Art Director, Packaging

ABOUT THRIVE MARKET

Thrive Market was founded in 2014 with a mission to make healthy and sustainable living easy and affordable for everyone. As an online, membership-based market, we deliver the highest quality healthy, and sustainable products at member-only prices, while matching every paid membership with a free one for someone in need. Every day, we leverage innovative technology and member-first thinking to help our over 1,700,000+ members find better products, support better brands, and build a better world in the process.

We are also a Certified B Corporation, a Public Benefit Corporation, and a Climate Neutral Certified company.

Join us as we bring healthy and sustainable living to millions of Americans in the years to come.

THE ROLE

The Art Director of Packaging leads the creative strategy, quality, and consistency of Thrive Market’s Owned Brands packaging. This role manages a team of designers and production artists, collaborates cross-functionally to align packaging with brand goals, and oversees the production process from concept to print. Additionally, the Art Director drives innovation, optimizes design workflows, and ensures packaging meets industry trends and consumer expectations.

The ideal candidate is organized, process-oriented, has extreme attention to detail, and thrives in a fast-paced working environment.

Core Responsibilities

Creative Vision and Art Direction:

Drive quality and consistency across all Thrive Market Owned Brands, providing daily creative feedback to the design team and aligning with stakeholders in bi-weekly meetings. Ensure all packaging designs adhere to brand standards and contribute to a cohesive brand identity.

Team Management and Development:

Oversee a team of packaging designers, delegating projects effectively and setting team members up for success. Conduct mid-year and annual performance reviews, manage career pathing, and establish clear OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to support growth and skill development.

Mentorship and Skill Building:

Mentor designers, helping them optimize their processes, develop creative efficiencies, and achieve high standards in their work. Inspire team members through constructive feedback and fostering a collaborative team environment.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

Partner with teams in photo, content, and merchandising marketing to define creative objectives, packaging style, and strategic approaches. Interpret and follow Creative Briefs closely to ensure packaging aligns with broader brand and product objectives.

Editorial and Content Alignment:

Collaborate with the Content team to define the editorial direction for packaging, ensuring that brand storytelling aligns seamlessly across all packaging touchpoints.

Brand Style Guides:

Build, manage, and update brand style guides, including packaging standards (such as substrates, design elements, and typography) to maintain a strong visual identity across all Thrive Market brands.

Production Oversight:

Manage the production process from design to printing, identifying and flagging any design inconsistencies and ensuring quality through all production stages. Collaborate with production teams on mechanicals and printing best practices.

Proofing and Press Checks:

Review proofs and lead press checks (on-site or remote), approving or rejecting against brand standards and printer specifications.

New Product Development:

Provide creative support for product development, particularly for new categories like home goods, textiles, and specialty products, ensuring alignment with the overall brand aesthetic.

Market and Competitive Research:

Conduct ongoing competitive research to stay informed about industry trends and consumer preferences, bringing innovative ideas to enhance Thrive Market's presence in the packaging space.

Process Optimization:

Develop and implement operational efficiencies to streamline the packaging design process, reducing unnecessary revisions and improving productivity.

Presentation and Leadership Communication:

Create presentation materials, including packaging mockups and competitive landscape analysis, for leadership review, ensuring clear communication of strategic decisions and design rationale.

Photography and Retouching Oversight:

Guide the on-pack photography process, providing direction and retouching feedback to ensure consistency and quality across all product images.

Innovation in Packaging:

Identify new opportunities to elevate the Thrive Market brand within the packaging industry by staying current on best practices in design, printing, and branding.

Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years in packaging design and art direction, with a strong background in brand development, preferably within the CPG, food, or wellness industries.
• Leadership Skills: Proven experience managing a creative team, including mentorship, performance reviews, and project delegation, with a minimum of 2 years of direct people management experience.
• Technical Skills: Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) and knowledge of print production processes, packaging substrates, and materials.
• Design Systems: Proven experience building, documenting, and maintaining scalable packaging design systems (templates, modular layouts, typography, color, substrates, and component libraries) that keep multiple product lines and brands cohesive and speed up production.
• Proofing & Press Checks: Hands-on experience with proofing workflows and on-site or remote press checks, including color-matching, evaluating print quality, and approving or rejecting proofs against brand standards and printer specs.
• AI Tools & Efficiency: Experience evaluating and implementing AI tools to increase team efficiency, including assessing fit, quality, and risk, and integrating approved tools into design and production workflows.
• Photography & Retouching: Experience directing on-pack product photography and giving retouching feedback to maintain consistent image quality.
• Creative Vision: Strong eye for design, typography, and color; ability to create cohesive brand identities and maintain quality standards across multiple products.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Demonstrated ability to work with cross-functional teams, including content, photography, product development, and merchandising, to align packaging with overall brand and product goals.
• Project Management: Excellent organizational skills to manage multiple projects, timelines, and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Market Knowledge: Understanding of current trends in packaging, sustainability, and consumer behavior, with the ability to conduct competitive research and apply insights.
• Communication Skills: Strong verbal and written communication abilities for presenting design concepts and rationale to stakeholders.
• Problem-Solving: Skilled in identifying and addressing design inconsistencies and production issues, with a proactive approach to improving design processes and workflows.
• Education: A bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Visual Arts, or a related field is preferred, though equivalent professional experience may also be considered.
• BELONG TO A BETTER COMPANY
• Comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, vision, life and disability)

Compensation Description - The base salary range for this position is $100,000 - $125,000/Per Year.

Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on several factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and geographic location.

Total Compensation includes Base Salary, Stock Options, Health & Wellness Benefits, Flexible PTO, and more!

This position requires traveling to our HQ office in Los Angeles, California, twice a year for all-company summits; once in the summer and once in the winter.