Packaging Designer in Guildford, Surrey

Packaging Designer- Toys & Games

Guildford, Surrey | Up to £40,000 | Hybrid – 3 days office / 2 days WFH

We are recruiting for a talented Packaging Designer to join the Global Toy Packaging Team of a highly successful international company based in Guildford.

We’re looking for someone with strong packaging experience who can hit the ground running, work with a good degree of autonomy and confidently take projects from initial concept through to production.

While experience will naturally determine salary, we’re keeping the level relatively open. The priority is finding someone with a strong portfolio, excellent packaging knowledge, creative flair and the confidence and initiative to get stuck in without requiring significant one-to-one support.

A background within toys or the youth market would be ideal but is not essential. We would also be very interested in designers coming from FMCG, consumer brands or similarly fun, colourful and creative sectors, particularly where their portfolio demonstrates a genuine interest in the toy/youth space.

Strong experience in packaging design and pack structure is essential, alongside excellent graphic design skills and a solid understanding of taking packaging through to production.

Key skills & experience

• Strong packaging design portfolio with excellent layout, typography and graphic design skills
• Experience of pack structure and structural packaging considerations
• Confident developing creative concepts from initial brief through to finished packaging
• Strong logo generation and quick-fire concept/style guide development skills
• Excellent understanding of colour, aesthetics and visual communication
• Good knowledge of current print and production techniques
• Ability to create and develop packaging mock-ups
• Comfortable researching trends, competitor packaging and new creative directions
• Experience briefing and working with external artwork, illustration, photography and production suppliers
• Able to work closely with marketing, product, engineering and production teams
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines and priorities
• Confident communicating ideas and taking on board creative feedback
• Self-motivated, proactive and able to work independently

The role

You will be involved throughout the packaging design process, from brainstorming and initial concepts through to artwork, pack structure, mock-ups, proofs and final production.

Projects will involve working closely with global product and marketing teams, researching competitor and market trends, developing packaging concepts, liaising with suppliers and ensuring projects remain on brief, on budget and on schedule.

You may also be involved in briefing illustration and photography, attending photo shoots, liaising with international colleagues and suppliers, resolving production or manufacturing issues and supporting final print approvals.

For more experienced candidates, there may also be the opportunity to provide creative guidance and support to other members of the team.

The person

We are looking for someone who is creative, commercially aware, proactive and genuinely excited by packaging.

You don’t necessarily need to come directly from the toy industry, but your portfolio should demonstrate an affinity with bright, engaging, playful or consumer-led creative work and an interest in designing for the toy/youth market.

Most importantly, you will be someone who can take responsibility, solve problems, juggle a busy workload and confidently move projects forward.

Salary: Up to £40,000 depending on experience

Location: Guildford, Surrey

Hybrid: Ideally 3 days per week in the office / 2 days working from home