Design Assistant, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
The Design Assistant is responsible for the administrative and design support of the full color Picture Book list for Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Working alongside the Art Director(s), this person will be responsible for seeing each project through the design process, including conception, approval, and production while also supporting the picture book departments administrative needs.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provide direct administrative and design support to the Art Director(s)Â through clerical tasks, such as processing contracts (for picture books and licensing), creating book dummies, recording and returning artwork, creating galleys, routing mechanicals, prepare materials for industry events and competitions, and any other duties as they arise.
- Offer support to the greater Design Department through clerical and administrative tasks such as processing supply orders, coordinating artist portfolio reviews, ordering books from warehouse.
- Be the liaison to other departments such as Sales, Marketing, Editorial, Publicity, Legal, Accounts Payable, Production and provide materials as needed.
- Make sure all cover assets are archived onto the Vault on a timely basis for Sales and Marketing. Enter milestone data and monitor compliance on an ongoing basis.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Art Director or Department Head
- Create select promotional materials for key titles on an as needed basis.
- Work closely with the Art Director to schedule and prepare materials for jacket meetings, as well as Sales and Marketing meetings.
- Work closely with illustrators, photographers, and freelancers in the creation of cover and interior artwork.
- Oversee out-of-house freelance designers as necessary
- Oversee full color reprints
- Assist in managing a master schedule of books to make sure key production, marketing and sales milestone dates are met, as well as the creation of sales materials.
- Create author pages and convert hand letterings to a font for ebooks
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES REQUIRED:
- Bachelor’s degree in art/design preferred
- Ability to execute a broad range of designs that are appropriate for various age groups and formats
- Knowledge of typography, illustration, and photography
- Proficiency in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Microsoft Office required; working knowledge of Excel and PDF workflow a plus.
- Be organized and have the ability to attend to details and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment
- Ability to manage in-house and out-of-house freelancers
- Ability to take direction yet maintain intuition
- Strong communication skills (verbal and written) with the aptitude to communicate effectively in both individual and group settings regardless of audience
- Must be results driven, and take appropriate steps to achieve goals while taking ownership of situations as needed
- Excellent organizational skills with the ability to multi-task, prioritize and manage time effectively while also ensuring accuracy of work through attention to detail
- Operates ethically: admits mistakes, treats others with respect, trust, and dignity, demonstrates honest and ethical behavior, and follows through on commitments and agreements
- Be comfortable with both administrative duties as well as more creative/design related tasks