Caroline Smith Joining The Atlantic as Design Director

In this newly created staff role, Smith will focus on the visual direction of the website, from daily coverage to special storytelling projects.

Caroline Smith is joining The Atlantic’s staff as a design director for the art department, editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg and creative director Peter Mendelsund announced today. Smith has worked with The Atlantic for the past several months; in this newly created staff role, she will focus on the visual direction of the website, from daily coverage to special storytelling projects.

“Caroline is already an important part of the revolution in art and design that we have initiated at The Atlantic, a revolution whose impact is understood, and appreciated, by millions of readers,” said Goldberg.

The Atlantic debuted a new visual identity in November 2019 and has steadily raised its aesthetic sophistication, designing smart and striking artwork—evidenced across every coronavirus story—and enhancing photography across the magazine, website, and iOS app.

In recent months, Smith has worked alongside Director of Photography Luise Stauss and collaborated with the editorial and product teams on The Atlantic’s most ambitious digital projects. She will be based out of The Atlantic’s New York office and work closely with Mendelsund, Stauss, and design director Oliver Munday—whose focus is primarily on the print magazine—as well as special projects editor Ellen Cushing.

Smith comes to The Atlantic most recently from Topic, where she was the director of visuals and photography. An industry veteran, she’s worked at Time, GQ, New York Magazine, Marie Claire, Life, and many other publications in the capacity of design director, photo director, and director of special projects. In 2012, Smith won an Emmy Award for a multimedia project on 9/11 she worked on at Time.

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Media Contact

Anna Bross // The Atlantic