Junior Designer, Sleep & Fashion Accessories ( 6 month Contract)

Company Description

A portfolio is required for this role. Please include a link to your portfolio or attach it with your resume.

Indigo is a physical and digital place inspired by and filled with books, ideas, beautifully designed lifestyle products, and the creative people who help make it all happen. We believe in real books, living life fully and generously, being kind to each other and to the environment, and that stories — big and little — connect us. Indigo is our customer's happy place — for joyful moments of discovery and to connect with people who share their passion for reading, their belief in ideas, and their commitment to making the world a better and more beautiful place.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Our Mission is to inspire reading and enrich the lives of booklovers. As such, we believe in the power of people and their stories. We aim to attract top talent, nurture the potential of our employees, and create space for everyone to thrive. Our Guiding Principles are the few key ideas that are meant to influence everything we do, every day.

• We Will Hire, Inspire, Promote and Retain the Best
• We Will Be Customer Centric
• We Will Be Entrepreneurial
• We Will Be Committed to Caring About Each Other, Our Communities, and Our Environment
• We Will Be Committed to True and Shared Value Creation
• We Will Be Systems Thinking, Data Driven and AI enabled

Job Description

The Junior Designer is responsible for supporting the Design team in the creation and delivery of unique proprietary products from collaborative conceptualization through to final product. The Junior Designer is responsible for collboarting with the Design team to ensure product designs are innovative, exceed company-wide expectations, and delight customers, while being of excellent quality and within cost guidelines. The Junior Designer will contribute to proprietary product assortments that are robust and will set and maintain the bar for design and quality at a level that is amongst the top tier within the retail industry.

KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS

• Delivery of collections on time, on budget, and within scope
• Satisfaction of all cross-functional partners
• Brand appropriate product design and positive consumer response

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Functional

• Work closely with design leaders to develop original creative product design for categories, supporting the overarching seasonal concept set by the VP of design.
• Concurrently support multiple seasonal collections at various stages from conceptualization through to production
• Sketch initial designs with direction from design leadership and seasonal concepts, driven by trend and market research, and input from cross functional partners
• Create technical specs and comprehensive tech-packs that are sent to vendors for development
• Create and maintain line charts for seasonal collections
• Manage samples, ensuring that they meet quality and design standards, and present samples to key cross-functional partners on a seasonal basis
• Manage development status and timeline as part of sample process, review and tracking all changes to product specs and relay comments and revisions to vendors prior to final production
• Work with sourcing and merch team to resolve design and production issues
• Keep up-to-date and informed of emerging trends, ensuring Indigo’s product design meets the highest design and quality standards
• Act as an advocate for the customer by placing them at the forefront of all decision-making and design processes
• Proactively identify and anticipate customer expectations and needs
• Challenge the status quo by consistently identifying areas for improvement, diagnosing issues and working to resolve them

People

• Collaborate with others to drive flexible and iterative solutions, quickly and easily
• Share technical knowledge with others and actively seek to learn from those more knowledgeable than yourself
• Help others see the impacts of their efforts and proactively engage other functions to get input
• Encourage others to freely share their point of view and be open to feedback

Cultural

• Model Indigo’s beliefs and convey a positive image in everything you do
• Celebrate diversity of thought and have an open mindset
• Take an active role in fostering a culture of continual learning, taking risks without the fear of making mistakes
• Embrace, champion and influence change through your team and/or the organization

SCOPE

Reports to: Director, Design

Manager once Removed (MOR): VP, Product Design

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Internal:

• Sourcing
• Merchant
• Visual Merchandising

External:

• Vendors
• Suppliers

Qualifications

Work Experience / Education / Certifications

• Post-secondary degree or diploma in graphic design or design-related field
• Minimum 2-3 years’ experience in an agency or in-house creative shop

Competencies / Skills / Attributes

• Excellent conceptual, visualization and design skills, Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop skills are essential, 3D CAD modeling software such as SOLIDWORKS, Rhino, AutoCAD are an asset
• An understanding of craftsmanship and continuity
• Strong attention to detail and professionalism
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Ability to work cooperatively on a team to achieve overall best results
• Strong time management skills with a proven ability to focus on multiple priorities and meet deadlines
• Strong understanding of industry standards and best practices for design and development in a retail environment
• Creative and innovative approach to problem solving
• High degree of self-motivation

Other (travel, Bilingual, etc.)

• International travel required, as needed