Graphic Designer - Cars.com

Job Description

Do you dream in Pantone colors? Are you constantly critiquing the font, leading and kerning of restaurant menus and wedding invites? Do you see a website and think “Wow…I could have done better than that!”? Well Team IDEA, the in-house creative services and events department for Cars.com, is looking for you. We are seeking a talented, creative and visionary graphic designer to bring concepts to life as a visual storyteller. The Team IDEA creative department designs and creates various types of deliverables in a collaborative, engaged team environment. Our audiences span from internal to external, customers to consumers, industry experts to media and our work is as diverse as the audiences we serve. Do you think you have what it takes to make the ordinary extraordinary while enhancing our fun, vibrant team culture? Read on…

The successful candidate will possess multi-faceted design experience – traditional and interactive - as well as a client-first focused attitude. Your positive, can-do attitude and expert design skills help us elevate the Team IDEA brand while providing our audience with multiple ways to engage and interact with the Cars.com brand.

Please note: All submissions for this position must include online portfolio showcasing past work

Responsibilities Include:
• Day-to-day delivery of stellar designs that exhibit your creative abilities, mastery of design fundamentals for traditional and interactive deliverables and passion for going above and beyond to exceed our clients’ expectations.
• Exhibit diversity and range within your design skill set to complete various projects including advertisements, sales collateral, email, banner advertisements, event signage, invitations, microsites, brochures, infographics, identity packages, logos and more.
• Thorough understanding of Cars.com brand standards to be a champion for the brand and uphold standards in all design deliverables.
• Communicate timelines and status with project stakeholders to ensure necessary parties are kept in the loop and satisfied with their Team IDEA experience
• Visual storytelling through the translation of complex business information, metrics and data into compelling visuals.
• Evaluation of project details to determine needs for further information or discussion with stakeholders.
• Participate in all stages of Team IDEA design process from discovery though delivery.
• Bring value to brainstorming and idea generating sessions through your valuable contributions.
• Develop and maintain relationships with various vendors to include project quotes, submission of projects to vendors, approval of proofs, attend press checks and other vendor communications as necessary.
• Ability to thrive under pressure in a busy, fast-paced environment balancing tight deadlines with great design
Required Experience:
• Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communications or a related field
• 3+ years of traditional and interactive design experience within an in-house corporate or agency environment
• Expertise with the Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver) HTML5/CSS3 and is a plus
• Ability to seek inspiration for designs independently or collaboratively within team environment
• A keen eye for typography and layout hierarchy to develop fresh and innovative designs; illustration skills a plus
• Acute attention to detail including completing all design needs according to specs and proofreading
• Exceptional project management skills including prioritization of work flow and time management
• Passionate about design including keeping up with current design trends and networking within design community
• Excellent work ethic with a positive, can-do attitude to succeed in a fast-paced environment
• Strong communication skills to correspond with internal and external clients and vendors
• Familiarity with print production process including prepress, prep and prepare files for print and building final files for output
• Simple multimedia productions experience including videography and/or video editing experience a plus but not required