Art Director (Chicago)

Art Director – Kidsbooks Publishing Employment Type: Full-time Department: Creative Reports To: Creative Director Work Structure: Hybrid; at least three days per week in office and up to two remote. In-office requirements may change with business needs. Location: Chicago, Illinois Company Overview Kidsbooks Publishing creates innovative children’s books and educational products to spark curiosity, inspire learning, and support meaningful moments as children grow. Our mission is to foster a lifelong love of reading and learning, and each product is designed to support parent and child interactions. We develop products for libraries, schools, and for major U.S. retail and e-commerce channels, including Costco, Sam’s Club, Amazon, TJ Maxx, Ross, Burlington, Walmart, Target, and Cracker Barrel. Position Summary Report to the Creative Director and lead day-to-day art direction and design execution for children’s books and novelty publishing products. The Art Director is the operational creative leader for the design team: translating the Creative Director’s vision into clear briefs, assigning and reviewing work, mentoring designers, maintaining visual continuity, and ensuring projects move efficiently from concept through production. Key Responsibilities Day-to-day creative leadership · Translate the Creative Director’s approved vision, brand standards, and product priorities into actionable briefs, design direction, templates, and review criteria. · Direct and mentor Children’s Book Designers; assign work, establish priorities, review progress, and provide clear, constructive feedback. · Conduct routine design reviews and resolve day-to-day creative and technical decisions within established direction; escalate significant creative, brand, or product decisions to the Creative Director. · Maintain accountability for the quality, consistency, and timeliness of designer deliverables before they reach Creative Director review. Series, brand, and design continuity · Develop series design systems and templates that establish consistent typography, composition, color, illustration style, covers, interiors, and packaging. · Review titles together to maintain continuity across covers, interiors, formats, and product extensions while preserving each title’s individual appeal. · Maintain practical brand guidelines, reference files, approved examples, and reusable design systems. Art direction and product development · Develop detailed illustration briefs and guide illustrators from sketches through final artwork. · Collaborate with the Creative Director on new concepts, visual direction, illustrator selection, line reviews, and major design decisions. · Support development of novelty and specialty formats, ensuring design solutions work with mechanisms, materials, embellishments, packaging, and manufacturing requirements. Cross-functional collaboration · Partner with Editorial on content, age appropriateness, storytelling, and design requirements. · Partner with Production on templates, dielines, materials, mechanisms, specialty finishes, proofs, manufacturing constraints, corrections, and schedules. · Partner with Sales and Marketing on channel requirements, product presentation, retailer needs, competitive positioning, and promotional assets. · Partner with Operations on priorities, timelines, workflow, approvals, and capacity. · Help prioritize design work and track milestones across a high-volume publishing program. Production and quality · Review layouts, production files, prototypes, and proofs for design quality, consistency, and technical accuracy; coordinate corrections with Designers and Production. · Identify creative or production risks early and bring solutions or clear recommendations to the Creative Director and appropriate cross-functional partners. Required Experience and Skills · 10+ years of professional design experience in children’s publishing, including demonstrated art direction and leadership of designers or creative projects. · Outstanding portfolio showing children’s book covers, interior design, cohesive series, brand continuity, packaging, and novelty formats. · Expert proficiency in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat, with strong hands-on design and production skills. · Strong command of typography, composition, color, illustration, visual storytelling, and age-appropriate design. · Experience developing art briefs, selecting illustration styles, and collaborating with illustrators and outside creative partners. · Strong knowledge of board books, picture books, activity books, sound books, tactile formats, lift-the-flap books, die-cuts, pop-ups, and specialty finishes. · Thorough understanding of prepress, printer templates, dielines, proofs, manufacturing constraints, and production-ready files. · Experience with novelty and specialty finishes including sound buttons/modules, touch-and-feel, embossing/debossing, spot UV, glitter UV, foil, specialty inks, and related production considerations. · Strong understanding of design requirements for Kidsbooks’ primary channels: Costco, Sam’s Club, Amazon, TJ Maxx, Ross, Burlington, Walmart, Target, and Cracker Barrel. · Ability to manage multiple projects, provide useful feedback, and balance creative quality with deadlines, budgets, manufacturability, and retail requirements. · Strong communication and collaboration skills across Creative, Editorial, Production, Sales, Marketing, and Operations. Job Requirements · Chicago-based full-time position with a hybrid schedule of at least three days per week in the office and up to two remote; in-office requirements may change with business needs. Mindset and Work Style · Collaborative, approachable leader whom the Creative Director and Designers can rely on for clear direction and practical problem-solving. · Strong creative judgment, attention to detail, and a practical approach to solving problems. · Comfortable giving and receiving feedback, making recommendations, and working within an established creative vision. · Proactive communicator who flags risks early and keeps cross-functional partners informed. Preferred Experience · Experience designing for Costco, Sam’s Club, Amazon, TJ Maxx, Ross, Burlington, Walmart, Target, and/or Cracker Barrel. · Experience working directly with printers and manufacturers, including overseas manufacturing partners. · Experience improving creative workflows, templates, and review processes in a high-volume publishing environment. Compensation