Senior Designer, Story Design & UX, CNN

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Designer, Story Design & UX, CNN

Company: Warner Bros. Discovery

Location: Atlanta, GA; New York, NY; Washington, DC

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Creative & Media / Art & Design / Technology / Data & Analytics / Marketing

Date Posted: June 09, 2026

Experience Level: 7+ Years

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the visual and user experience (UX) design for digital storytelling across CNN's diverse content spectrum, from urgent breaking news to in-depth enterprise projects.

• Champion a reader-first mindset to translate complex information into clear, intuitive, and visually compelling narratives that enhance audience engagement.

• Collaborate extensively with cross-functional teams, including editors, reporters, developers, data journalists, and fellow designers, to conceptualize and execute impactful digital journalism.

• Develop and refine reusable design systems, templates, and efficient workflows to elevate the quality and consistency of CNN's visual storytelling across platforms.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the role is titled "Senior Designer, Story Design & UX," the responsibilities strongly indicate a focus on digital journalism and content design rather than traditional product UX. The emphasis on "story design," "visual journalism," and "editorial design" suggests a specialization within the broader UX field. The hybrid work arrangement implies a need for strong remote collaboration skills alongside on-site presence for team synergy.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end visual and user experience (UX) design for a variety of digital stories, encompassing breaking news, daily news cycles, and medium- to long-term enterprise projects.

• Partner closely with editors, reporters, and developers to define optimal story structures, information hierarchy, and visual approaches for maximum reader impact.

• Craft engaging story experiences by seamlessly integrating text, graphics, maps, video, photography, illustration, audio, and motion graphics where appropriate.

• Produce clear wireframes, interactive prototypes, robust design systems, and polished visual assets for custom storytelling initiatives.

• Design thoughtful and effective presentation strategies for complex information, ensuring optimal user experience across mobile, desktop, and emerging platforms.

• Contribute to rapid-turnaround breaking news coverage by developing clear, compelling, and visually distinctive treatments under tight deadlines.

• Collaborate with developers to ensure all designs are responsive, accessible, performant, and technically feasible within project timelines.

• Identify and implement opportunities to enhance reusable design patterns, templates, and workflows across CNN's visual journalism output.

• Adapt and optimize visual stories and graphics for CNN's homepage, mobile applications, and off-platform distribution channels.

• Actively participate in editorial brainstorming sessions, contributing original ideas and innovative approaches to visual storytelling.

• Foster a strong culture of craft and collaboration within the Visuals team by sharing design feedback, documenting approaches, and mentoring junior designers.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a blend of strategic design thinking and hands-on execution, requiring the candidate to be both a visionary and a meticulous craftsperson. The emphasis on "quick-turn coverage" and "enterprise projects" indicates a need for adaptability and the ability to manage diverse project scopes simultaneously.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communication, Digital Media, Journalism, or a related field is often preferred for senior roles in this industry. The emphasis is on demonstrated skill and experience.

Experience: A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in digital design, product design, editorial design, visual journalism, or a comparable creative environment is required.

Required Skills:

• Portfolio: A robust portfolio showcasing exceptional story design, user experience (UX) judgment, information hierarchy, and visual craft across a diverse range of digital formats.

• Platform Design: Proven experience designing digital experiences optimized for both mobile and desktop audiences.

• Design Fundamentals: Strong command of typography, layout principles, interaction design, responsive design methodologies, and accessibility standards.

• Design Tools: Proficiency in industry-standard design and prototyping tools such as Figma, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), or similar platforms.

• Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work effectively and collaboratively with editors, reporters, developers, and other designers from concept to publication.

• Adaptability: Capacity to balance fast-turnaround assignments with more ambitious, medium- to long-term projects.

• User-Centricity: A strong reader-first mindset, with a proven ability to simplify complex narratives into clear, intuitive, and engaging experiences.

• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions clearly and constructively to diverse stakeholders.

Preferred Skills:

• Technical Familiarity: Basic understanding of HTML, CSS, motion design principles, illustration techniques, or experience contributing to design systems.

• Data Visualization: Experience in data visualization, news graphics, and interactive storytelling.

• Newsroom Experience: Familiarity with newsroom workflows and the fast-paced environment of digital journalism.

• Specialized Experience: Experience designing election results experiences, live news products, or other complex data-driven storytelling projects.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirement for a strong portfolio is paramount, serving as the primary indicator of a candidate's capabilities. The "preferred skills" suggest areas where candidates can differentiate themselves, particularly those with direct experience in news environments or complex data storytelling. The emphasis on Figma and Adobe Creative Suite indicates the core toolset expected.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Storytelling Case Studies: Showcase 3-5 projects that demonstrate your ability to design compelling digital narratives, detailing the problem, your process, design solutions, and the impact.

• UX Design Examples: Include examples of wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes that illustrate your understanding of user needs and intuitive interface design for content consumption.

• Visual Craftsmanship: Highlight examples of your work with typography, layout, and visual hierarchy, emphasizing how design choices support story clarity and engagement.

• Responsive Design Showcase: Provide examples of designs that adapt seamlessly across different devices (mobile, tablet, desktop), demonstrating an understanding of platform-specific considerations.

• Collaboration Evidence: If possible, include examples or descriptions of projects where you collaborated with cross-functional teams (editors, developers) and how your design input influenced the final outcome.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design: Be prepared to discuss how you approach the design process from initial brief to final publication, including methods for user research, ideation, iteration, and stakeholder feedback.

• System Thinking: Demonstrate an understanding of how to build or contribute to design systems, ensuring consistency, scalability, and efficiency in design production.

• Measurement & Impact: Articulate how you measure the success of your designs, whether through user feedback, engagement metrics, or other relevant performance indicators.

📝 Enhancement Note: Candidates should curate their portfolios to explicitly address the core responsibilities of this role, emphasizing digital storytelling and UX within a journalistic context. The ability to articulate their design process and demonstrate an understanding of how their work contributes to CNN