Product Design Director

At AKQA (part of WPP), we believe in the imaginative application of art and science to design a better future. Our Product Design Directors craft the interfaces, systems, and experiences that define how brands behave in the modern world, across mobile, spatial, voice, wearables, and AI-powered environments. As a Product Design Director, you’ll lead the design of products and brand experiences for some of the world’s most influential organisations, from luxury ecosystems and cultural platforms to next-generation mobility and wellness systems. You’ll guide multi-disciplinary teams to create elegant, human-centred design solutions that are as intelligent as they are inspiring. You’ll define design direction across a portfolio of complex, high-impact digital products, establishing benchmarks in accessibility, interaction, and multi-modal experience. You’ll champion the new frontier of brand user interfaces: adaptive design languages that translate brand identity into behaviour, sound, motion, and intelligence. AKQA Product Design Directors operate at the intersection of brand, craft, and computation, working side-by-side with strategy, data, and engineering teams to shape products that learn, evolve, and earn love over time. This is a leadership role within AKQA’s London studio, part of a globally connected studio network shaping the future of digital experiences for brands including Nike, Rolls-Royce, Samsung, Airbnb, and Google. You’ll be at the forefront of AI-powered product design, helping redefine how creativity, intelligence, and empathy coexist in every interaction. ROLE REQUIREMENTS Lead concept, design, and delivery of world-class digital products and connected experiences that define new standards for creativity and usability. Partner with UX, Creative Technology, and AI Engineering teams to shape AI-native interfaces, generative UI systems, and adaptive design components. Establish and evolve brand-led design systems that perform across screen, voice, gesture, and spatial interfaces. Embed accessibility and inclusivity from first principles, ensuring WCAG compliance and usability for all audiences. Drive experimentation across new modalities: voice and audio UX, wearable ecosystems, computer vision, and mixed reality. Mentor, grow, and inspire a diverse team of product designers, cultivating craftsmanship, critical thinking, and innovation. Collaborate closely with strategists and client partners to translate brand purpose into tangible, useful digital products. Represent AKQA in new business opportunities, articulating the value of design in solving complex business and human challenges. Contribute to AKQA’s global culture of learning, sharing insights on design ethics, AI co-creation, and emerging interaction paradigms. QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS 10+ years’ experience (as a guide, not a restriction) in product design or interaction design at leading studios or in-house teams. Proven leadership in delivering large-scale, multi-platform digital products from concept to launch. Mastery of Figma and contemporary design-system workflows (tokens, auto-layout, component libraries), along with complementary tools such as code-based interaction design software and no-code web/app solutions. Strong understanding of human-centred design, accessibility, motion, and micro-interaction principles. Familiarity with AI design tools, prototyping in Framer, Principle, ProtoPie, or After Effects, and collaboration with machine-learning or data-science teams. Demonstrable success in uniting brand and product through interface design, e.g. motion language, sound design, or spatial storytelling. Experience mentoring mid- and senior-level designers; a track record of growing creative excellence and cultural impact. Comfortable presenting to senior clients and executives, and confident operating within fast-paced, high-stakes environments. Systems thinker with a deep sensitivity to brand and narrative. Calm, credible communicator who bri…