Art Director

Kidsbooks Publishing; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 127,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k)

Paid vacation

Paid sick leave

Job summary

Kidsbooks Publishing in Chicago is seeking an experienced Art Director to lead the day‑to‑day design for children’s books and novelty products. You will translate the Creative Director’s vision into briefs, mentor designers, and ensure projects move smoothly from concept to production.

This full‑time hybrid role offers an annual salary of $110,000 with a 15% performance incentive, health insurance, a 401(k) plan, and paid vacation and sick leave.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional design experience in children's publishing.
• Proven art direction and leadership of designers.
• Strong typography, composition, color, and visual storytelling.
• Experience creating art briefs and collaborating with illustrators.
• Knowledge of series design systems and brand continuity.

Responsibilities

• Translate vision into actionable briefs and design direction.
• Direct and mentor Children's Book Designers; assign work, review progress and provide feedback.
• Maintain accountability for quality, consistency, and timeliness of deliverables.
• Develop series design systems and templates for consistent typography and layout.
• Collaborate with Editorial, Production, Sales, Marketing, and Operations.

Skills

Art direction

Team leadership

Children's publishing

Typography

Color & illustration

Prepress production

Brand continuity

Design critique

Project management

Creative oversight

Tools

Adobe InDesign

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Acrobat

Job description

Work Structure: Hybrid; at least three days per week in office and up to two remote. In‑office requirements may change with business needs.

Company Overview

Kidsbooks Publishing creates innovative childrens books and educational products to spark curiosity, inspire learning, and support meaningful moments as children grow. Our mission is to foster a lifelong love of reading and learning, and each product is designed to support parent and child interactions.We develop products for libraries, schools, and for major U.S. retail and e-commerce channels, including Costco, Sam's Club, Amazon, TJ Maxx, Ross, Burlington, Walmart, Target, and Cracker Barrel.

Position Summary

Report to the Creative Director and lead day‑to‑day art direction and design execution for childrens books and novelty publishing products. The Art Director is the operational creative leader for the design team: translating the Creative Director's vision into clear briefs, assigning and reviewing work, mentoring designers, maintaining visual continuity, and ensuring projects move efficiently from concept through production.

Key Responsibilities

Day‑to‑day creative leadership

• Translate the Creative Director's approved vision, brand standards, and product priorities into actionable briefs, design direction, templates, and review criteria.


• Direct and mentor Children's Book Designers; assign work, establish priorities, review progress, and provide clear, constructive feedback.


• Conduct routine design reviews and resolve day‑to‑day creative and technical decisions within established direction; escape significant creative, brand, or product decisions to the Creative Director.


• Maintain accountability for the quality, consistency, and timeliness of designer deliverables before they reach Creative Director review.

Series, brand, and design continuity

• Develop series design systems and templates that establish consistent typography, composition, color, illustration style, covers, interiors, and packaging.


• Review titles together to maintain continuity across covers, interiors, formats, and product extensions while preserving each title's individual appeal.


• Maintain practical brand guidelines, reference files, approved examples, and reusable design systems.

Art direction and product development

• Develop detailed illustration briefs and guide illustrators from sketches through final artwork.


• Collaborate with the Creative Director on new concepts, visual direction, illustrator selection, line reviews, and major design decisions.


• Support development of novelty and specialty formats, ensuring design solutions work with mechanisms, materials, embellishments, packaging, and manufacturing requirements.

Cross‑functional collaboration

• Partner with Editorial on content, age appropriateness, storytelling, and design requirements.


• Partner with Production on templates, dielines, materials, mechanisms, specialty finishes, proofs, manufacturing constraints, corrections, and schedules.


• Partner with Sales and Marketing on channel requirements, product presentation, retailer needs, competitive positioning, and promotional assets.


• Partner with Operations on priorities, timelines, workflow, approvals, and capacity.


• Help prioritize design work and track milestones across a high‑volume publishing program.

Production and quality

• Review layouts, production files, prototypes, and proofs for design quality, consistency, and technical accuracy; coordinate corrections with Designers and Production.


• Identify creative or production risks early and bring solutions or clear recommendations to the Creative Director and appropriate cross‑functional partners.

Required Experience and Skills

• 10+ years of professional design experience in childrens publishing, including demonstrated art direction and leadership of designers or creative projects.


• Outstanding portfolio showing childrens book covers, interior design, cohesive series, brand continuity, packaging, and novelty formats.


• Expert proficiency in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat, with strong hands‑on design and production skills.


• Strong command of typography, composition, color, illustration, visual storytelling, and age‑appropriate design.


• Experience developing art briefs, selecting illustration styles, and collaborating with illustrators and outside creative partners.


• Strong knowledge of board books, picture books, activity books, sound books, tactile formats, lift‑the‑flap books, die‑cuts, pop‑ups, and specialty finishes.


• Thorough understanding of prepress, printer templates, dielines, proofs, manufacturing constraints, and production‑ready files.


• Experience with novelty and specialty finishes including sound buttons/modules, touch‑and‑feel, embossing/debossing, spot UV, glitter UV, foil, specialty inks, and related production considerations.


• Strong understanding of design requirements for Kidsbooks' primary channels: Costco, Sam's Club, Amazon, TJ Maxx, Ross, Burlington, Walmart, Target, and Cracker Barrel.


• Ability to manage multiple projects, provide useful feedback, and balance creative quality with deadlines, budgets, manufacturability, and retail requirements.


• Strong communication and collaboration skills across Creative, Editorial, Production, Sales, Marketing, and Operations.

Job Requirements

• Chicago‑based full‑time position with a hybrid schedule of at least three days per week in the office and up to two remote; in‑office requirements may change with business needs.

Mindset and Work Style

• Collaborative, approachable leader whom the Creative Director and Designers can rely on for clear direction and practical problem‑solving.


• Strong creative judgment, attention to detail, and a practical approach to solving problems.


• Comfortable giving and receiving feedback, making recommendations, and working within an established creative vision.


• Proactive communicator who flags risks early and keeps cross‑functional partners informed.

Preferred Experience

• Experience designing for Costco, Sam's Club, Amazon, TJ Maxx, Ross, Burlington, Walmart, Target, and/or Cracker Barrel.


• Experience working directly with printers and manufacturers, including overseas manufacturing partners.


• Experience improving creative workflows, templates, and review processes in a high‑volume publishing environment.


• Annual Salary Range: $110,000 USD


• Performance Incentive: Eligible for an annual performance‑based incentive plan with a target incentive of 15% of base salary, prorated for FY2027 and subject to individual and company performance.


• Benefits Include:
  
  
  • Health insurance with employer contributions toward monthly premiums.
  
  
  • 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer matching contributions.
  
  
  • Three weeks of paid vacation annually, planned during the first year of employment.
  
  
  • Paid sick leave.
  
  

Why Join Kidsbooks Publishing

Help bring books and products to life that inspire curiosity, spark imagination, and are enjoyed by families across the United States.Work with a collaborative and creative publishing team where you can contribute ideas and develop your skills.At KidsBooks Publishing, creativity meets commercial success with a diverse product program that values creative quality, practical execution, strong retail performance, and a shared commitment to creating products that inspire a love of reading.