Imagine working for a company with a mission you can truly believe in, a playful and energetic culture, a talented team of coworkers, and a bright future! Melissa & Doug, the toy company committed to nurturing childhood wonder, is looking for a Packaging Designer Contractor. In this role, you'll bean essential part of our mission to inspire creativity and imagination in children throughout the world with thoughtfully designed toys that spark free play. ROLE OVERVIEW We are seeking a Packaging Designer Contractor to be located onsite in our Wilton, CT headquarters on a hybrid schedule, and will report to the Packaging Director. As a Packaging Designer Contractor, you will help develop a wide range of timeless children's products geared to the mass and specialty markets. You should be incredibly creative and have experience bringing packaging to market from concept through production. You should have an excellent sense of what sells and what makes a planogram productive. You should have a strong graphic eye and a confident use of color. The ability to create complex packaging die lines is a bonus. You will work closely with Product Designers as well as Structural Packaging Engineers, Product Development, and Quality Assurance teams. You should be a self-motivator and able to work independently under tight deadlines. A background in designing children's packaging is a definite plus. Responsibilities:
- Determine packaging for entire product categories and/or collections.
- Create packaging style guides for product lines.
- Design planograms, resolving for size/value propositions while maximizing space.
- Design packaging for a wide variety of products (boxes, hangtags, inserts, blisters, clamshells, etc.) including creating the die lines (with a structural packaging engineer) and product instructions.
- Create product inserts for online shipper boxes.
- Create detailed technical drawings with original artwork taking into account cost factors and printing limitations.
- Color correct digital files and review print proofs.
- Build packaging mock-ups for planogram needs.
- Art direct product photo shoots, working with our in-house photographer and helping style shoots.
- Upload production files to Digital Asset Management system and enter relevant metadata.
- Manage multimedia libraries and archives for design and marketing.
- Communicate with product development, safety, and quality control teams throughout the design process, including reviewing and proofing packaging.
- Conduct market research and keep up with the latest packaging trends and innovations.
Requirements:
- BFA or equivalent degree in Graphic Design required.
- 5 years in packaging design.
- Excellent sketching skills to quickly communicate ideas.
- Advanced command of Adobe Creative Suite: Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign
- Experience working with a Digital Asset Management system
- Knowledge of print production and an understanding its limitations.
- Superb attention to detail.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
- Ability to work in a PC-based environment.
OUR STORY It all started in 1988 with a boy, a girl, and a dream to make meaningful toys that would inspire hands-on, imaginative play. From classic wooden toys to realistic pretend play sets, Melissa & Doug makes well-crafted toys that are developed with care to be passed down from generation to generation or shared family to family. Whether it's creating high-quality toys that are made to last, planting trees to restore the resources we use, or ensuring our products encourage open-ended play for all kinds of kids, we're on a journey to make the world a better, more sustainable place.. While the company approaches $1 billion at retail annually, the quality of every toy, the experience of every child, and the trust of every parent remains at the center of everything we do. To learn more about our mission and commitment to sustainability, go to MelissaAndDoug.com Melissa & Doug proudly goes beyond being an equal opportunity employer, we work hard to sustain and enhance the natural and organic inclusivity that is fostered every day, by every associate. We don't do this because anyone tells us this is important, we do it because we genuinely want every person who comes to work here to be treated with respect and dignity and to be comfortable being their most authentic, genuine selves. We hire for character, kindness, humanity, and experience . . . therefore, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race; religion; age; sex; national origin; color; ancestry; physical, mental, or learning disability; sexual orientation; transgender status; gender identity and expression; veteran or military status; along with any and all other legally protected characteristics. In that light, we will provide reasonable accommodations consistent with applicable law as it relates to disability and religious beliefs/practices.