Associate Art Director, Color Books

1230 Ave of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, USA

Posted Wednesday 21 January 2026 at 5:00 am

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Simon Element, an imprint at Simon & Schuster, is seeking an Associate Art Director to  design and layout nonfiction 4 color illustrated books (cookbooks, lifestyle) in the adult division. This person will be involved in, on average, 15‑20 high‑end 4‑color projects each year.

• Designing and laying out 4/c illustrated books as assigned for each season.
• Designing or directing the design of their covers, case wraps/mechanicals and endpapers.
• Finding freelancers that align with a book’s vision and providing guidance to freelancers to ensure that vision is achieved.
• Ensuring each book meets a high level of design craftsmanship and attention to detail.
• Supports the Design Director in day‑to‑day tasks and is a partner to the Design Director in improving imprint processes.
• Assisting the Design Director in providing direction and management for photoshoots when applicable.
• Sourcing and hiring third‑party creatives such as photographers, illustrators, and designers.
• Collaborating with editors on their titles.
• Ensuring the manuscript and InDesign document are coded complementarily and that coding best practices are applied rigorously from manuscript to finished InDesign files.
• Proactively problem‑solve when the need arises.
• Supporting the department in administrative tasks (we are a small team!).
• Provide department coverage when short‑staffed.
• A talented designer with experience designing covers and interiors for non‑fiction 4‑color projects in cooking and lifestyle looking for the next step on their career path.
• Demonstrates a vibrant design practice through a range of design work, with an enthusiasm for book design.
• Shows attention to detail and excellent execution skills in typography, color, and layout.
• Is able to design independently with minimal supervision, demonstrates flexibility and adaptability in a fast‑paced work environment and takes the initiative on their titles—such as coordinating with editorial to set up meetings and creative calls, tracking progress on their titles, directing freelancers, coming up with creative concepts and executing on their designs, supporting third‑party creatives such as photographers, illustrators.
• Understands the ins‑and‑outs of the book‑making process and all levels of design—from inputting corrections to building well‑structured InDesign files for their own original designs to understanding printing standards.
• Brings ideas on improving workflow, processes, and interdepartmental collaboration.

• 5+ years of layout experience in Adobe InDesign; expert in InDesign.
• 5 – 6 years of experience designing original book interiors and covers.
• Solid understanding of book composition standards.
• Ability to read and implement proofreader’s marks.
• Experience manipulating illustrations and photos in Photoshop.
• Experience creating and manipulating vector art in Illustrator.

This role is hybrid (2 days/week in‑office), based out of NYC.

Simon & Schuster US is an equal opportunity employer (EOE) including disability/vet. At Simon & Schuster US, the spirit of inclusion feeds into everything that we do. From employee benefits/programs and social impact outreach initiatives, we believe that opportunity,…