Junior Designer

Democracy Docket; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 62,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

Democracy Docket is seeking a Junior Designer to join our Design & Brand team. You will create editorial graphics for articles and infographics, while building a library of social media templates for consistent branding.

The role supports both the editorial and audience teams with visuals that translate complex voting-rights reporting into engaging visuals. You’ll work under the Design Lead in a hybrid, full-time setting, with a focus on visual storytelling and rapid content adaptation for

Qualifications

• 2+ years of graphic design experience in professional, internship, freelance, or portfolio projects.
• Proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Canva.
• Strong visual storytelling and design principles.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects under tight deadlines.
• Open to feedback and collaboration with reporters and editors.
• Willingness to learn new tools such as Flourish.studio and video editing software.

Responsibilities

• Design editorial article lead graphics and in-article visuals, sometimes under tight deadlines.
• Refine and maintain the social media templates library within the brand style guide.
• Adapt website graphics for social, newsletters, and other verticals.
• Organize the graphics drive to ensure editable files are easy to find.
• Collaborate with the news team to ensure accuracy in editorial illustrations, infographics, charts, and maps.
• Work with the audience team to create social graphics from provided copy and concepts.
• Apply and help maintain Democracy Docket’s visual brand across editorial and social graphics.

Skills

Graphic design

Photoshop

Illustrator

Canva

Storytelling

Organization

Animation/Video editing

After Effects

Tools

Flourish.studio

Adobe After Effects

Premiere Pro

Job description

Job Overview

Democracy Docket is hiring a Junior Designer to join our Design & Brand team. This role has two focus areas: creating editorial graphics for our website, working closely with the news team, and providing design support to our audience team to produce graphics assets for our social platforms.

On the editorial side, this role will create featured graphics for articles, as well as supporting visual elements such as infographics, charts and maps. Working with direction from the news team on the story and its key takeaways, this role is responsible for turning that reporting and analysis into a creative visual concept. Our reporters are subject matter experts on voting rights; this Junior Designer will translate that expertise into visuals that are easy to understand and visually appealing.

Working with the audience team, this role will build and maintain a library of social media templates that the social team can use for regular posts. From there, this Junior Designer reviews and polishes those graphics, occasionally creating custom graphics when needed. This keeps every social post visually consistent with our brand, even as the news moves quickly.

The ideal candidate has a sharp eye for design, a strong sense of visual storytelling, and a passion for news.

This role reports to the Design Lead.

Key Responsibilities

• Design editorial article lead graphics and in-article graphics, sometimes on tight deadlines
• Refine and maintain our library of social media templates within our existing style guide, supporting the audience team's goal of engaging audiences with visual news content
• Adapt graphics created for the website (featured graphics, data visuals, etc.) into the formats needed for posting on other verticals, such as social media or newsletters
• Organize the graphics drive so that other team members can find and utilize editable files
• Collaborate with the news team to produce graphics that support our articles; work directly with reporters to ensure accuracy in all editorial illustrations, especially infographics, charts, and maps
• Collaborate with the audience team to create social graphics, from copy and concepts provided by the audience team
• Apply and help maintain Democracy Docket’s visual brand across editorial and social graphics

Experience and Skills

• 2+ years of graphic design experience, whether through professional roles, internships, freelance work, or substantial coursework/portfolio projects.
• Well-versed in Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as Canva
• Self-motivated, proactive and detail-oriented problem solver with strong organizational skills
• Strong understanding of visual storytelling and design principles
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects at once, as the news shifts quickly
• Welcomes direction and feedback from teammates and supervisors, and applies it readily to their work
• Comfortable turning data and information into digestible and visually appealing graphics
• Openness to learning new tools, such as those for embeddable/interactive graphics (e.g., Flourish.studio), is a plus
• Experience with animation and video editing is also a plus but not required (Adobe After Effects and Premiere preferred)
• Passion for politics, news, and/or voting rights and democracy

Work Environment

This is a full-time role based out of either our Washington, D.C. or Jersey City office. Our core business hours are 9am‑6pm, and we currently operate on a hybrid schedule, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays and in‑office days on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Why You’ll Love Working Here

• Merit-based annual bonus eligibility
• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for employees
• 401(k) with 6% company match, available after 3 months
• Commuter benefits to help with your daily travel
• Generous paid time off, including:
  • 18 days of PTO per year (increasing with tenure)
  • 10 paid Health & Wellness days annually
  • 2 paid personal days annually
• 11 paid holidays, observed per company policy

Salary Range: $62,000-$66,000

Democracy Docket is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.