Art Director, De Los (Temporary)

Los Angeles Times • El Segundo, CA, US • 3d ago

The Los Angeles Times is seeking an ambitious, imaginative and collaborative art director to join De Los as a temporary art director.

De Los , through reporting, social media and stunning visual display, brings to life the vibrancy of the U.S. Latino experience with a focus on culture and identity. This treasured space for Latino storytelling builds on the success of the Latinx Files newsletter, digital Día de Muertos altar and packages on the Chicano Moratorium , Fernandomania @ 40 and LA Vanguardia . The initiative is multi-platformed in approach, with rich visual storytelling, provocative commentary and live events.

We are looking for innovators and collaborators to be instrumental in shaping our product vision and engaging authentically with the Latino community in Los Angeles and beyond.

The ideal candidate has experience working in digital media and creating content for social media audiences, with a portfolio that shows off high-level skills in design, typography and visual storytelling.

This visual journalist will have a deep understanding of the Latino community, not just in Southern California but across the country, and have a proven track record of working

across platforms to create compelling digital journalism. Fluency in Spanish is a plus.

This person will be comfortable working under the deadlines of a busy newsroom, building story layouts for our digital stories and creating photo illustrations and assets for social feeds. They will be a key player in launching and evolving the De Los Instagram and TikTok accounts, creating content to start new conversations and inviting outside creators to collaborate on our social accounts.

Other duties include working with journalists across the newsroom on collaborative efforts to reach Latinos and helping the vertical meet its audience goals after launch.

We want to make the visual voice of the Los Angeles Times truly special – a creative reflection of Los Angeles – and are looking for an energetic collaborator to join our team. If you are passionate about design, content creation and Latino culture, we want to hear from you.

Responsibilities

Work closely with the design team and De Los editors to further the project’s visual direction online and occasionally in print
Present ideas to senior leadership, receive feedback and iterate
Design, art-direct and coordinate the digital builds of stories using the CMS
Have an understanding of digital video and social media platforms including Instagram, Twitter and TikTok
Collaborate with reporters, editors and other visual journalists to tell stories with impact
Commission and art-direct freelance illustrators
Create photo illustrations for daily digital stories and social media
Organize and take the lead on digital design projects such as Instagram accounts or newsletters, as well as coach designers to do the same
Seek out new illustrator portfolios to add to our inclusive database of illustrators, with an emphasis on L.A. artists
Learn and follow style guidelines
Work with design managers to ensure brand coherence
Create and maintain organizational documents

Requirements

A minimum of one year of experience at a comparable digital-first journalistic publication or website
A deep understanding of the Latino community
Excellent time-management skills
Experience assigning and art-directing illustrations
Ability to work effectively in a team environment
Exceptional verbal and written communication skills
Strong editorial news judgment, impeccable journalistic instincts and an unimpeachable commitment to ethics
Demonstrated ability to design for daily digital stories and social media
A portfolio of work that demonstrates excellence in photo editing, typography and art direction
High energy and enthusiasm for journalism and visual storytelling
A keen eye for current design trends and the ability to create designs in a variety of styles
Ability to work on a tight deadline, especially in breaking news situations
Strong working knowledge of design software such as InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator
A history of designing and developing alternate story forms
Positive self-starter capable of performing under pressure and making good decisions

This full-time temporary position is expected to start in January or February and last six months. It will be based in El Segundo, Calif. Occasional night and weekend work is possible.

Qualified applicants should upload a resume, cover letter and portfolio to Deputy Design Director Martina Ibáñez-Baldor at the apply link. Your cover letter should outline, in brief terms, the strategy you’d apply to build on the work of De Los and engage our digital audiences. Please also include desired skills, qualities and characteristics that tell us more about you as a leader.

The L.A. Times is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all qualified applicants regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We actively work to create an inclusive environment where all of our employees can thrive. This Privacy Notice for Los Angeles Times sets forth how we will use the information we obtain when you apply for a position with us . E xplore our company history, achievement, values, mission and more on our career site .

The pay scale the Company reasonably expects to pay for this position at the time of the posting is $27.54/hr to $36.82/hr and takes into account a wide range of factors including but not limited to skill set, experience, training, licenses, certifications, and other business or organizational needs. Compensation will be determined based on the above factors along with the requirements of the position. At the L.A. Times, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for the role. Please visit our career site to view the benefits available to our employees. We recommend adding our applicant tracking system domain (@dayforce.com) as a safe sender or contact, sometimes these emails get filtered to candidates' spam folders.

The Company is a mandatory vaccination employer for COVID-19 and its variants. The Company requires that its employees be fully vaccinated as of their start date. If you require a medical or religious accommodation, we will engage in the interactive process with you. Proof of vaccination will be required prior to start. If we make you an offer and you are not yet vaccinated, we will accommodate a delay in start date.

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