Illustrator

Dovetail Recruitment Ltd; Sandleheath; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary Christmas bonus

Private healthcare

Cash plan

Company pension

Job summary

Dovetail Recruitment are working with an award-winning business in Ringwood, looking for an Illustrator / Creative Designer to join their packaging and product design team. This is a hands-on role focused on creating visually distinctive, shelf-ready packaging and retail products where illustration, 3D thinking, and commercial awareness come together.

You’ll design for physical product form, develop concepts, create 2D artwork and 3D visuals, and prep print-ready files while collaborating with

Qualifications

• Strong skills in illustration, graphic design, or packaging design.
• Confidence across digital illustration and hand-drawn concepts.
• Experience with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

Responsibilities

• Designing for physical product form and packaging, not just surface graphics
• Developing and sketching product concepts, packaging ideas, and gift formats
• Creating 2D artwork, packaging graphics, and 3D visuals / mock-ups
• Working closely with project managers and product development teams
• Refining designs based on client briefs, feedback, and commercial requirements
• Preparing print-ready artwork and production files

Skills

Illustration

Graphic design

Packaging design

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Photoshop

Job description

Illustrator / Creative Designer – Packaging Design / Product Design – Ringwood (Portfolio required)

Onsite | 9am–5pm

Dovetail Recruitment are working with an award-winning business in Ringwood, looking for an Illustrator / Creative Designer to join their packaging and product design team.

They don’t just design packaging to support a product. They design giftable, collectible products—and use food as the way to get them into customers’ hands. Think sculptural packaging, decorative tins, and playful retail formats that stand out on shelf through form, illustration, and visual impact.

That’s why this role matters. This isn’t about producing safe artwork. It’s about contributing to commercial product and packaging design, creating physical retail products that sell on impulse and exist beyond the initial purchase.

What you’ll be doing as Illustrator:

• Designing for physical product form and packaging, not just surface graphics
• Developing and sketching product concepts, packaging ideas, and gift formats
• Creating 2D artwork, packaging graphics, and 3D visuals / mock-ups
• Working closely with project managers and product development teams
• Refining designs based on client briefs, feedback, and commercial requirements
• Preparing print-ready artwork and production files

What we’re looking for:

• Strong skills in illustration, graphic design, or packaging design
• Confidence across digital illustration and hand-drawn concepts
• Experience with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
• Understanding of print processes and artwork setup (desirable)
• Driving licence and own transport

Why this role is worth considering for you:

• Your work becomes real retail products, not just concepts
• You’re designing products where visual design drives the purchase
• You’re involved from concept through to production
• The work is varied, creative, and commercially focused
• You’ll build a portfolio of physical product and packaging design work

Benefits:

• Discretionary Christmas bonus
• Private healthcare (AXA PPP) with dental, optical, mental health support & Doctor at Hand
• Cash plan (EXETER One Fund) covering additional treatments and PPP excess
• Company pension

If you’re looking for a role where your ideas translate into real products—and you can point to something on a shelf and say “I worked on that”—this is a strong opportunity to explore.

This is a hands-on Illustrator and product design role focused on creating visually distinctive, shelf-ready packaging and retail products, where illustration, 3D thinking, and commercial awareness all come together.