Neworld, Great relationships build great brands

I love all aspects of design – from interiors to textiles to architecture, so I automatically find my job as a packaging designer fun and interesting.

At art college, I found the concept and research part of a project the most engaging and that hasn’t changed. Following an internship, I was fortunate to land a role as a junior designer with a brand and packaging design studio after college. There are many different facets of design, and not all can be learned in a classroom. I would recommend any recent graduate to gain experience through internship programs. Through my experience, I learned that I had chosen the right path as a packaging designer.

What does a packaging designer do?

Some of the main areas we are involved in are branding and concept design.

A great part of the job is having the opportunity to create packaging that is part and parcel of an overall brand. We’ll usually have a workshop with the client to find out the ins and outs of their brand. After further research we’ll then come up with mood boards, followed by packaging, merchandising and brand identity concepts. And after all that is done with a final concept agreed upon, we will create brand guidelines.

The job can be quite technical and on-the-job experience is really where you learn the key skills such as bringing your concept to final artwork, art-directing photo shoots and creating professional looking mockups.

Where brand and packaging are concerned, the job of a designer is often far more than the contents of a brief or a job description. I’ve only barely skimmed over some of the core areas in this blog, but there’s so much more to it. If you’re considering a career in graphic design, you more than likely salivate over fabulous typography, get goosebumps at the sight of an ingenious logo, and swoon at the touch of luxury packaging, but work experience is the only real way to know you’re heading in the right direction. 

Fiona O’Farrell, Packaging Designer

Fiona joined Neworld as a packaging designer in 2016. Her agency brand and packaging experience includes work for Kerry Foods, Boyne-Valley, Deep River Rock, Fruice, The Dalata Hotel Group, Dunnes Stores and Aldi.