Key Skills

Job Description

Company Description Flowkade is a technology partner creating thoughtful digital solutions and publishing workflows for education. We combine educational expertise, design, and modern web technology to make high-quality learning materials easier to create, maintain, and use. Together with an educational publishing partner, we are developing an automated workflow for transforming structured reading content into beautifully designed print and digital booklets. We are looking for a freelance educational editorial designer to create the visual design system behind those publications. The Assignment You will define how the reading booklets should look and behave across different ages or reading profiles. You will translate research, educational requirements, and the publishing partner’s visual identity into a clear editorial system covering typography, colour, spacing, page grids, imagery, hierarchy, and pagination. You will work closely with Flowkade’s design and development team and with Dutch-speaking educational and editorial specialists from our publishing partner. The technical team will implement the system in an automated HTML/CSS-to-PDF rendering workflow. You are not expected to build that workflow yourself, but your designs and specifications must be suitable for consistent technical implementation. What You Will Work On Research relevant principles for children’s typography, readability, accessibility, and educational publication design Develop a coherent visual direction for the reading booklets Define typography, colour, spacing, grids, margins, and visual hierarchy Create two or three related design profiles for different developmental or reading levels Design reusable components for informational texts, stories, dialogue, poetry, highlighted vocabulary, images, captions, sources, covers, contents pages, and colophons Establish rules for variable text lengths, image placement, page breaks, headings, widows and orphans, and other pagination challenges Create representative sample booklets using real Dutch educational texts Translate the design into a Figma component library and clear, machine-readable design tokens or specifications Collaborate with developers during implementation and review generated print and screen PDFs Refine the system based on feedback from educators, pupils, and the project team Expected Deliverables A concise research and design rationale A complete visual and typographic system Defined design profiles for different reader groups A reusable Figma component library Specifications for typography, spacing, colour, layout, imagery, and pagination Design tokens or an equivalent structured handoff for HTML/CSS implementation Representative print and digital templates Review of the first automatically generated booklet proofs Practical documentation that enables the system to be extended consistently What We Are Looking For Essential Demonstrable professional experience designing educational publications for primary or elementary-school children Excellent typographic judgement and a portfolio demonstrating substantial text-led publications Experience designing reusable systems rather than only individual pages Understanding of print production and print-ready PDF requirements Ability to design for variable content and unpredictable text lengths Proficiency in Figma or comparable professional design tools Ability to communicate design decisions clearly and collaborate closely with developers Professional working proficiency in English Availability for a project-based freelance assignment Helpful, but not required Experience designing for children or educational audiences Knowledge of readability, accessibility, and inclusive design Experience with design tokens, design systems, HTML/CSS, or automated publishing Experience conducting or interpreting user research with children and educators Familiarity with Dutch educational materials or the Dutch primary-school context Professional proficiency in Dutch Portfolio Please share examples that demonstrate your approach to typography and editorial systems. Your portfolio must include at least one educational publication designed for primary or elementary-school children. We are especially interested in: Books, magazines, reports, or educational publications with substantial text Systems that work across multiple page types or audiences Designs that combine text, illustrations, captions, and other structured elements Projects implemented in collaboration with developers or automated publishing systems Examples showing how you handled variable content, pagination, or production constraints For relevant examples, please briefly explain your role, the design problem, the system you created, and how the final publication was produced. What We Offer A meaningful assignment with a direct connection to children’s reading and education Collaboration with educational specialists, editors, designers, and software developers Real content and representative edge cases to design and test with Substantial influence over both the visual direction and the underlying publishing principles A remote-friendly collaboration with a team based in the Netherlands A clearly scoped freelance engagement with milestones and deliverables agreed together Please send us: A short introduction and explanation of your interest in the assignment Your portfolio or selected relevant projects A brief description of your experience with editorial systems, children’s publications, or automated publishing Your availability and location

Core Responsibilities

Create a reusable editorial design system for educational reading booklets, including reader profiles, typography, layouts, components, and pagination rules. Produce Figma components and implementation-ready specifications, collaborate with developers, and review and refine automatically generated print and digital proofs.

Requirements

Applicants must have professional experience designing text-led educational publications for primary-school children, strong typographic judgment, experience creating reusable systems, and knowledge of print production and variable content. They must be proficient in Figma or comparable tools, communicate effectively with developers, work professionally in English, and be available for a freelance project; a relevant portfolio is required.

Benefits

• Remote-Friendly Collaboration
• Meaningful Work in Children's Reading and Education
• Collaboration with Educational Specialists, Editors, Designers, and Developers
• Influence Over Visual Direction and Publishing Principles
• Clearly Scoped Freelance Engagement with Agreed Milestones and Deliverables