Jobs at the London Review of Books

Designer

(4 days per week, maternity cover – one year FTC, hybrid/London)

The London Review of Books is seeking an experienced designer to work across editorial, production and marketing. You’ll design and paginate the magazine, commission and prepare artwork, collaborate closely with editorial, production and marketing teams, and support print and digital projects from concept to press. The magazine is produced using Adobe Creative Cloud applications, and familiarity with InDesign is essential. A working knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat would be a great advantage. This is a one-year fixed term contract, hybrid working (based at the LRB’s London offices), to start in late February (or as soon as possible).

Job Description

Editorial Design

• Designing and paginating each issue of the magazine, working with editorial, production and circulations manager; allocating and co-ordinating advertising space in the magazine with the advertising department; amending and refining the layout throughout the press cycle.
• Working closely with the paste-up designer during press weeks and assisting with ad design and placement.
• Sourcing editorial illustrations and preparing for print and online; securing licences and permissions as necessary and informing the digital team and production as required.
• Designing graphics as required for print and online. 
• Preparing cover art for publication: liaising with cover artists, commissioning initial sketches and final artwork; co-ordinating cover art options for the issue cycle; commissioning new artwork as required.
• Proofing editorial illustrations, artwork and cover art before the issue goes to press in line with printer specifications.
• Commissioning artwork for editorial newsletter collections and other digital projects, working with the digital editor; brief illustrators on projects, see initial ideas through to final artwork stage and prepare artwork for use across digital platforms. 

Production

• Working as part of the production team on a rotation on press nights to prepare the issue for print; making final changes as requested by editorial; uploading and proofing pages with UK, US and AUS printers; liaising with printers and troubleshooting on press night; reporting any issues to the production team, editorial and the business team.
• Preparing and uploading images to the website, updating caption and copyright information and taking editorial changes as required.

Marketing Design

• Working with the marketing department to realise seasonal and one-off campaigns; initial planning and commissioning/sourcing artwork as required; designing and updating assets for print and digital; requesting feedback and sign off from Creative Director, editorial and marketing.
• Creating visual assets and templates for social media, marketing, online store, the LRB Bookshop and all other parts of the business as required.
• Contributing to campaign strategy meetings and giving feedback on external design work alongside the Creative Director.

Other

• Work with Special Projects and Creative Director on LRB Books, collections and other projects; includes contributing to initial project development and commissioning artwork, as well as seeing projects through to final stages.
• Researching new artists for covers, editorial illustrations and special projects; drawing up design briefs and commissioning initial sketches and final artwork.

To apply, send a CV and cover letter to edit@lrb.co.uk by Thursday, 5 February 2026.