Associate Art Director, 4 Color Books

Simone Development•New York, NY

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

Simon Element, an imprint at Simon & Schuster, is seeking an Associate Art Director to design and layout nonfiction 4 color illustrated books (cookbooks, lifestyle) in the adult division. This person will be involved in, on average, 15-20 high end 4 color projects each year.

Requirements

3+ years of layout experience in Adobe InDesign; expert in InDesign
3 year or more of experience designing original book interiors and covers
Solid understanding of book composition standards
Ability to read and implement proofreader’s marks
Experience manipulating illustrations and photos in Photoshop
Experience creating and manipulating vector art in Illustrator

Nice To Haves

A talented designer with experience designing covers and interiors for non-fiction 4 color projects in cooking and lifestyle looking for the next step on their career path
Demonstrates a vibrant design practice through a range of design work, with an enthusiasm for book design
Shows attention to detail and excellent execution skills in typography, color, and layout
Is able to design independently with minimal supervision, demonstrates flexibility and adaptability in a fast-paced work environment and takes the initiative on their titles—such as coordinating with editorial to set up meetings and creative calls, tracking progress on their titles, directing freelancers, coming up with creative concepts and executing on their designs, supporting third party creatives such as photographers, illustrators
Understands the ins-and-outs of the book-making process and all levels of design—from inputting corrections to building well-structured InDesign files for their own original designs to understanding printing standards
Bring ideas on improving workflow, processes, and interdepartmental collaboration

Responsibilities

Designing and laying out 4/c illustrated books as assigned for each season.
Designing or directing the design of their covers, case wraps/mechanicals and endpapers
Finding freelancers that align with a book’s vision and providing guidance to freelancers to ensure that vision is achieved
Ensuring each book meets a high level of design craftsmanship and attention to detail
Supports the Design Director in day-to-day tasks and is a partner to the Design Director in improving imprint processes
Assisting the Design Director in providing direction and management for photoshoots when applicable
Color proofing
Sourcing and hiring third-party creatives such as photographers, illustrators, and designers
Collaborating with editors on their titles
Ensuring the manuscript and InDesign document are coded complementarily and that coding best practices are applied rigorously from manuscript to finished InDesign files
Proactively problem-solve when the need arises
Supporting the department in administrative tasks (we are a small team!)
Provide department coverage when short-staffed