Senior Designer, Packaging Design

Marks is hiring a Senior Designer, Packaging Design for our Marks Toronto studio!

Who are we?

Marks is a consumer experience agency creating engaging moments across the entire brand spectrum – from brand design and packaging to content and consumer connections. Rooted in a deep understanding of human behavior, we are uniquely constructed to enable brands to win in an age of constant change.

A super-charged experience powerhouse - 700 people strong, with subject matter experts working collaboratively across 12 studios and 8 countries - we have helped some of the world’s biggest brands connect to their audiences and tackle the biggest challenges and opportunities of today’s consumer landscape.

About the Team

The Packaging Design Group is powered by a large, dynamic and multiskilled team of creatives. This Group lives and breathes packaging design in all its expressions and outputs, from printed packaging to digital eCommerce. They work across a range of clients, brands and categories – from beauty to food and coffee to spirits. The team is uniquely constructed to deliver solutions that range from packaging design refreshes and redesigns, to new product innovations, category and line extensions. This powerhouse group manages every scale of a project from one-off “gotta have it” new editions to some of the Globe’s most iconic and large scale private brand programs.

About the Role

As a Senior Designer, you are responsible for delivering creative concepts from across a broad spectrum of design, with a big picture mindset and an eye for the details. You are a master in your craft – working independently or collaboratively within a team. You’ll execute ideas with a high level of skill and as a problem-solver, you excel in all things design, from branding to packaging and beyond. A strategic thinker that can also deliver on client objectives, you are able to solve for complex packaging systems, helping oversee programs as they roll out across large scale adaptive design projects.

Senior Designers play an important role in our culture – you will be able to mentor and coach Junior and Intermediate Designers and Adaptive Designers alike, monitoring the progress of their work across projects to ensure the success of the team. You may also take a lead role on projects and/or accounts, ensuring the quality of work is consistent and high, collaborating with the account team so that project objectives, plans, and timelines are met.

On any given day you might

• Thrive in the demands of pressing deadlines and confidently manage multiple priorities
• Execute creative concepts that exceed client expectations
• Conduct competitive audits and build case studies
• Take personal responsibility and guardianship for your projects – ensuring accurate, consistent, and timely completion of high quality work
• Champion design integrity and intent, maintaining it across design and adaptive projects
• Prepare for and art direct photo shoots
• Liaise with clients
• Play an active role in supporting both your immediate colleagues and those across the agency, and mentor junior team members
• Interpret client briefs into successful and effective concepts
• Provide support to Creative and Adaptive teams alike
• Develop storyboards and presentation decks for complex and/or high-profile client presentations, and ensure creative work is presented for maximum clarity and impact
• Be an active participant in agency life and get involved with internal initiatives
• Present your work with the confidence that comes from knowing that you have done all that you can
• Participate in brainstorms, and help to establish creative territories for concept development
• Question every idea to ensure that you understand it strategically and creatively

The Ideal Person

• Has an understanding of packaging print processes and their technical limitations
• Enjoys collaboration with a team and the chance to bring their experience to other channels and disciplines
• Can jump into and own the art direction of photo shoots
• Is a strategic problem solver with experience in Consumer Packaged Goods
• Brings the ability to execute concepts at a level that is among the top tier in the industry
• Ideally has experience in food and drink categories
• Has great design chops and a killer portfolio!
• Has an excitement for their discipline that is contagious
• Brings a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-it-done attitude
• Is a strong communicator and can confidently convey the rationale behind design solutions
• Understands consumer purchase behavior and can think in design systems

You Bring

• Well-rounded portfolio showcasing excellent understanding of brand building and packaging solutions
• A solid understanding of Mac OS, Adobe Creative Suite (Expert knowledge of Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign), Microsoft Word, Excel, and Keynote
• Diploma/Degree in Communication, Graphic, or Packaging Design (or related field)
• 6+ years (minimum) working as a graphic designer in a packaging studio or creative firm