Junior Designer, Transworld
Are you at the start of your design career and curious about what makes a book cover irresistible to readers? Do you thrive in creative teams - sharing ideas, asking great questions, and helping to bring projects over the line?
We’re looking for a creative Junior Designer to join our friendly and fast-paced design team, supporting on a broad mix of cover projects while building the skills and confidence to take on your own briefs.
About Transworld
At Transworld, we love great storytelling.
We publish the UK’s very best and most-loved fiction and non-fiction. Our authors are master storytellers, commercial giants, and game-changing experts who challenge readers to open their hearts and minds. A Transworld book demands to be discussed, shared, and loved.
We bring our boundless energy, commercial might, and creative teamwork to everything we do. This collective spirit turns authors into brand names, builds debuts into bestsellers, and makes us hugely successful year in, year out. We have been awarded Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards four times and are proud to have published a great many of our authors since the start of their writing careers.
The role
This is an opportunity where your potential and portfolio matter most. You don’t need formal studio experience or specific qualifications - we’re looking for a strong creative eye, curiosity, and a willingness to learn. You’ll support the team across day-to-day design tasks and develop the tools to progress towards owning your own cover briefs.
Our designers work closely with editorial, marketing and publicity colleagues, as well as authors, agents, freelancers and external partners, to create covers that are both creatively ambitious and commercially effective. You’ll be surrounded by people who love books, care about craft, and enjoy sharing ideas, learning, and making brilliant work together.
You’ll find further information below about how to submit a winning application and what to expect from the interview process.
Key responsibilities:
- Supporting the design team across frontlist and key ongoing titles (from initial concepts through to final artwork)
- Re-designing backlist titles and helping to refresh established brands/series
- Contributing to creative development for established series (evolving look and feel while keeping brand consistency)
- Preparing, artworking and supplying files for print and digital formats, working accurately to schedules
Staying curious and up to date with design trends in publishing and beyond, bringing references and ideas into the team
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What you’ll bring
Essential criteria:
- A portfolio that shows your creative potential and demonstrates strong visual ideas and a proven interest in book cover design (this can include student, personal, freelance or passion projects)
- A good working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite, especially InDesign and Photoshop (Illustrator is a plus)
- An enthusiasm for learning - you try things, ask questions, take feedback well, and enjoy improving your craft
- A collaborative mindset and clear communication - you’ll work with lots of different people and perspectives
- Care and attention to detail - you take pride in accuracy
- An interest in books, culture, and visual storytelling, and how design connects with audiences
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and work to deadlines, staying organised and adaptable
Ability to work with sudden changes of direction (publishing moves fast!)
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Preferred criteria:
- A strong grasp of typography, particularly combining image and type with impact
- Any experience (formal or informal) in a creative environment: studio, in-house, freelance, student publication, etc.
- Skills in illustration, photography, photomanipulation, or artworking for print
Interest in the commercial side of design - how covers help readers find the right book
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Application instructions
Please apply with your CV and cover letter outlining why you are the right candidate for the role by 11:59pm on Tuesday 23rd June.
Please also include a PDF attachment of your best work examples or portfolio in the ‘additional documents’ section. Due to application volumes, we are only able to consider applications that include a pdf attachment. In addition, you are also welcome to include a link to your online portfolio, Instagram or Behance page as part of your CV or cover letter, if you would like to.
Given the high volume of applications we receive for junior design roles, your portfolio and cover letter really matter. Anything you can include that shows a genuine interest in book cover design and publishing will help your application stand out - this could be publishing-focused projects in your portfolio, a short reflection on what you love about cover design, or examples of how you’ve explored publishing design in your own time (e.g. redesigns, series explorations, typography studies, or mood boards/process work).
Our recruitment process
Our interview process is usually three stages including a mix of video and in-person interviews. We’ll share full details and support at each stage.
Please note that, due to high application volumes for early career design positions, there may be a delay in you receiving an outcome on your application. We will keep you updated on timeframes as much as possible.
Use of AI tools
Here at Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. When you apply for a position, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. Throughout our recruitment process, please share your own thoughts, experiences, and skills. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team.
We celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives, so please be yourself! While we recognise AI tools can be helpful, we recommend using them thoughtfully to ensure your responses reflect you.
Disability Confident
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 listed 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 [email protected]. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable with, for us to support your request.
Salary
£29,500 - £31,000 dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.
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. For this role we expect that you’ll work from our London office a minimum of three days per week. We’ll be happy to discuss this as part of the recruitment process.
