Art Director- Kidsbooks Publishing

Book Depot Inc.; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 132,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance with employer contrib

401(k) with employer match

Three weeks paid vacation

Job summary

Kidsbooks Publishing in Chicago is seeking an experienced Art Director to lead day-to-day design for children’s books and novelty publishing products. You will translate the Creative Director’s vision into briefs, mentor designers, and ensure brand continuity across titles and packaging.

You will collaborate with Editorial, Production, Sales, Marketing, and Operations to deliver high-quality, production-ready work on a fast-paced publishing program.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional design experience in children’s publishing.
• Outstanding portfolio with book covers, interiors, cohesive series, packaging, and novelty formats.
• Expert proficiency in InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat.
• Strong command of typography, composition, color, illustration, and visual storytelling.
• Experience developing art briefs and collaborating with illustrators and partners.
• Knowledge of board books, lift-the-flap, die-cuts, and specialty finishes.
• Understanding prepress, dielines, proofs, and production-ready files.
• Experience with sound buttons/modules, embossing, foil, spot UV, and related production.

Responsibilities

• Translate the Creative Director’s approved vision into actionable briefs, design direction, templates, and review criteria.
• Direct and mentor Children’s Book Designers; assign work, establish priorities, review progress, and provide feedback.
• Conduct routine design reviews and resolve day-to-day creative decisions within established direction.
• Maintain accountability for quality, consistency, and timeliness of deliverables.
• Develop design systems for typography, color, illustration style, covers, interiors, and packaging.
• Collaborate with Editorial, Production, Sales, Marketing, and Operations on channel and project needs.
• Review layouts and proofs for production quality and accuracy; coordinate corrections as needed.

Skills

Art direction

Leadership

Team mentoring

Adobe InDesign

Illustrator

Photoshop

Acrobat

Typography

Brand continuity

Visual storytelling

Tools

Adobe InDesign

Illustrator

Photoshop

Acrobat

Job description

Company Overview

Kidsbooks Publishing creates innovative children’s 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 children’s 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; **escalate 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 children’s publishing, including demonstrated art direction and leadership of designers or creative projects.
• Outstanding portfolio showing children’s 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.