Junior Designer

About the company

Penguin Random House Canada is seeking a Junior Designer to join Tundra Book Group.

As a team of dedicated book-loving professionals, we discover, shape and share content that nurtures thoughts, dreams, and conversations around the globe, ensuring that new and established voices are heard. We are actively seeking to add team members from communities with lived experiences of marginalization and underrepresentation. We respect and value each individual and are committed to fostering a more diverse team and establishing a culture of belonging. If you self-identify as Black, Indigenous, a person of colour, a member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community or another marginalized group, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Are you self-motivated, highly creative and collaborative? Are you passionate about children’s books and illustration? Do you love to learn and have a keen eye for detail? If this describes you, consider joining the Tundra Book Group team as we continue to write new chapters of Penguin Random House Canada’s culture and employee experience story together.

Your contribution to the story:

At Tundra, we are dedicated to the art of story. For more than 50 years, we have published award-winning books that stand out on shelves around the world and tell stories that spark imaginations, tickle funny bones, warm hearts and delight readers of all ages. We pride ourselves on our high-quality books and our creator-centric approach and we strive to maintain excellence in all aspects of our publishing. Reporting to the Art Director, you will work closely with the design and editorial team to lay out picture books, middle grade novels, graphic novels and other illustrated titles for our four imprints (Tundra, Puffin, Penguin Teen and a new children’s Indigenous imprint to be launched in 2025). As a part of the Tundra publishing division, this role requires an interest in developing design skills, a curiosity to learn more about the children’s book industry and an enthusiasm to support our team and creators.

What you’ll do:

• Work and collaborate with the Art Director and team members from design, production and editorial.
• Exhibit knowledge of general design principles and apply them to all aspects of your work (layouts, colours, typography, hierarchy, etc.).
• Prepare and produce files based on supplied specifications for book interiors and book jackets and see them through to final production and colour proofing stage.
• Adapt existing titles to new formats, including paperbacks, board books and audiobook and eBook covers.
• Review and complete corrections for design files at various stages of the production process including reprints.
• Review and execute colour adjustments of image files throughout the production process.
• Design covers and interiors for picture books, graphic novels, middle grade and young adult novels and other illustrated titles with the assistance of senior staff.
• Design in-house visual materials for presentations and business development.
• Support the Art Director in organizing and facilitating cover and art meetings to discuss and articulate visual and marketplace perspectives.

Experience and knowledge you’ll bring (qualifications):

• Education and at least one year of experience working in graphic design, children’s book publishing or a related field.
• A passion for children’s book design, and knowledge of the children’s book market.
• Strong awareness of art and design trends, artists and illustrators.
• Exceptional visual communication and typography skills and a keen understanding of the relationship between words and images. Hand-lettering and illustration skills a plus!
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat) on Mac platform.
• Experience preparing files for print output and following production requirements.Retouching and colour-correcting skills.
• Excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal skills, with an ability to prioritize tasks under tight deadlines.
• An insatiable curiosity and appetite for self-directed learning, experimentation and creativity.
• A proactive and efficient approach to problem-solving.
• The ability to work independently as well as collaboratively across all levels of the company.
• And of course, a love of children’s books!

Salary range

Begins at $50,417

Additional informtion

This role will work at least three days per week from our Toronto office, located at 320 Front Street West. Candidates residing within commuting distance of Toronto will be given preference.

We appreciate the interest of all applicants, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

For accommodation needs during the application process or more information on our accommodation policies, please contact Human Resources at hrcanada@penguinrandomhouse.com or 416-364-4449.

How can candidates apply?

Please click on the button below to apply with a cover letter and resume with portfolio of recent work, including a project showcasing your process from rough design/sketches to end solution, in PDF format by July 28, 2024.

Apply here