Director, Book Design

Responsibilities

• Set and communicate the creative vision for the book design program — establishing the aesthetic standard, the creative ambition, and the design identity that distinguishes AMP books in the market
• Supervise the department's daily workflow, assign project workloads, and monitor deadlines and budgets
• Performance Evaluations for direct reports
• Give updates on the progress of each project and stage of their development and creation phase to executive creative leadership
• Define project management procedures and systems for workflows and deadline management
• Work closely with Publishing leadership to define goals and ensure deadlines are met
• Actively explore and champion innovative book formats, structures, and packaging — bringing curiosity and fresh thinking to how content is presented and how the physical book experience can be elevated
• Oversee all aspects of design and production, including the review of color separations and proofs
• Oversee budgets and freelancers and contracts, and negotiate fees and contracts with freelance designers, illustrators, photographers, creative service representatives and stock houses
• Stay ahead of creative, cultural, and market trends in publishing and adjacent industries — bringing outside perspective and new ideas into the creative process proactively, not reactively

Essential Skills

• A demonstrated creative voice — a portfolio and point of view that signals genuine vision, not just polished execution; the ability to lead creative strategy and elevate a publishing program’s identity
• Genuine curiosity about book formats, product design, and the physical reading experience — the instinct to ask “what if this were structured differently?” and the experience to follow that question through to a compelling, manufacturable answer
• Portfolio that shows off your advanced level of experience, and produce creative thought leadership in the creation of high-quality designs
• Ability to adapt to authors or licensors’ needs and requests and willingness to be flexible and collaborate with others
• Proven ability to proactively prioritize a multitude of complex assignments effectively and to meet or beat tight deadlines consistently
• Strong attention to detail, good follow-up and able to generate creative solutions, and are an effective problem-solver
• Excellent design, Photoshop and typography skills
• Project planning, budgeting, scheduling, and time management
• Be efficient with communicating ideas and concepts. Plus, the ability to present in front of groups
• Recommend required resources and technology needed to execute assigned project
• Be well versed with Apple computer, Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat Pro (Microsoft- Word, Excel, PowerPoint))

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in graphic design
• 15 + years’ experience in graphic design
• 8 + years’ experience managing designers, art directors, photographers, illustrators, and production artists, including experience managing managers
• Managing budgets and schedules
• Apple computer, Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat Pro (Microsoft- Word, Excel, PowerPoint))