'll thrive here.

We're a team of people who love what we do. Staying curious and passionate about your work is part of the job, and it shows in how you approach your craft and your teammates. That doesn't mean overtime for no reason (we rarely do). It means caring enough that ideas don't stop when you close the laptop.

We also value diversity, the ability to think outside the box, confidence, a good sense of humor, the ability to praise others as you'd praise yourself, and a genuine openness to new ideas and challenges. It's okay to feel nervous about something new, but we'd rather you go for it anyway.

Inclusion & Diversity

Creative ideas have no boundaries, no nationalities, and no fixed idea of "normal." We value inclusion and diversity, and expect anyone who works with us to share that value. Anyone is welcome to apply, as long as you meet the professional requirements. We look forward to getting to know you.

Browse Jobs by Role

Design Jobs

Design Design Director Digital Artist Graphic Design

Illustration Motion Graphics Product Design Service Design

UI Design UX Design UX Research UX Writing

Visual Design Video Web Design

Engineering Jobs

Android Engineer iOS Engineer

Front End Developer Back End Developer

Full Stack Developer QA Engineer

Product Jobs

Product Design Product Management

Marketing

Brand Manager Copywriting Marketing Social Media

Operations

Account Executive Project Coordinator Project Manager

Data Jobs

Data Analyst Data Scientist Machine Learning

Other

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