Midweight Packaging Designer

Join Papier as a Midweight Packaging Designer!

Location: 3 days per week at our Camden office, Maison Papier

Reports to: Lead Packaging Designer

Team: Design

Salary: Competitive, with comprehensive benefits

About Papier

At Papier, we believe in the power of the blank page. Since the business was founded in London in 2015, we've been crafting beautifully designed stationery—from journals and planners to wedding invitations—that inspire creativity and meaningful connections. With over £60 million raised and a growing presence in the UK, US and beyond, we're on a mission to make everyday moments noteworthy.

At Papier, the Midweight Packaging Designer will create design-leading packaging that complements our stationery products and is aligned with the brands’ standards & requirements.

Taking full responsibility for your projects both creatively and operationally, you’ll show strong design skills in packaging & graphic design, research and conceptualise new packaging designs to suit our different sales channels whilst ensuring consistency across all Papier packaging. You’ll follow this through within the product development phase ensuring the brand’s quality standards are matched.

Working closely with the Lead Packaging Designer, you will make an essential contribution towards Papier’s visual identity that will transform Papier into a global stationery lifestyle brand.

About You!

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in packaging design/development, ideally within stationery, lifestyle, or homeware categories.
• Proficiency in relevant design software such as Adobe Creative Suite (especially Illustrator and Photoshop); 3D rendering or CAD experience is a plus.
• Excellent rendering skills as well as the ability to create mockups
• A keen eye for detail to help create accurate technical drawings, artwork & specs
• Confident conducting trend and market research to inform design decisions.
• A strong understanding of the product development process from concept through to production, with hands-on experience & awareness of materials, manufacturing techniques, and commercial constraints.
• Experience reviewing samples for accuracy, design intent, and quality.
• Good communication and collaboration skills, especially when working with sourcing teams, suppliers, and internal stakeholders
• Highly organised, able to manage timelines and juggle multiple projects with changing priorities.
• Enthusiastic, proactive, and curious, with a desire to learn and push creative boundaries within a commercial framework.

What you'll do:

Design Ideation

• Create design-leading packaging at Papier through the excellent execution of multiple simultaneous design projects.
• Present design ideas and outcomes internally with confidence and clarity, conveying complex design thinking in a way that leads to increased engagement and generates excitement.
• Support creative growth for yourself and within the design team at Papier by maintaining excellent awareness of lifestyle and design trends and proactively making time for creative experimentation and research.
• Conduct thorough, diverse and curated research for design projects that lead to unique, forward-thinking packaging designs.
• Understand and interpret the Annual Product/Design Strategy by generating ideas for new packaging, and through the completion of design projects that fulfil and capture the essence of the strategy.

Design Delivery

• Execute high-quality packaging design, both graphic and structural, across a range of products including stationery, accessories and gift-led items
• Translate initial concepts into refined packaging solutions that are production-ready, while keeping sustainability, functionality, and visual consistency in mind.
• Ensure consistency across all packaging outputs so that every touchpoint reflects Papier’s brand identity and quality standards.
• Communicate packaging ideas clearly and effectively through compelling visuals, using 3D rendering skills to bring concepts to life for internal teams and suppliers.
• Actively manage your own schedule consisting of multiple simultaneous projects to ensure that all key deadlines are met - escalating any issues that will affect project timelines to the Lead Packaging Designer.
• Setting up own artwork where possible and executing it to agreed standards working closely with the Artworking team.
• Keep relevant stakeholders informed about a project’s progress, preparing any necessary design information to be shared with them at key stages.
• Demonstrate flexibility by proactively supporting, delivering and self nominating for ad hoc requests in line with the business needs. Respond with your own initiative and maintain a positive attitude when faced with design-related challenges.

Product Development

• Have a strong understanding of the printing industry and processes. Utilise this knowledge within your packaging design, using your initiative to research & experiment with new techniques and work with sourcing to establish what is possible within a given project.
• Collaborating with Sourcing & local/offshore suppliers to develop new packaging, you will ensure that your designs are functional, adhere to regulatory requirements and industry guidelines and keep sustainability in mind by limiting the use of plastics.
• Ensure all specs are to the highest standard, aligned with the design strategy/concept & consistent with the rest of our packaging
• You will also collaborate with the Creative, Brand & Ops teams to ensure new packaging designs align with brand identity & incorporate all necessary requirements.

Quality

• Showcase your own creativity through consistently utilising a strong design skill to create high-calibre designs that push the brand forward.
• Have a good understanding of the printing industry and processes, proactively develop your own understanding and knowledge of this area to gain awareness of paper possibilities and restrictions, and work with printers and colleagues where necessary to expand knowledge of new technology and techniques.
• Support with setting and maintaining standards for quality, including correct uploading, file naming, artwork set up and exporting.
• Support improvement initiatives by generating ideas and plans for how to improve the outcome of projects, even following success. Question how tasks could be done better and act upon opportunities to improve.

Coaching & Development

• Actively seek and respond to feedback regarding own design work, identifying areas for development and investing time into creative and professional growth.
• Own your own development and contribute to the development of peers through imparting own packaging and design knowledge through proactively hosting relevant, engaging training sessions & organising talks for the team

What We Offer

• Hybrid working: 3 days / week at Maison Papier, our vibrant Camden office, complete with breakfast, coffee, dogs, a terrace and plenty of snacks to see you through the day
• Generous leave: 25 days annual leave + 15 Work from Anywhere days to work from somewhere sunny or visit international family
• Health & wellness benefits: Leading private medical and rewards scheme with Vitality Health, including dental, optical and hearing coverage
• Workplace pension: Pension scheme enrollment
• Parental support: Enhanced parental leave policies with 20 weeks full pay for birth-giving parents and 12 weeks for non birth-giving parents.
• Cultural perks: £45 monthly cultural allowance, £75 personal stationery allowance, and £150 for special occasions
• Team culture: Weekly team lunches, regular cultural outings, and a pet-friendly office with lots of office dogs, like Basil the cocker spaniel!