Junior Graphic Designer - Digital + Print

Design Observer; Downers Grove (IL); Hybrid; USD 62,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

Jak Creative Design in the western suburbs of Chicago is seeking a junior designer who will work alongside senior creatives on real client projects across digital and print.

You will develop concepts, adapt brand systems, learn HTML email and web edits, and prepare production-ready files. This full-time hybrid role is based in Downers Grove, IL, with three days in office and a salary between $62,000 and $68,000 depending on experience.

Qualifications

• 0 to 3 years of professional experience. Internships and meaningful freelance count.
• Portfolio showing strong typography, layout, hierarchy and detail.
• Solid Adobe Creative Suite skills, particularly InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.
• Some experience designing for both digital and print.
• Basic familiarity with HTML and CSS, and genuine interest in developing those skills.
• Organization, follow-through, and the ability to take feedback and apply it well.

Responsibilities

• Design across digital and print: email, web, direct mail, presentations, social and display
• Develop concepts and layouts with guidance from senior creatives
• Work within established brand systems and adapt campaigns across formats, audiences and versions
• Learn how design translates into HTML email and web, and make basic edits to existing HTML and CSS
• Prepare accurate, production-ready files
• Learn print and direct mail production from people who've done it for years
• Collaborate with designers, developers, project managers, copywriters and production partners

Skills

Typography

Layout

Attention to detail

Portfolio development

Organization

Feedback responsiveness

HTML/CSS basics

Tools

Adobe InDesign

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

HTML/CSS

Job description

Start your design career doing real work

Jak Creative Design is an independent, woman-owned creative agency in the western suburbs of Chicago. For nearly three decades we've worked with everyone from startups and nonprofits to Fortune 100 brands, across branding, direct mail, digital, campaigns, presentations and events.

We're small and experienced, which means a junior designer here doesn't disappear into layers of hierarchy. You'll work alongside senior creatives, contribute to real client projects from the start, and see how an idea moves from concept through production and out into the world.

You don't need to know everything yet. We're looking for someone with strong fundamentals, a good eye, real curiosity about how things get made, and a portfolio that shows potential.

What you'll do

• Design across digital and print: email, web, direct mail, presentations, social and display
• Develop concepts and layouts with guidance from senior creatives
• Work within established brand systems and adapt campaigns across formats, audiences and versions
• Learn how design translates into HTML email and web, and make basic edits to existing HTML and CSS
• Prepare accurate, production-ready files
• Learn print and direct mail production from people who've done it for years
• Collaborate with designers, developers, project managers, copywriters and production partners

What we're looking for

• 0 to 3 years of professional experience. Internships and meaningful freelance count
• A portfolio that shows strong typography, layout, hierarchy and attention to detail
• Solid Adobe Creative Suite skills, particularly InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop
• Some experience designing for both digital and print
• Basic familiarity with HTML and CSS, and genuine interest in developing those skills
• Organization, follow-through, and the ability to take feedback and apply it well

Nice to have

Figma, HTML email, motion or light animation, presentation design, direct mail, print production, versioned campaigns, agency or in-house team experience. None of these are required.

Why Jak

You'll actually get to do the work, on a range of it, rather than one narrow slice. You'll also learn the less glamorous things that turn a talented designer into a professional one: production, brand consistency, client feedback, deadlines, file prep and the details that decide whether something works in the real world. As your skills grow, so does your creative responsibility.

This is a full-time hybrid role based in Downers Grove, Illinois, with three days per week in office. Salary is $62,000 to $68,000 depending on experience and overall skill set.