Senior Packaging Graphic Designer

The Lumistella Company is a global intellectual property company dedicated to bringing Santa’s North Pole to life for children around the world through consumer products, original entertainment, and brand experiences. We are home to iconic and beloved Christmas brands including The Elf on the Shelf, Elf Pets, and Elf Mates.

About the role

The Senior Packaging Graphic Designer will develop compelling, brand-right packaging graphics across a broad portfolio of consumer products, including toys, books, accessories, licensed products, and other product categories. This role focuses exclusively on the visual and graphic design of packaging and does not include structural packaging engineering, package construction, or structural package design.

The designer will translate brand standards, product strategies, consumer insights, business objectives, and current trends into creative consumer packaging solutions. Packaging designs should balance brand storytelling, consumer appeal, and shelf impact while maintaining a cohesive visual identity across product lines.

This role will independently lead packaging design projects from initial sketches and concept development through final artwork handoff. The position is a mix of packaging graphic design, creative concepting, and layout development. The role collaborates closely with Product Design, Product Development, Brand Creative, Licensing, Marketing, Packaging Engineering, Legal, and Compliance, and provides creative direction to external design agencies and production partners to ensure all packaging aligns with brand standards and business objectives.

This is a hybrid position requiring both remote and in-office work. Candidates must reside in the Atlanta, Georgia area, as regular in-office collaboration is required for meetings, design reviews, and other business needs. The position does not include relocation assistance; candidates must be able to relocate at their own expense if selected.

Responsibilities

• Develop packaging concepts that align with The Lumistella Company's brands, product strategies, and current trends.
• Generate original packaging concepts through sketching, mood boards, and visual exploration.
• Create packaging graphics, layouts, typography, visual systems, and occasional logos across product lines and formats.
• Apply a strong understanding of visual hierarchy, shelf impact, storytelling, product communication, and consumer product design.
• Ensure packaging clearly communicates product features, benefits, included components, and brand messaging.
• Interpret and design accurately within a variety of packaging dielines and formats.
• Adapt packaging designs and visual systems across product lines, SKUs, and packaging formats while maintaining brand consistency.
• Provide creative input on packaging structures, identify potential usability or design issues, and collaborate with the Structural Designer on new or modified packaging solutions.
• Create physical mockups and digital renderings to support the Sales team, evaluate concepts, obtain approvals, and support product development decisions.
• Present packaging concepts and creative rationale to cross-functional teams and leadership, incorporating feedback while maintaining design integrity.
• Collaborate closely with Product Design, Product Development, Brand Creative, Licensing, Packaging Engineering, Sales, Legal, Compliance, photographers, production artists, and other cross-functional partners.
• Work with licensed artwork and brand guidelines, including licensor review and approval processes.
• Provide creative direction for packaging photography, including sample preparation, composition, product views, styling, and artwork placement.
• Partner with and provide creative direction to external design agencies, illustrators, photographers, and production vendors to ensure packaging aligns with brand standards, product strategy, and quality expectations.
• Review proofs, samples, and production artwork to ensure accuracy and maintain the approved design intent.
• Ensure file accuracy and the correct placement of required safety and regulatory information.
• Stay current on packaging trends, retail environments, competitive products, printing technologies, and consumer insights to continuously elevate creative solutions.
• Manage multiple projects, identify potential risks early, and maintain a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.

Requirements

• At least 6–8 years of professional packaging graphic design experience for consumer products. Experience with toy packaging and children's books is preferred.
• Expert knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, with advanced knowledge of InDesign.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating packaging graphic design, concept development, brand application, and finished production-ready work for retail packaging.
• Strong layout, sketching, and design skills with a solid understanding of typography, composition, brand identity principles, and a passion for packaging.
• Demonstrated understanding of dielines, including the ability to modify, scale, and adapt them, as well as an understanding of structural configurations and three-dimensional forms.
• Experience designing packaging for licensed consumer products, including interpreting style guides and navigating licensor review and approval processes.
• Experience with visual identity, brand guidelines, compliance, and packaging design systems, along with a solid understanding of print specifications, file setup, prepress, and print production.
• Strong creative problem-solving skills, initiative, and a professional sense of urgency, with the ability to collaborate and communicate clearly across cross-functional teams.
• Experience creating physical packaging mockups and display prototypes.
• Experience with 3D rendering software and illustration is a plus.
• Bachelor’s degree required in Graphic Design, Packaging Design, or a related field.