Designer - Digital and Print

Skills :     Creative Design Manager

Job Description:

The Star Tribune is the Upper Midwest’s largest news organization, with audience numbers consistently in the top five in the country among regional and national peers. Building on an extraordinary legacy that includes seven Pulitzer Prizes and hundreds of other awards, the Star Tribune is an unrivaled force for journalistic excellence in Minnesota. It is also a company under transformation – realigning to better serve its digital audience through innovative partnerships, technology strategies, and a refreshed strategic direction. Our company has a vision to create the leading model for local news in America – driving innovation in media to make every Minnesotan’s life better. We are looking for dynamic leaders to help create that model. We are excited to work with people who care about journalism and democracy and are eager to re-invent one of our state’s most trusted companies for an era of growth that embraces advanced technologies and strategies for excellence.

Job Summary

The Star Tribune is hiring a creative, highly organized, and collaborative journalist who can work closely with directors, editors, team leaders, and fellow designers to produce impactful visual solutions for multiple platforms. This designer will plan and execute anything from high-profile projects, special packages, and daily sections to detailed inside pages and social promotion of our content. You will contribute to a collaborative team-based and feedback-centric environment. You must excel at seeing new, accessible ways to present information and tell stories. And you should embrace working in an environment in which rigorous editing for visuals and content is the norm. We strongly believe that good content drives design and that design can elevate readers’ experience of engaging with that content.

As part of our cross-functional team, you will work to deeply understand the stories you are helping to tell. Our team embraces a clean design aesthetic that is modern and efficient. No challenge should be too big or too small.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate should have a passion for local/regional journalism, as well as the following skills:

• A strong sense of how design influences a user’s ability to understand a story.
• A portfolio that demonstrates user interfaces designed appropriately for an array of devices/platforms.
• Familiarity with common forms of social media story design and tools.
• An ability to quickly write efficient, standards-based HTML and CSS.
• Comfort with JavaScript and some experience with JQuery or other libraries.
• Experience making quick mockups and prototypes to communicate forming designs to stakeholders.
• An eye for spotting stories and related visual assets that can be turned into immersive stories.
• Comfort using all forms of visual multimedia, including video, audio, still images, data, and illustration.
• Strong time-management skills with the ability to manage parallel projects at once.
• Ability to pitch story ideas using storyboards, prototypes, or presentations.
• An ability to manage relationships with editors, reporters, and developers. Must be motivated to advocate strongly for the user but be flexible enough to adjust plans as requirements change.
• An adaptive stance on how research and user data can evolve design thinking.

You Have

• A bachelor’s degree in journalism or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and work-related design experience.
• A portfolio that demonstrates a range of design solutions built for print and digital form factors — including compelling static designs for print, sleek digital presentations optimized for an array of devices, and powerful visuals for use off-platform.
• High standards and a commitment to fairness and accuracy.
• The ability to multitask and juggle priorities on deadline – and then meet them.
• A commitment to the Star Tribune’s standards, mission, and values, including journalism that reflects the diversity of Minnesota and the Star Tribune’s audience.

To Apply

Please upload a resume and a portfolio of your work.

More About The Star Tribune

At the Star Tribune, we believe that our employees are our most valuable asset. We go above and beyond to ensure their happiness, growth, and overall well-being. Here is a glimpse into the exceptional benefits we offer:

Modern downtown office with a free fitness center and rooftop patio. Commuting subsidy, medical, dental, and vision insurance. Wellness program with financial incentives. Paid time off that includes flexible holidays to honor the preferences of employees, plus one volunteer day and two wellness days. 401(k) with company match, parental and caregiving leaves, flexible work arrangements, employee assistance program, pet insurance, tuition reimbursement, flexible spending, and health savings accounts.

Selected in 2023 to Diversity MBA's inaugural list of Top 25 Outstanding Leadership and Diversity Impact Awards.