Creative Director in Conroe, Texas at Brave Books LLC

ABOUT BRAVE BOOKS
At BRAVE Books, our mission is to secure the hearts and minds of the next generation when they are the most malleable, before the harmful agendas of this world can try leading them astray. We do this by creating faith- and values-based stories, TV shows, games, and resources that equip families to raise the next generation of courageous, truth-filled leaders. We publish bold, meaningful content every month—from picture books and chapter books to graphic novels, TV series and more—all designed to captivate children and support parents in the battle for their kids' hearts and minds.

ABOUT BRAVE CULTURE
At BRAVE Books, we've built a team of reliable, relentless high-performers who are loyal to the mission, driven to win, and selfless in execution. We hire individuals who show up hungry, take ownership, and grind with consistency—the kind of people who carry more than their share without needing the spotlight.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Set the vision for how we look, sound, and feel across books, campaigns, and brand.
Brave Books publishes children's books and adult nonfiction books. We create subscription
services. We run paid ad campaigns. We manage YouTuber relationships where the book is
often their first brand extension. Right now, creative direction is distributed — different people
making decisions in different directions.

We need someone who owns the aesthetic and makes sure every piece of the company reflects
a coherent vision.

What you'll actually do:

• World Building. You're the keeper of narrative worlds across our publishing portfolio.
  For established worlds like Freedom Island, you maintain character bibles, world rules,
  visual language, and narrative consistency. For new worlds, you help conceptualize
  them from scratch — understanding the mythology, tone, character archetypes, and
  rules that make a world feel cohesive and real. You work with writers, illustrators, and
  product teams to ensure every book extends or reinforces the world it inhabits. Whether
  it's a YouTuber's first book that launches a new world or the 40th book in an existing
  universe, you make sure readers feel like they're stepping into something intentional and
  interconnected, not a random collection of stories.
• Storytelling Lead. You understand story structure, character development, and
  narrative arc. For both children's and adult nonfiction books, you'll work with our writers
  and AI tools to ensure every book has a compelling narrative throughline. For children's
  books, you'll make sure the story serves the values we're trying to teach. For adult
  nonfiction, you'll make sure the narrative hooks readers and creates resonance, not just
  information dumping. You'll give story feedback, shape manuscripts before they're
  "done," and know when something is working and when it's falling flat.
• Campaign visual direction. Every launch has a landing page, email sequences, ad
  creative, and social assets. You'll set the visual direction for each campaign — color
  palette, photography style, typography — and make sure the execution matches the
  vision.
• Brand evolution. Our brand is currently "values-driven children's publisher + adult
  nonfiction partner." As we scale, are we leaning into that? Are we creating sub-brands?
  You'll help us think through who we are and how we look.
• Creator collaboration. When we partner with a YouTuber, they have a visual world —
  their content style, their audience aesthetic. You'll help our teams understand that world
  and build book designs that feel authentically theirs, not "made by the publisher."
• Hire and direct creative freelancers. You'll work with illustrators, designers,
  photographers, and production vendors. You'll brief them, review their work, give
  feedback that makes it better, and know when to push and when to step back.
• Build creative guidelines. Our designers shouldn't have to ask you about every
  decision. You'll create a shared language — typography standards, color palettes, layout
  principles — that lets the team make good decisions independently.

What we're looking for:

• A point of view. You have taste. You can articulate why one design works and another
  doesn't — not "I like this" but "This version creates confidence, clarity, and trust. That
  one creates confusion." You can defend decisions with reasoning.
• Appreciation for craft but impatience with vanity. You respect good design, but you
  know it serves a business function. A beautiful book that doesn't sell is still a failure.
• Collaboration skills that actually work. You can take feedback without becoming
  defensive. You can give feedback without crushing people. You can argue for a design
  direction and then let go when the business case says otherwise.
• Fluency across mediums. You understand what works on a bookshelf, on an email
  screen, in an Instagram story, and on an Amazon listing. Different contexts require
  different approaches.
• Bonus: Publishing design experience. Children's book illustration knowledge. Direct
  response campaign experience. YouTuber/creator culture fluency.

Why you'd want this job:
You get to build the visual identity of a fast-growing publisher. You're not constrained to "one
style" — children's books and adult nonfiction require different aesthetics. You'll work with
talented creatives (illustrators, designers, strategists) and you'll have real authority over how the
company looks to the world. If you believe design matters and want to prove it in a business
context, this is it.