Associate Art Director, 4 Color Books

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. 

Responsibilities: 

• Designing and laying out an average of 4 4C illustrated books a season
• Assisting the AD in overseeing freelancers who will be designing the remainder 
• Assisting the AD in providing direction and management for photoshoots when applicable
• Color proofing their pages
• Designing or directing the design of their covers, case wraps/mechanicals and endpapers
• Sourcing and hiring third-party creatives such as photographers, illustrators, and designers
• Collaborating with editors on their titles
• Proactively problem-solve when the need arises
• Supporting the department in administrative tasks (we are a small team!)

An ideal candidate:

• Is an Adobe InDesign expert and book design enthusiast 
• Is a talented designer with experience designing covers and interiors for non fiction 4 color projects in cooking and lifestyle.
• Shows attention to detail and excellent execution skills in typography, color, and layout
• Is able to work at all levels, from inputting corrections to building well-structured InDesign files for their own original designs
• Understands how their composition work impacts downstream processes, including ebook production and future print editions
• Will work collaboratively with Design Director and Creative Director to ensure the interior and cover complement each other.
• Will work collaboratively with Production Editorial to ensure the manuscript and InDesign document are coded complementarily and coding best practices are applied rigorously from manuscript to finished InDesign files
• Understands book production and printing standards 
• Will work with outside freelancers to oversee their work. Assist the creative director in overseeing photo shoots.
• Able to bring ideas on  improving workflow, processes, and interdepartmental collaboration
• Is able to design independently with minimal supervision 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

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 

This role is open to fully remote candidates.