Senior Conceptual Designer

Sandton/Morningside • Hybrid

About the Role

Brands want engaging centre-court/expo experiences, pop-ups, and retail moments that look amazing on social media. To win those pitches, we need concept work that turns heads.

We’re hiring an Experienced Conceptual Designer who thinks in ideas first. Someone who understands global trends, loves beauty and cosmetics, and can turn a blank canvas into a retail experience that makes clients say “wow, we want that.”

This is not a normal studio-designer role. This is concept + moodboards + 3D thinking + trend spotting + pitch-winning innovation.

You will help us unlock revenue through strong winning concepts.

What You’ll Do

1. Conceptual Design (core)

• Dream up fresh, on-trend retail experiences for centre courts/expos, pop-ups, launches, event spaces, and in-store branding.
• Build moodboards, storyboards, experience flows and 3D sketches that sell the idea fast.
• Turn global beauty and lifestyle trends into smart physical experiences.
• Bring new thinking that wins pitches, this is the biggest value.
• Develop strong consumer journeys in a expo or mall space.
   

2. Pitch Support

• Develop strong concepts for pitch decks.
• Work closely with the Sales Team to make ideas irresistible.
• Lift our pitch win rate by showing innovation clients haven’t seen before.
   

3. Design Collaboration

• Assist other designers with brainstorming on pitch concepts when needed.
• Create captivating pitch decks to propose to clients.
• Make sure the final designs follow your concept vision.

Who You Are

• Experienced — 5+ years in conceptual, experiential or retail environment design.
• Consumer Journey Guru – Can create strong concepts consumers want to engage with.
• On-trend — you follow cosmetics, beauty, lifestyle, retail and global design trends.
• Visual thinker — you can sketch, storyboard, or 3D-block ideas quickly.
• Energy + passion — you enjoy fast ideas, new styles, and fresh thinking.
• Innovator — you bring fresh concepts and ideas.
• Keen eye — you understand what looks premium and what doesn’t.

Tools You Should Know

• Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign).
• A 3D/concept tool (SketchUp, Blender, Cinema4D, or similar).
• Hand sketching is a big plus.

Success Looks Like This (Scorecard)

Within 90 Days:

• Bring 5 pitch-ready concepts that show your range.
• Elevate our creative direction across retail and centre-court experiences.
• Improve pitch decks with smarter concepts and stronger visual storytelling.

Within 6 Months:

• Bring in revenue through winning pitches.
• Become the creative trend setter for Grapevine.
• Lead concept development for most big campaigns.

Within 12 Months:

• Unlock revenue through strong winning concepts.
• Establish a clean flow: Concept → Studio → Production.
• Lead the conceptual design culture inside Grapevine.

Why Join Grapevine

We create real-world experiences for South Africa’s biggest brands.
Your concepts will become physical builds, centre-court/expo experiences, and retail moments that thousands of shoppers see every day.