Art Director Harpers Bazaar

Job Description

Requirements:1) Portfolio Visual Strategy & Brand StewardshipMaintain and evolve the Harper’s Bazaar portfolio visual language (typography, grid, imagery, palette, illustration, motion), ensuring cohesion with each edition’s local nuance.Enforce brand style guides and cross-platform design systems for print/digital, including bilingual/RTL specifications and component libraries.2) Issue Design & Production (Monthly & Quarterly)Lead flatplans and pacing; art-direct covers, features, departments, and special supplements; approve layouts from concept to press-ready files.Partner with the Managing Editor and Production teams on schedules and closes appropriate to a monthly (Arabia) and quarterly (Saudi/Qatar) cadence.Design and lay out all pages in line with our global standards.3) Photography Direction & CommissioningCommission and direct photographers, stylists, set designers, illustrators, and retouchers across fashion, portrait, still-life, architecture/interiors.Write treatments and shot lists; supervise on-set art direction and retouching standards; build and maintain a best-in-class regional contributor network.4) Digital, Motion & Social PackagingTranslate print features into platform-native packages (.com templates, social carousels, Reels/Shorts graphic systems, thumbnails); set motion/graphics rules for video lower-thirds and opens.Collaborate with social/video leads to ensure visual consistency and high engagement across channels.5) Prepress, Colour & Print QualityOwn colour-accurate output across devices and presses: CMYK conversions, profile selection, proofing, paper stock recommendations, and press checks.Implement ICC-profiled colour management and preflight/QC practices to ensure predictable, premium print reproduction.6) Arabic/English Craft (RTL/LTR)Ensure excellent Arabic typography, spacing, ligatures, and mirroring logic; set rules for mixed writing directions (numbers, units, dates) and bilingual hierarchy.Curate Arabic-compatible type families and oversee RTL adaptations of layouts and UI elements for digital.7) Operations, Assets & RightsMaintain file architecture, versioning, and DAM hygiene (naming, metadata, reuse).Oversee image rights, credits, licenses, and clearances in partnership with Legal/Editorial; manage third-party fonts/artwork usage.8) Collaboration and CommercialPartner with editorial leaders to shape visual storytelling; collaborate with commercial/branded content teams on premium executions while protecting editorial integrity.Qualifications:8–10+ years’ art direction in luxury fashion/editorial environments with a portfolio of landmark covers/features and cross-platform systems.Mastery of typography and grid; expert in InDesign/Photoshop/Illustrator; working knowledge of Lightroom/Capture One; motion basics (After Effects/Premiere) and Figma for digital systems.Proven prepress/print expertise (proofing, press checks, colour pipelines/ICC); strong retouching oversight.Bilingual/RTL experience strongly preferred; Arabic/English fluency is a plus with sensitivity to regional cultural context and luxury aesthetics.Calm under pressure, deadline-reliable, and excellent at cross-functional communication with editorial, production, and commercial teams.Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)Visual excellence & consistency across editions/platforms; external recognition/benchmarks.On-time delivery for monthly and quarterly closes; reduced rounds and rework.Colour/print quality (proof-to-press fidelity, ICC adherence).Digital/social performance of visual packaging (CTR, saves/shares, completion/retention where applicable).Contributor network strength and development of regional talent; internal stakeholder satisfaction.You will be redirected to the company website to apply for this position

Keyskills :
InDesign Photoshop Illustrator art direction