Mid / Senior Artworker + Retoucher

Critical Playground LLC; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

Butterfly Cannon in central London is seeking an Artworker with solid retouching skills to join our Artwork & Production team. This is a hands-on role: you''ll turn our designers'' work into accurate, print-ready and screen-ready artwork across packaging and brand materials, and make sure every image is retouched to a high standard and colour-accurate before it leaves the studio.

Reporting to the Production Director, you''ll take artwork briefs from our Design Directors and ensure files meet

Qualifications

• Proven artworking experience in a design agency, artwork studio or prepress environment, ideally including some packaging work.
• Ability to lead on retouching and image comping as a craft in its own right: creating hero pack shots, building composites from photography, CGI and stock, and refining images to a polished, believable finish
• Solid working knowledge of litho, flexo, digital and gravure print, and how to set up artwork for each
• Good understanding of colour management for print and screen
• Close attention to detail and a methodical approach to checking your work

Responsibilities

• Turn approved designs into accurate print-ready artwork for labels, cartons, shippers, pouches, POS and other print collateral
• Build artwork to printer specifications, including substrates, colour separations, spot colours, foils, embossing, varnishes, cutter guides and trapping etc
• Prepare digital and screen assets, such as retailer pack shots, social, web and digital display, to each platform's sizes, formats and specs
• Retouch and prepare images to a high standard for print and screen, using colour-managed workflows
• Adapt master artwork across range extensions, pack formats, languages and regulatory copy
• Preflight and output final files, and check proofs against artwork
• Follow and maintain our file naming, version control and archiving standards

Skills

Artworking experience

Retouching leadership

Adobe Creative Suite

Print knowledge

Color management

Detail-oriented

Multitasking

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

InDesign

Acrobat Pro

Job description

Butterfly Cannon is an independent brand and packaging design agency in central London. We're known for the craft that turns an idea into a real, physical thing on shelf: the finishes, materials and production detail that make a pack feel right in the hand. As more images are generated, that craft matters more, and our Production team is central to it.

We’re a chatty, friendly, inclusive bunch and have a supportive studio culture that is constantly looking to elevate our team and the client work we produce. We highly encourage portfolios/CVs from anyone of any background, age or gender, BIPOC or LGBTQIA+ to apply for roles at Butterfly Cannon.

The role

We're looking for an Artworker with solid retouching skills to join our Artwork & Production team. This is a hands-on role: you'll turn our designers' work into accurate, print-ready and screen-ready artwork across packaging and brand materials, and make sure every image is retouched to a high standard and colour-accurate before it leaves the studio. You'll report to the Production Director and take artwork briefs from our Design Directors.

What you'll do

• Turn approved designs into accurate print-ready artwork for labels, cartons, shippers, pouches, POS and other print collateral
• Build artwork to printer specifications, including substrates, colour separations, spot colours, foils, embossing, varnishes, cutter guides and trapping etc
• Prepare digital and screen assets, such as retailer pack shots, social, web and digital display, to each platform's sizes, formats and specs
• Retouch and prepare images to a high standard for print and screen, using colour-managed workflows
• Adapt master artwork across range extensions, pack formats, languages and regulatory copy
• Preflight and output final files, and check proofs against artwork
• Follow and maintain our file naming, version control and archiving standards

What you'll bring

• Proven artworking experience in a design agency, artwork studio or prepress environment, ideally including some packaging work
• Ability to lead on retouching and image comping as a craft in its own right: creating hero pack shots, building composites from photography, CGI and stock, and refining images to a polished, believable finish
• Expert in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and Acrobat Pro, on Mac
• Strong retouching and image comping skills, with a portfolio that shows both
• Solid working knowledge of litho, flexo, digital and gravure print, and how to set up artwork for each
• Good understanding of colour management for both print (CMYK, spot) and screen (RGB, web output)
• Close attention to detail and a methodical approach to checking your work
• Able to handle several jobs at once and meet tight deadlines without losing accuracy

Nice to have

• Working knowledge of Figma
• Drinks, spirits or premium FMCG packaging experience
• Familiarity with cutter guides, dielines and structural/CAD files
• Sensible, production-aware use of AI image tools in retouching