Terms of Reference: Layout and Production Designer 

NESsT is seeking an independent consultant or design studio to create a premium, photography-driven coffee table book featuring human-centered stories, enterprise profiles, and impact data. The role will develop the visual concept and editorial design, produce the complete 80–120-page publication, integrate supplied assets and data, and prepare final print-ready and digital files.

Responsibilities:

• 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

Requirements:

• 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