Penguin Michael Joseph are looking for a talented Designer to work on our illustrated non-fiction titles. 

 

This position will suit a highly creative candidate who specialises in illustrated book design, with proven experience creating internal layouts and excellent typographic skills.  

 

Cookery titles will be a key focus of the role, alongside our gift and lifestyle books and other illustrated projects.  

 

About Penguin Michael Joseph 

 

Penguin Michael Joseph is a leading commercial fiction and non-fiction imprint of Penguin Random House, publishing best-selling titles across an array of genres such as crime and thriller, romance, cookery, memoir and lifestyle.  

   

Our cookery and lifestyle authors include Nadiya Hussain, Dawn French, Stephen Fry, James Norbury, Clare Andrews, Giuseppe Federici, Gary Barlow, Dominique Woolf, Kay Barron and Seema Pankhania. 

 

The role 

 

Reporting into the Head of Design for Illustrated Books, you’ll work on book covers and insides across our illustrated non-fiction titles, putting books together from beginning to end and following projects right the way through to production.  

   

You won’t shy away from taking creative risks to achieve fantastic results with each project.  You’ll think outside the box, montaging images with great typography and playing with colour, illustration and more to produce industry-leading work.  You’ll be expected to attend photoshoots, providing art direction, and be responsible for selecting images to go into layout. 

 

While the Art department is a team of eight, only two people work on illustrated titles, so you’ll be confident working both independently and part of a larger team, also liaising with external suppliers, freelancers, photographers and illustrators providing feedback and creative guidance. 

 

What you’ll bring 

 

Essential criteria: 

 

Proven experience working illustrated books, including laying out book insides and with a complete understanding of how a book is put together from beginning to end. 

Confident with typography, able to pair fonts with flair and have an awareness of type hierarchies. 

Highly creative, portfolio evidence of excellent design work that pushes boundaries. 

In-depth knowledge of InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. 

Photoshoot experience. 

Organised, with excellent attention to detail and prioritisation skills. 

Great communication and time management skills, able to work effectively with a wide range of internal and external suppliers.  

Able to provide clear and constructive feedback to freelancers, photographers, and illustrators. 

Enthusiasm to act as a champion for your books and drive the vision forward from design concepts through to finished products. 

 

Application instructions 

 

Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on Sunday 19th January. Please make sure that you include a portfolio or work examples as part of your application – we would love to see your best work.  

 

Salary 

 

Up to £33,500 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.  

 

What you can expect from us 

 

Our people are the heart of our business, and we work hard to support a culture of responsibility and recognition.  

 

Our benefits include: 

 

Financial – discounted shopping, season ticket loan, rental deposit loan 

Wellbeing – healthcare cash plan, employee assistance, gym loan 

Lifestyle – taste card, tech scheme, free and discounted books 

 

For our full benefits list please visit: https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/what-we-offer/ 

 

Hybrid working 

 

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. Michael Joseph colleagues work in our Embassy Gardens office 2 days a week, with flexibility on what days.  We’re happy to discuss this further as part of the recruitment process. 

 

About Penguin 

 

We’re the UK’s largest publisher; made up of some 2,000 people and publishing over 1,500 books each year. Our doors are open to all kinds of talent. In a constantly evolving industry, we work hard to stretch the definition of the word publisher. Here, you’ll work with a breadth of talent who all play their part to make each of our books a success. Together, we make books for everyone because a book can change anyone. 

 

The recruitment process 

 

You can read about our recruitment process at https://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk/how-we-hire/ 

 

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are included as part of the ‘What you’ll bring’ section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview. 

 

We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing PRHCareersUK@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable to for us to support your request. 

 

Please note, we are not able to accept agency CVs for this role. Any CVs sent speculatively will not be eligible for a fee. 

 

 

Company: Penguin Books Limited 

Country: United Kingdom 

State/Region: London 

City: London 

Postal Code: SW11 7BW 

Job ID: 273902