Designer (Princeton, NJ Hybrid)

Jersey Digs; Princeton (NJ); On-site; USD 60,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

HarperCollins Publishers in Princeton, NJ is seeking a full-time Designer to advance interior book design across fiction, non-fiction, and paperback conversions. You will manage design from manuscript to bound book, collaborating with editors, production, and the design team to meet deadlines.

The role emphasizes mastery of Adobe InDesign on Mac, with opportunities to work on color interiors and to coordinate with contractors on maps and illustrations.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2+ years of book interior design experience (preferred), or related graphic design experience.
• Collaborative demeanor and a team player.
• Must demonstrate proficiency with Adobe InDesign on a Mac.
• Working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and/or Adobe Illustrator a plus.
• Project management skills: detail-oriented, well-organized with an ability to handle multiple projects at various stages simultaneously.
• Good written and oral communication skills required.

Responsibilities

• Designs mostly 1-color book interiors with occasional 2-color and 4-color interiors.
• Prepares and routes design samples for approval.
• Creates InDesign templates for composition.
• Reviews page proofs and inputs text corrections.
• Designs 1-color and 4-color photo inserts and related material.
• Manages art program for assigned titles and negotiates fees with contractors.
• Meets deadlines, tracks budgets, and reports status.

Skills

Collaborative demeanor

Detail-oriented

Excellent written and verbal

Team player

Project management

Multi-project handling

Tools

Adobe InDesign

Mac OS

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Illustrator

Job description

Overview

HarperCollins Publishers is seeking a full-time Designer. In this role you will have the opportunity to work in an exciting, fast-paced environment on fiction, non-fiction, offsets, and paperback conversions. The Designer will be responsible for all stages of interior book design for assigned titles, from manuscript to bound book, and will work on projects of varying complexity, with a focus on general books/adult trade publishing. This position reports to the Design Manager.

Responsibilities

• Designs mostly 1-color book interiors with the opportunity to work on 2-color and 4-color interiors at the Design Manager’s discretion.
• Prepares and routes design samples for approval.
• Creates tight InDesign templates for composition group to page books downstream.
• Reviews page proofs at various stages and inputs text corrections using InDesign.
• Designs 1-color and 4-color photo inserts, binding die mechanicals, and spec materials for cases and endpapers.
• Manages art program for assigned titles under supervision (as needed): evaluates digital images for good print quality; reviews and marks-up art proofs to ensure best print quality.
• Collaborates with Design Manager on design concepts. Works closely with editors, production editors, production, and composition teams.
• Under supervision, commissions independent contractors (mapmakers and illustrators); negotiate fees, generates graphic artist contracts, and processes invoices, as needed.
• Meets deadlines, monitors components, keeps accurate status reports on Teams, and tracks budgets for assigned titles.
• Works on offsets from outside publishers as well as paperback conversions: updates frontmatter, inputs text corrections, adjusts pages and photo inserts to fit a new U.S. trim size.
• Traffics files via our RSuite workflow system and other file transfer systems.
• Accesses, downloads, and archives files utilizing our Digital Access Management System.
• Assists with work overflow from Senior Designers and the Design Manager, and other groups within the department, when needed.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2+ years of book interior design experience (preferred), or related graphic design experience.
• Collaborative demeanor and a team player.
• Must demonstrate proficiency with Adobe InDesign on a Mac.
• Working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and/or Adobe Illustrator a plus.
• Project management skills: detail-oriented, well-organized with an ability to handle multiple projects at various stages simultaneously.
• Good written and oral communication skills required.

The salary range for this position is $60,000-$65,000. We recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates. The quoted salary range represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect, and we tailor our offers within the range based on the selected candidate’s experience, industry knowledge, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the interview process.

In addition to cash compensation, the company provides a comprehensive and highly competitive benefits package, with a variety of physical health, retirement and savings, caregiving, emotional wellbeing, transportation, and other benefits, including "elective" benefits employees may select to best fit the needs and personal situations of our diverse workforce. Visit our careers webpage for more information.