Associate Designer, Highlights Magazines
Highlights for Children is looking for a talented Associate Designer to join the team creating our four magazines — Highlights, High Five, BrainPLAY, and Hello — with a primary focus on Highlights and High Five. We’re looking for someone with magazine experience, strong design skills, and a playful visual sensibility who is ready to take the next step in their career.
Working under the direction of the Art Director and in close partnership with our editorial teams, the Associate Designer will design engaging magazine content for kids, contribute ideas, work with illustrators and other creative partners, and help bring stories, activities, puzzles, crafts, and more to life. This is a great role for a designer who already understands the pace and process of subscription content publishing and is eager to continue developing their skills in design, art direction, and visual storytelling.
Key Responsibilities
- Design departments, activities, puzzles, crafts, and other content across our magazine portfolio, with a primary focus on Highlights and High Five.
- Follow the creative direction of the Art Director and help execute the visual direction of each magazine.
- Partner with editors and the Art Director to develop creative, engaging visual solutions for editorial content.
- Take assigned projects from initial concept and layout through final production.
- Work with illustration and photography to create cohesive, engaging pages and spreads.
- Assist with illustration assignments and provide direction to illustrators under the guidance of the Art Director.
- Help research and identify new and emerging illustration talent.
- Collaborate with editorial, design, and production to keep projects moving through the monthly production cycle.
- Manage multiple assignments and deadlines across several publications.
- Participate in brainstorms and contribute ideas for bringing stories, activities, and other content to life visually.
- Work within the established visual identity of each magazine while contributing fresh ideas and creative thinking.
What You Bring
- 1–3 years of professional magazine, subscription or periodical content design experience.
- A strong portfolio demonstrating editorial design, typography, layout, and visual storytelling.
- A solid understanding of content workflows and the ability to work within recurring publication deadlines.
- Strong skills in Adobe Creative Suite, particularly InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
- Experience working in an InCopy workflow is a plus.
- Strong typography, composition, and image-making instincts.
- An interest in illustration and an eye for discovering artists and visual styles.
- Ability to take creative direction while also bringing ideas and creative thinking to the work.
- Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- A collaborative approach and comfort working closely with editors, designers, illustrators, and production partners.
- Experience with K4, CenShare, or similar workflow/project-management systems is a plus.
- Experience designing for children’s publishing, toys and games, products, and/or experiences is a plus.
- A willingness to learn, grow, and take feedback.
- A sense of humor, curiosity, playfulness, and whimsy — and an appreciation for creating work that speaks authentically to kids.
Skills Required
- 1-3 years of professional magazine, subscription, or periodical content design experience
- Portfolio demonstrating editorial design, typography, layout, and visual storytelling
- Understanding of content workflows and recurring publication deadlines
- Strong skills in Adobe Creative Suite, particularly InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator
- Strong typography, composition, and image-making skills
- Interest in illustration and ability to identify artists and visual styles
- Ability to take creative direction while contributing ideas
- Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects
- Collaborative approach with editors, designers, illustrators, and production partners
- Experience working in an InCopy workflow
- Experience with K4, CenShare, or similar workflow or project-management systems
- Experience designing for children’s publishing, toys and games, products, or experiences
- Willingness to learn, grow, and accept feedback
- Sense of humor, curiosity, playfulness, whimsy, and appreciation for creating work for children
What We Do
Highlights for Children is a family media and children’s publishing brand creating magazines, books, puzzles, learning resources and digital experiences for children. Since 1946, its “Fun with a Purpose” content has aimed to help children grow into their best selves by encouraging creativity and imagination, strengthening reading, thinking and reasoning skills, and fostering respect, kindness and sensitivity. Its offerings also include subscription boxes, apps, games and other activities.
