Visual Designer

Apply now Job no: 493178
Work type: Staff Full Time - Full Year
Location: Lewiston, ME
Categories: Communications

Position

Purpose:

The Visual Designer will support college-wide storytelling by producing creative, fully integrated visual communications for digital platforms and traditional print media with a goal of maintaining and elevating our institutional brand identity. This role offers an excellent opportunity for a designer looking to grow their skills and experience within a collaborative, fast-paced higher education environment.

Job Duties:

• Design multi-page print layouts (brochures, event programs, campus signage, and more) and high-impact digital assets (social media graphics, email layouts, and web pages).
• Work alongside our internal team — which includes editorial, marketing, photo, video, and social media — and other campus partners to brainstorm messages and convey them effectively through design.
• Partner with external printing vendors and the on-campus print shop to ensure high-quality, proper bleed setups, margins, and CMYK color profiles.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously from concept to final delivery using our project management system, Asana. Coordinate closely with the Senior Creative Director and design team to manage priorities and deadlines.
• Serve as a creative design resource to BCM colleagues and campus partners, helping translate complex concepts and data into clear visualizations.

Bachelor’s degree in the arts, graphic design, visual communications, or a related field required.

• A minimum of 2-3 years’ of professional design experience is preferred (creative agency experience or a client-facing role is a plus).
• High proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud, specifically InDesign (multi-page layouts), Illustrator (vector assets/logos), and Photoshop (image editing/optimization). Knowledge of After Effects or digital animation is a strong plus.

• Commitment to equity and inclusion, and serving the needs of a culturally and educationally diverse community.
• Possesses a strong baseline understanding of design principles and knows the technical differences between designing for digital and print projects.
• Demonstrated ability to work with clients, work independently, and guide projects toward effective design solutions.
• A strong desire to learn new technical tools, accept constructive feedback, and adapt to institutional workflows. Ability to pick up on Bates’ editorial style through continued exposure to requested copy edits (for example, knowing when to use a hyphen, en-dash, or em-dash.)
• Devotion to detail with a meticulous eye for alignment, typography, and catching errors.
• Basic familiarity with ADA/WCAG color contrast and web readability guidelines.
• Familiarity with Word Press and foundational knowledge of responsive design, HTML, CSS, and other web norms to ensure top-tier user experiences across all devices.
• Clear understanding of resolution requirements (300 DPI vs. 72 PPI), color spaces (CMYK vs. RGB, and the Pantone system), technical document setups, and digital file formats (SVG, PNG, WebP), and asset optimization for fast digital loading.

• competitive salaries
• excellent benefits (health, dental, 9% retirement contribution with potential for an additional 3% match, sick leave, 24 days of vacation, 2 personal days, 13 paid holidays, dependent care subsidy, free parking, access to library and athletic facilities & more)
• a supportive, collegial environment in a drug and smoke-free workplace.

Hiring Range: The hiring range for this position is $50,000 to $55,000. Placement within the range depends on experience and other factors.

Bates College is committed…