Art Director in Thorold

Work Structure: Hybrid; at least three days per week in office and up to two remote. In-office requirements may change with business needs.

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.

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; elevate 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 major retail channels.
• 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.

Annual Salary Range: $110,000 USD

Performance Incentive: Eligible for an annual performance-based incentive plan with a target incentive of 15% of base salary, prorated for FY2027 and subject to individual and company performance.

Benefits Include:

• Health insurance with employer contributions toward monthly premiums.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer matching contributions.
• Three weeks of paid vacation annually, planned during the first year of employment.
• Paid sick leave.

Why Join Kidsbooks Publishing: Help bring books and products to life that inspire curiosity, spark imagination, and are enjoyed by families across the United States. Work with a collaborative and creative publishing team where you can contribute ideas and develop your skills. At KidsBooks Publishing, creativity meets commercial success with a diverse product program that values creative quality, practical execution, strong retail performance, and a shared commitment to creating products that inspire a love of reading.