Job Description

Art Director, Book Covers, Penguin Random House Christian Publishing (Open to Remote)

Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group seeks an Art Director who will be responsible for managing and creating distinctive book covers for our WaterBrook, Multnomah, Image, and Forum imprints. WaterBrook is one of the world’s foremost publishers of faith-based nonfiction and fiction titles. This is an exciting opportunity for a highly skilled Art Director who loves books and reading, working in a highly productive, collaborative, and fast paced environment, managing one direct report.

Our Christian publishing program is devoted to creating books that inspire readers to find rich, spiritual purpose in their daily lives and invite them into a deeper relationship with God. We are seeking a creative, collaborative, and enthusiastic Art Director with interest in working with amazing Christian books and fantastic authors to join our team. This Art Director will be a leading member of the Adult Cover creation team, including some Middle Grade and Young Adult Novels. The Art Director will create market shaping designs, envision the correct look for a book and take necessary action to bring that vision to life. This position will be responsible for approximately 70 Christian focused book covers per year ranging from Christian Living titles, Christian Fiction, Young Readers, and gift products.

Our award winning and New York Times bestselling authors include, John Mark Comer, Jennie Allen, Latasha Morrison, Michael Todd, Tim Tebow, and Katie Davis Majors. Other notable authors include Anne Graham Lotz, Madison Prewett Trout, Francine Rivers, and Earl and Oneka McClellan.

Reporting to the Creative Director, Creative Services Department of the Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, the Art Director will focus on the exciting process of book jacket art development; f rom engaging with early versions of the manuscript to get a sense of the author’s voice and ideas for their book, through creating several options for initial cover designs. They will work with the author and stake holders to find the best solution for the book cover. The Art Director will over see the Graphic Designer Book Covers to mentor and cultivate a great sense of design, market sensibility, model work ethic, and exceptional design sense. The Art Director will also prepare and work with the Associate Designer, Covers Press, to route the book cover mechanicals. The director will collaborate closely with the Creative Director, editors, illustrators, authors, managing editors, and production managers while maintaining exceptional design standards.

This talented Art Director should be ready on day one to take on multiple projects, becoming familiar with the books and author to effectively shape it from the design concepts and editorial requests, through all subsequent passes to the finished book. We are looking for excellent design skills, unique vision, a designer who will elevate the look and feel of each book, creating eye-catching, striking cover designs, and who will bring a sense of playfulness and inventiveness to the title treatments and typography.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 10 years of experience in the Graphic Design ecosystem, three of which have been focused on art directing, preferably in book publishing . Pervious managing experience is a plus. You should have a strong interest and familiarity with the Christian Book market, and a portfolio of work that includes samples of relevant work. Experience commissioning artwork from freelance illustrators and designers is essential. You must be well versed in the Adobe Suite with experience in digital prepress. We are looking for an art director and designer with an eye and sense for visual storytelling—someone who is considering most effective ways of combining art and typography to visually enhance the reader’s encounter with the book cover.

Please apply using our ATS system by January 9, 2025 , and include your resume and cover letter for consideration. Before applying for any role at Penguin Random House we recommend you review our applicant resources page and look over our open to remote guidelines on our FAQs page.

The Role:

• Art Direct, design, assign, and manage a list of 10 to 20 titles a season from concept to finished book jacket or cover
• Commissions and direct freelance illustrators and photographers to produce cover art
• Compile editorial feedback and provide guidance and art direction through all phases of art development, thumbnails, sketches, through final color artwork and route them to our illustrators.
• Oversees trafficking of freelanced projects and maintain design schedules and databases
• Maintain expert knowledge of design trends, best practices, and systems/applications to ensure high quality designs
• Prepare mechanicals from creation to final product, including: setting up templates, designing layouts and choosing typography, etc.
• Provide their expertise on treatments and special effects that will add value to the final book, or propose alternative ideas

The Essentials:

• Strong interest and familiarity with the world of the Christian Book space is a requirement for success in this role

• A minimum 8-10 years of design experience within publishing or similar industry, including 3 years of art directing and managing a design team is a requirement for success in this role

• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Acrobat, Illustrator) 

• Highly creative, with evidence of fine design sense and typography sensitivity 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills 

• Ambitious, strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and exhibit a desire to learn and grow. 

• Proven ability to manage multiple projects while adhering to tight deadlines within a fast-paced environment 

• Working collaboratively with all members of the team from concept to finish 

The salary range for this position is $93,000 to $105,000.  All positions are currently eligible for annual profit award or bonus, subject to Company results.

Penguin Random House job postings include a good faith compensation range for each open position. The salary range listed is specific to each particular open position and takes into account various factors including the specifics of the individual role, and candidate's relevant experience and qualifications.

Full-time employees are eligible for our comprehensive benefits program. Our range of benefits include, but are not limited to, Medical/Prescription drug insurance, Dental, Vision, Health Care/Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings Account, Pre-Tax and Roth 401(k), Short and Long-Term Disability Insurance, Life/AD&D Insurance, Commuter Benefits, Student Loan Repayment Program, Educational Assistance & generous paid time off.

Penguin Random House is the leading adult and children's publishing house in North America, the United Kingdom and many other regions around the world. In publishing the best books in every genre and subject for all ages, we are committed to quality, excellence in execution, and innovation throughout the entire publishing process: editorial, design, marketing, publicity, sales, production, and distribution. Our vibrant and diverse international community of nearly 300 publishing brands and imprints include Ballantine Bantam Dell, Berkley, Clarkson Potter, Crown, DK, Doubleday, Dutton, Grosset & Dunlap, Little Golden Books, Knopf, Modern Library, Pantheon, Penguin Books, Penguin Press, Penguin Random House Audio, Penguin Young Readers, Portfolio, Puffin, Putnam, Random House, Random House Children's Books, Riverhead, Ten Speed Press, Viking, and Vintage, among others. More information can be found at < "">

Penguin Random House values the array of talents and perspectives that a diverse workforce brings. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.

Company: Penguin Random House LLC

Country: United States of America 

State/Region: New York 

City: New York 

Postal Code: 10019 

Job ID: 276227

Job Tags

Full time, Temporary work, Freelance, Remote job, Flexible hours,

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