Junior Designer

Democracy Docket • Jersey City, NJ

10h • $62,000 - $66,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Democracy Docket is hiring a Junior Designer to join our Design & Brand team. This role has two focus areas: creating editorial graphics for our website, working closely with the news team, and providing design support to our audience team to produce graphics assets for our social platforms. On the editorial side, this role will create featured graphics for articles, as well as supporting visual elements such as infographics, charts and maps. Working with the news team on the story and its key takeaways, this role is responsible for turning that reporting and analysis into a creative visual concept. The Junior Designer will translate expertise into visuals that are easy to understand and visually appealing. Working with the audience team, this role will build and maintain a library of social media templates that the social team can use for regular posts. The Junior Designer reviews and polishes those graphics, occasionally creating custom graphics when needed, to keep every social post visually consistent with our brand. The ideal candidate has a sharp eye for design, a strong sense of visual storytelling, and a passion for news. This role reports to the Design Lead.

Requirements

• 2+ years of graphic design experience, whether through professional roles, internships, freelance work, or substantial coursework/portfolio projects.
• Portfolio demonstrating illustration skills
• Well-versed in Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as Canva
• Self-motivated, proactive and detail-oriented problem solver with strong organizational skills
• Strong understanding of visual storytelling and design principles
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects at once, as the news shifts quickly
• Welcomes direction and feedback from teammates and supervisors, and applies it readily to their work
• Comfortable turning data and information into digestible and visually appealing graphics

Nice To Haves

• Portfolio includes editorial illustration or infographics
• Openness to learning new tools, such as those for embeddable/interactive graphics (e.g., Flourish.studio)
• Experience with animation and video editing is also a plus but not required (Adobe After Effects and Premiere preferred)
• Passion for politics, news, and/or voting rights and democracy

Responsibilities

• Design editorial article lead graphics and in-article graphics, sometimes on tight deadlines
• Refine and maintain our library of social media templates within our existing style guide, supporting the audience team's goal of engaging audiences with visual news content
• Adapt graphics created for the website (featured graphics, data visuals, etc.) into the formats needed for posting on other verticals, such as social media or newsletters
• Organize the graphics drive so that other team members can find and utilize editable files
• Collaborate with the news team to produce graphics that support our articles; work directly with reporters to ensure accuracy in all editorial illustrations, especially infographics, charts, and maps
• Collaborate with the audience team to create social graphics, from copy and concepts provided by the audience team
• Apply and help maintain Democracy Docket’s visual brand across editorial and social graphics

Benefits

• Merit-based annual bonus eligibility
• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for employees
• 401(k) with 6% company match, available after 3 months
• Commuter benefits to help with your daily travel
• Generous paid time off, including: 18 days of PTO per year (increasing with tenure), 10 paid Health & Wellness days annually, 2 paid personal days annually
• 11 paid holidays, observed per company policy

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed