Graphic Designer

Dananda Talent; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 200 000 - 300 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational publishing company seeks a Graphic Designer to create impactful visual content for textbooks and educational materials. The ideal candidate must possess a tertiary qualification in graphic design and have at least three years of experience in higher education publishing. Responsibilities include collaborating with authors to conceptualize visuals, ensuring clarity and adherence to pedagogic standards, and maintaining brand consistency. Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite is essential, along with excellent attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects under tight deadlines.

Qualifications

• At least three years experience in higher education publishing.
• Strategic thinker who values clarity over clutter.
• Comfortable receiving and integrating feedback.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with authors and editors to create visual content.
• Maintain visual identity and branding across publications.
• Review and improve existing graphics to meet standards.

Skills

Ability to translate academic content into clear visuals

Fluent in layout design and typography

Deep understanding of dual coding and cognitive load theory

Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite

Experience with multicolumn textbook formats

Exceptional attention to detail

Familiarity with cross-platform digital delivery

Basic understanding of XML tagging or LaTeX

Education

Tertiary qualification in graphic design

Tools

Adobe InDesign

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Job description

Essential duties and responsibilities

• Collaborate with authors, editors and publisher to conceptualise and create high-impact visual content that enhances student understanding.
• Lay out crisp, clean textbooks, observing cognitive load theory principles.
• Create infographics, diagrams, charts, illustrations, and educational cartoons that convey complex ideas simply and elegantly.
• Maintain visual identity and branding consistently across publications.
• Balance aesthetic appeal with functional readability across formats.
• Review and improve existing graphics and layouts to meet pedagogic standards.
• Stay updated on best practice in educational psychology, visual literacy, and accessibility.

Key skills

• Able to translate academic content into clear visual explanations.
• Fluent in layout design, typography, and creation of infographics and other instructional visuals.
• Deep understanding of dual coding and cognitive load theory, visual hierarchy, chunking.
• Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop); experience with Kotobee or similar publishing platforms a bonus.
• Experience with multicolumn textbook formats, captioning, glossary integration, and responsive digital layout.
• Exceptional attention to detail and version control.
• Familiarity with cross-platform digital delivery.
• Basic understanding of XML tagging, LaTeX, or accessible PDF structure a plus

Requirements

• Eye for detail.
• Tertiary qualification in graphic design or related field.
• At least three years experience in higher education publishing.
• Strategic thinker who values clarity over clutter.
• Comfortable receiving and integrating feedback from academics, editors, and students.
• Able to juggle multiple projects in face of tight timelines.
• Flexible where needed.
• Always willing to go the extra mile.