Children’s Apparel Graphic Art Manager

Garan, Incorporated; New York (NY); On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Garan, Incorporated in New York is seeking an experienced Children’s Apparel Graphic Art Manager to lead and elevate graphic art across our children's apparel line. You will translate trends into original, age-appropriate graphics and guide art direction from concept through production, ensuring brand integrity and commercial relevance.

The role combines creative leadership with hands-on production knowledge, embracing new technologies like generative AI to accelerate ideas.

Qualifications

• Experience leading graphics for children’s apparel.
• Strong portfolio in apparel graphics and print.
• Experience mentoring graphic artists and designers.
• Knowledge of production from concept to final artwork.

Responsibilities

• Lead and elevate graphic art for children's apparel.
• Translate trends into commercial graphic concepts.
• Direct illustration, typography, color, print, placement.
• Coach artists and raise quality and consistency.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure manufacturability.

Skills

Children's apparel graphics

Art direction

Graphic design

Mentoring

Cross-functional leadership

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Trend research

Generative AI

Print production

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

PLM systems

Job description

About The Role

Garan is seeking an experienced

Children's Apparel Graphic Art Manager

About The Role

Garan is seeking an experienced Children's Apparel Graphic Art Manager to lead and elevate graphic art development across our children's apparel business.
We're looking for a creative leader with deep experience in kids' apparel graphics who understands what makes a graphic compelling, age-appropriate, trend-relevant, and commercially successful. You'll combine strong creative judgment and art direction with hands‑on knowledge of apparel graphic production—helping translate ideas from trend and concept through final production artwork.
You'll also help us look ahead. From emerging graphic trends and new print techniques to generative AI and creative technology, you'll identify new opportunities that expand creative possibilities and help our Art teams work smarter and faster.
This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced apparel Art Manager, Graphics Manager, Art Director, or senior graphic design leader who is passionate about children's apparel and wants to influence both the creative work and how it gets made.

What You'll Do

Lead Children's Apparel Graphic Art

• Lead and elevate graphic art development for children's apparel, delivering original, age‑right, brand‑right, and customer‑relevant creative
• Translate trends across kids' fashion, retail, culture, entertainment, color, and graphic design into commercially relevant graphic concepts
• Provide creative direction across illustration, typography, color, print, placement, pattern, and embellishment
• Coach and develop graphic artists, raising the quality, originality, and consistency of the work
• Identify new aesthetics, techniques, materials, and graphic applications that can differentiate our product
• Balance creative ambition with customer needs, retail positioning, cost, scalability, and manufacturability

Drive Technical & Production Excellence

• Guide artwork from creative concept through production artwork and factory execution
• Ensure artwork, specifications, files, color information, and production documentation are accurate and production-ready
• Apply strong knowledge of apparel graphic techniques including screen printing, digital printing, heat transfer, embroidery, appliqué, specialty inks, and embellishments
• Partner with Product Development, Technical Design, Sourcing, vendors, and Global teams to ensure creative concepts can be manufactured successfully while protecting creative intent
• Improve standards and processes that reduce revisions, increase consistency, and strengthen final product execution

Bring New Ideas & Technology to the Art Team

• Stay connected to emerging trends in children's apparel, graphic design, culture, retail, technology, and consumer behavior
• Experiment with generative AI and emerging creative tools for research, ideation, graphic exploration, visualization, and productivity
• Identify opportunities to improve creative workflows, eliminate repetitive work, and accelerate graphic development
• Help establish practical tools, templates, standards, and best practices that make the Art organization more creative, agile, and effective
• Partner across functions to introduce new creative capabilities, technologies, and ways of working

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of experience in children's apparel graphics, apparel graphic design, apparel art, or a closely related fashion/apparel creative field
• Significant experience creating or leading graphics for children's apparel
• A strong portfolio demonstrating expertise in apparel graphics, illustration, typography, print, color, placement, and graphic storytelling
• Experience managing, mentoring, or providing creative direction to graphic artists and designers
• Strong understanding of apparel graphic development from concept through production artwork and manufacturing
• Knowledge of apparel printing, embellishment, production requirements, and factory execution
• Strong awareness of kids' fashion, retail, cultural trends, and emerging graphic aesthetics
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
• Curiosity and practical experience with generative AI, creative technology, workflow innovation, or process improvement
• Strong communication, collaboration, organization, and cross‑functional leadership skills
• Experience with PLM or digital asset management systems is a plus

What Will Make You Successful

You combine the eye of a children's apparel graphic artist with the leadership skills to make an entire Art team stronger.
You're curious about what's next, but you also understand what will work at retail. You can recognize a great graphic idea, help an artist make it better, understand how it needs to be produced, and collaborate with partners to bring it successfully to market.
You're equally interested in creative excellence and continuous improvement—whether that means discovering a new graphic technique, coaching an artist, solving a production challenge, or finding a smarter way to work using AI and emerging technology.

Search-Relevant Experience

• Kids Apparel
• Childrenswear
• Apparel Graphics
• Graphic Art
• Apparel Graphic Design
• Art Direction
• Graphics Manager
• Art Manager
• Illustration
• Print Design
• Production Artwork
• Screen Printing
• Embellishment
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe Photoshop
• Trend Research
• Generative AI
• Creative Technology
• Creative Operations Salary Expectations

$130,000 - $150,000