Terms of Reference: Layout and Production Designer

NESsT is seeking an independent consultant or design studio to develop the visual concept, editorial layout, and final production files for a premium, photography-driven coffee table book featuring human-centered stories, enterprise profiles, and impact data. NESsT will provide the approved English manuscript, publication structure, pre-selected photography, impact data, and brand assets. The selected designer will transform these materials into a cohesive publication for print and digital distribution.
Assignment type:
Independent consultant or design studio

Location:

Remote. Applicants based in Latin America and Central & Eastern Europe are particularly encouraged to apply.
Contract period:
November 2–December 11, 2026
Submission

The designer or studio will develop the visual concept, editorial layout, and final production files for an approximately 80–120-page publication. The design should be photography-driven, human-centered, contemporary, and appropriate for donor, investor, partner, and institutional audiences.

• Develop a cohesive visual and editorial design system, including representative layouts.
• Design the complete 80–120-page publication, including covers, front and back matter, chapter openings, longform stories, profiles, photo-led spreads, and impact pages.
• Integrate NESsT-supplied photography, captions, credits, impact data, and brand assets.
• Create a limited number of simple publication-ready charts, maps, timelines, statistics, and callouts using approved NESsT data.
• Flow and copyfit the approved English manuscript and incorporate revisions through formal review checkpoints.
• Prepare final print-ready and digital files.
• This assignment excludes substantive writing, copyediting, translation, photography commissioning, extensive image research or retouching, printing, physical proofs, shipping, and interactive digital formats.

• Approved visual and editorial design system and representative layouts.
• By December 1: a release-ready digital package containing the introduction, ten longform stories, associated impact pages, and supporting front matter.
• By December 11: the complete publication layout, one print-ready PDF, one optimized digital PDF, and organized editable source files.

• At least five years of professional publication or editorial design experience.
• Advanced proficiency in Adobe InDesign and relevant Adobe Creative Cloud applications.
• Strong experience with complete, long-form, multi-section print publications.
• Demonstrated ability to use typography, photography, pacing, and page composition to create a cohesive editorial narrative.
• Experience with photography-intensive publications, information design, commercial printing, color management, prepress, and production-file preparation.
• Strong attention to detail, file management, quality control, deadline management, and ability to work with a distributed international team.
• Applicants must demonstrate substantial experience designing complete, long-form print publications. Experience limited to brochures, one-pagers, websites, presentation decks, social media assets, or short reports will not be sufficient on its own.

• Experience with nonprofit, foundation, social entrepreneurship, international development, ESG, or impact-investing organizations.
• Experience designing donor-facing impact communications and stewardship materials.
• Experience with coffee table books, museum publications, foundation reports, premium annual reports, or comparable publications.
• Ability to translate complex social, environmental, and economic impact narratives into compelling visual experiences.

Applicants should submit a…