Senior Print Designer

Crate and Barrel•Northbrook, IL

59d•Hybrid

About The Position

We inspire purpose-filled living that brings beauty and quality to the modern home. Together, we achieve. Associates across our business drive results, innovate, and inspire. Drawn together by our shared values and passion for our customers and our brands, we deliver home furnishings that are expertly designed, responsibly sourced, and bring timeless style and function to people's homes. From the day we opened our first store in Chicago in 1962 to the digital innovations that engage millions of customers today, our iconic brand is over 60 years in the making-and our story is still unfolding. We're here for it. We think you should be too. We're looking for a driven professional with an inclusive mindset to join our team as a Senior Print Designer. The Senior Print Designer position is an important role within the brand's Product Design and Development department that builds the future vision of Crate & Barrel through innovative product design and the execution of Surface Print Artwork and color for multiple seasons and product categories. This position will support the Design Director- Textiles and lead the Print and color design responsibilities of Crate and Barrel and Crate & Kids. This is an on-site position (Monday through Thursday) based out of our Northbrook, IL office with the flexibility to work remotely on Fridays.

Requirements

Passion for design, style and decorating and knowledge of design and art history
Ability to interact and collaborate with senior members of the team and major vendors with experience on product development and specialising in color management
Ability to make decisions on operational matters that impact the effectiveness of their work with excellent organizational skills
Ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with all company associates and business contacts in both verbal and written formats
Build effective relationships with internal partners in Design, Merchandising, Materials and Sourcing to help execute cross functional synergy and collaboration
Must provide a link to portfolio (including password) on resume or provide PDF samples
5+ years of experience with reviewing strike offs, bit looms, and lab dips
BFA or MA in Graphic Design, Textile Design,Print Design, Fashion Design with knowledge of textiles, surface print art and color theory preferred
Must be able to pass the Munsell color test to read color accurately
Must have knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
Command high proficiency in the creation of original artwork from concept to a wide range of techniques from hand sketching and painting across different mediums to CAD renderings and specs
Results oriented
Ability to multitask and meet deadlines

Responsibilities

Performs effective color checking in the certified light-box, and reviews all color submits and strike offs for Crate & Barrel and Crate and Kids to ensure alignment and quality consistency to company color standards
Lead the vision, design, original creation and execution of key seasonal and core Surface Print and Pattern Projects through original artwork creation and painting via analog hands-on techniques and a range of mediums from pencil to acrylic, water color to pastel and digital CAD software
Create all print specifications with accurate color matching and standard setting for vendors worldwide ensuring the highest quality execution
Work with external print houses and suppliers to commission compelling artwork aligned to brand vision and seasonal concepts, while actively maintaining and leveraging our internal print design library
Lead the creation of the wallpaper category in partnership with the SVP design
Oversee the effective execution and application of print on products while partnering with design leads across the organization
Communicates color checking results and recommends solutions for color inconsistencies for approval by the designer, cross functional directors, and overseas offices in weekly touch base meetings and via trackers and email
Develop and maintain a process for referencing color files, submits, and strike offs including an organized library of approved swatches from vendors that is easily accessible for future reference
Ensure new products relate back to established core colors and hold designers accountable for keeping products aligned to the core color ring palette
Manage the pantone chip books and order new, larger chips as necessary to distribute to designers or vendors to aid the color alignment process
Maintain the accuracy and supply within the color chip library
Build and maintain the digital palette library for distribution and use by all design teams
Responsible for preparing all seasonal color palettes for the team in the form of color chips, physical color boards and digital palettes
Manage all aspects of the plotter printer including regular calibration for color matching ensuring alignment among the digital pantone, the cotton pantone chip, and the paper output
Plan plotter paper and ink supplies in line with seasonal demands
Perform necessary color revisions to spec updates, and upload to the vendor