Part Time
$300 fixed project; some flexibility
10
Oct 10, 2026
I am looking for an experienced editorial / educational document designer to create the universal lesson-packet design system for AnyText, an AI-assisted platform for adult ESL teachers.
PROJECT:
$300 fixed-price project. Some flexibility for an exceptional candidate with highly relevant experience.
AnyText takes an authentic article or transcript, adapts it to an adult ESL proficiency level, generates coordinated instructional activities, and exports the finished lesson as an editable Microsoft Word DOCX.
This is NOT simply a beautification project.
I need a professional, reusable document-design system that can eventually be implemented programmatically by my developer.
The template must work with VARIABLE CONTENT.
For example:
- A reading may be 1, 2, or 3+ pages
- Titles and questions may vary in length
- Activities may be included or omitted
- Sections may contain different numbers of items
- Images may be present or absent
- Teachers may edit the DOCX after export
The design therefore must reflow gracefully. I am not looking for one beautiful static mockup that only works with one sample lesson.
My developer will handle the DOCX programming. You will design the visual system and provide clear specifications he can implement.
DESIGN DIRECTION:
Adult-accessible editorial design.
Professional, scholarly, warm, calm, readable, restrained, and appropriate for adult learners.
Visual inspiration includes:
- The forest-moon atmosphere of Endor from Star Wars
- University libraries and reading rooms
- Independent bookstores
- Forest-facing study spaces
- The warmth and craftsmanship of older Starbucks interiors
- Oxford University Press
- Cambridge University Press
- The New York Times
- The Economist
- National Geographic
These are inspiration references only. I do not want literal Star Wars imagery, trees, fake wood, coffee-shop graphics, or a fake newspaper design.
The established AnyText palette is:
Deep Forest Green — #183F36
Dark Green-Black — #1F2B27
Charcoal — #303633
Mushroom Taupe — #A79D90
Warm Stone — #D8D1C6
Parchment — #F2EDE3
Paper White — #FCFBF8
Bronze / Umber — #8B6B50
I am NOT looking for a new color palette.
The final document must also remain professional when printed or photocopied in black and white.
SECTIONS TO DESIGN INCLUDE:
- Article title and metadata
- Images
- Contextual Introduction
- Key Concepts
- Warm-Up
- Main Reading
- Vocabulary Matching
- Vocabulary Fill-in-the-Blank
- Multiple Choice
- True / False
- Short Answer
- Discussion
- Pair Work
- Mingle
- Answer Key
- Headers / footers
- Page numbering
Each activity should belong to one unified visual system while still supporting its instructional purpose.
For example:
- Reading should feel like a professionally published educational reader
- Short Answer needs appropriate writing space
- Discussion should feel spacious and reflective
- Pair Work should make roles immediately understandable
- Mingle should support printable cut-apart strips/cards
- Answer Key should be compact and easy for teachers to scan
The final specification should define:
- Exact fonts
- Font sizes and weights
- Heading hierarchy
- Reading-body typography
- Directions and question styles
- Metadata treatment
- Line and paragraph spacing
- Margins
- Tables
- Borders
- Answer spaces
- Image placement and sizing
- Headers / footers
- Page numbering
- Page-break behavior
- Color usage
- Black-and-white behavior
- Rules for variable-length content
EDITABLE DOCX IS IMPORTANT:
Teachers will be able to rewrite questions, add notes, delete material, and otherwise edit the exported Word document.
The design therefore needs a strong underlying style system rather than fragile manual formatting.
ORIGINAL HUMAN DESIGN WORK REQUIRED:
I already use AI extensively to create educational resources and to develop AnyText. I am not hiring someone because I need another person to generate educational materials with AI.
I am hiring for professional HUMAN editorial and educational design judgment.
Please do not submit AI-generated workbook mockups or AI-generated template images that cannot function as a real editable document system.
I have worked with textbooks and instructional materials for many years and am specifically looking for someone with real experience in typography, page composition, long-form layout, educational publishing, or book/workbook design.
IDEAL EXPERIENCE:
- Editorial design
- Book / textbook / workbook layout
- Educational publishing
- Adobe InDesign
- Typesetting
- Master pages
- Paragraph / character / object styles
- Print production
- Microsoft Word / DOCX templates
- Dynamic or variable-content documents
I will provide:
- The existing AnyText logo
- The established visual direction
- The established color palette
- Several real AnyText-generated lesson packets
HOW TO APPLY:
Please send:
1. A short introduction
2. 3–5 highly relevant portfolio samples
3. Any book, textbook, workbook, educational, editorial, report, or long-form layout examples
4. Any experience with Microsoft Word / DOCX templates
5. Any experience designing for variable or dynamically generated content
6. Your project estimate and turnaround time
7. One relevant portfolio piece and three design decisions you personally made on that project and why
Please begin your application with:
FOREST READER
FINAL STANDARD:
Whether an AnyText packet is 4 pages or 14 pages, a teacher should be able to download it, make small edits, print it, staple it, and hand it to an adult ESL class—and it should still look like it came from a professional educational publisher.