Graphic Design Intern

James & James LLC • Little Rock, AR

1d

About The Position

James & James is seeking a design student or recent graduate to join its small, fast-moving marketing team. The company builds American hardwood furniture in Heber Springs, Arkansas, and sells directly to customers nationwide. The marketing team also supports Ralph Speer, a trade-exclusive brand for interior design professionals, so the work serves both direct-to-consustomer and business-to-business audiences.

The intern will take ownership of email and ad design and product-photo retouching, working alongside the Senior Graphic Design Lead and marketing staff. The role offers direct feedback, training in email design and the company’s platform, and the opportunity for work to be published to a real audience. Approximately half the time is devoted to email design and related creative work, and approximately half to photo retouching and asset production.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing or recently completed a degree or certificate in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Digital Media, or a related field.
• Working proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, including comfort with layers, masks, adjustment layers, healing and clone tools, and non-destructive editing.
• A portfolio of school, freelance, or personal work demonstrating an eye for typography, layout, and color.
• Attention to detail and patience for careful, repeatable work at volume.
• Reliability, organization, and ability to manage time across several small projects.
• Openness to feedback and eagerness to learn.

Nice To Haves

• Adobe Illustrator skills, including vector graphics, icons, and simple illustrations.
• Canva experience building and adapting templates for quick-turn social and internal needs.
• Exposure to email marketing platforms such as Klaviyo, HubSpot, Mailchimp, or similar.
• Interest in furniture, interiors, woodworking, or craft.

Responsibilities

• Generate images using AI tools such as Presti and Higgs field.
• Design promotional emails and ads for James & James and Ralph Speer using creative briefs and existing brand guidelines.
• Learn and apply email design best practices, including layout hierarchy, image-to-text balance, dark-mode behavior, file weight, and accessibility.
• Contribute ideas to campaign concepts and seasonal creative work.
• Retouch product photography from the in-house photo booth, including cleanup, dust and blemish removal, color and white-balance correction, and shadow work.
• Cut out and mask products for silhouetted images and lifestyle compositing.
• Represent wood grain, stain color, and finish accurately and consistently across the catalog.
• Export and organize assets to specifications for the website, email, paid ads, and social media.
• Maintain naming conventions and folder structure in the shared asset library.
• Support occasional design needs, including social graphics, simple illustrations or icons, print collateral, and event materials.
• Participate in creative reviews and weekly marketing team meetings.

Benefits

• Hands-on training in AI creative tools, CGI tools, ad asset creation, and email design.
• Opportunity to build a body of published, real-world portfolio work across email, product photography, and brand design.
• Direct mentorship from the senior graphic designer.
• Exposure to how a DTC furniture brand runs marketing across paid media, lifecycle, SEO, content, and trade.
• Letter of recommendation.
• Potential consideration for future contract or full-time roles.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed