Product Designer

About tag

For over 50 years, tag has believed in the power of beautiful objects to inspire connected moments with friends, family, and loved ones. As a lifestyle brand company, we strive to design collections that are authentic to the way you live. Blending beauty with function, tag produces everyday and seasonal products that are perfect to keep or gift.

Summary of Position

The Product Designer develops and executes innovative, market-relevant product and packaging solutions in a fast-paced, collaborative environment—balancing creative talent, trend awareness, and organizational discipline with strong ownership from concept through final execution.

Reporting to the Creative Director, this role owns assigned collections from concept through final artwork, specs and sample approval, partnering with Product Development, Sourcing, Sales and overseas vendors to deliver on time, on brand and on cost. We are looking for a designer who brings ideas, identifies opportunities and helps shape both our products and how we work—not just executes assignments.

What Success Looks Like at tag

Success at tag goes beyond creative talent and technical expertise. We look for team members who combine creativity with accountability, customer focus, market awareness, collaboration and a drive to keep improving.

Ownership & Accountability — Own commitments, timelines, quality and results; flag issues early and bring solutions rather than waiting for direction.

Passion & Curiosity — Bring energy and genuine interest in product, design, retail, trends, customers and the competitive marketplace.

Design Excellence — Bring a refined point of view, strong craft and an exceptional eye for the details that make a product feel special in hand and on shelf.

Customer & Market Focus — Balance creativity with market relevance; great design must connect with our customers, deliver value and perform at retail.

Collaboration — Work effectively across Product Development, Sales, Marketing and Sourcing, putting what is best for tag and our customers ahead of functional interests.

Challenge the Status Quo — Question legacy approaches and bring forward ideas that simplify processes and help tag work smarter and faster.

Embrace AI & Technology — Actively use AI, digital design tools and emerging technologies to improve creativity, productivity, research and speed to market.

Operate with Urgency — Manage priorities, revisions, approvals and deliverables with urgency without sacrificing quality or accuracy.

Raise the Bar — Seek feedback, learn from setbacks and keep improving both the work and how the work gets done.

Positive Influence — Bring solutions, constructive communication, flexibility and a team-first mindset.

Key Responsibilities:

Product and Packaging Design

• Design seasonal and everyday product in a range of styles across home décor, tabletop, kitchen, home textiles, garden and gift, and across substrates including ceramics, glass, metal, wood and textiles
• Take product from concept through production-ready artwork, dimensioned drawings and complete specs (materials, finishes, decoration, Pantone references, packaging) that overseas vendors can quote and build from
• Review vendor samples and strike-offs against design intent, approving or commenting on color, form, finish and print quality before production
• Execute 2D and 3D packaging—structure, dielines, hangtags, labels and displays—through print-ready artwork, including UPC and regulatory copy
• Use AI and emerging design technologies to accelerate ideation, trend research, concept development and execution

Customer-Centric Design Solutions

• Partner with Sales, Marketing and cross-functional teams to understand customer needs, market trends and retail opportunities, with a strong understanding of the independent specialty retail customer
• Develop product concepts that balance creativity, customer appeal, trends, target costing and retail potential while supporting tag’s brand positioning and growth objectives
• Review sell-through and customer feedback with Sales and apply what works to future collections
• Contribute to assortment, price-point tiering and how collections merchandise together on shelf and in the showroom

Project Management

• Build timelines and manage multiple design projects on trackers from concept to completion, working within tag’s seasonal development calendar and trade show deadlines
• Coordinate with internal teams and external partners to deliver on time and on budget; flag delays, obstacles or resource needs early with proposed solutions
• Present concepts and collections at design and line reviews; incorporate feedback and drive to approval
• Manage freelancer deliverables as needed, including briefs, art direction and review for brand consistency

Market and Trend Analysis

• Track consumer, retail, cultural, competitive and design trends—themes, colors, materials, product formats and technology—and translate them into compelling product opportunities and recommendations for internal stakeholders
• Attend trade and trend shows, shop retail and use trend services to build seasonal trend, color and material boards with the Creative Director
• Track competitors and identify white-space opportunities for tag

Quality Assurance

• Ensure all designs meet tag’s quality standards and brand and visual guidelines, and that artwork, specs and packaging files are accurate, complete and production-ready before release to vendors
• Partner with Product Development and Sourcing to meet safety and compliance requirements (e.g., food-contact safety, lead/cadmium limits, Prop 65, labeling)
• Maintain organized design files and asset libraries for reuse and handoff 

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in graphic, product or surface design, illustration or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 5–7+ years of product design experience, ideally in home décor, tabletop or gift, designing for overseas manufacture
• Packaging design experience and experience taking product from concept through overseas manufacturing, including vendor specs and sample approval
• Excellent illustration skills in a variety of styles; strong sense of color, pattern and form across both surface artwork (including hand lettering) and 3D product forms
• Working knowledge of decoration techniques across substrates (e.g., decals, screen printing, glazing, embossing, foil, embroidery, sublimation)
• Highly detail-oriented, with accurate design specs; able to prioritize multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Strong communication and presentation skills, and strong marketplace awareness with the ability to apply trends to product design
• A track record that reflects the values above: ownership, curiosity, business judgement and a willingness to challenge how things are done
• Availability to travel to trade and trend shows
• Strong portfolio of consumer-focused design across multiple substrates, including finished product sold at retail and the process behind it; portfolio link required

Preferred:

• Hand sketching, painting and sculpting
• Understanding of manufacturing processes across substrates
• Awareness of product safety and compliance requirements
• AI (Claude , ChatGPT, Perplexity, Magnific) knowledge and ability and interest in supporting AI in all areas of product development

Technical Skills:

• Adobe Creative Cloud; NedGraphics or similar textile design software
• Digital sketching tools (e.g., Procreate)
• Generative AI tools (e.g., Adobe Firefly, Google Nano Banana, Midjourney, Magnific)
• Presentation software and project trackers; PLM experience a plus
• 3D modeling/rendering (e.g., Rhino, SolidWorks, KeyShot) a plus; must communicate 3D forms clearly through dimensioned drawings

Physical Requirements:

• Position requires occassional standing, walking, reaching, bending, lifting, and movement.
• Occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling up to 50 lbs.

Benefits:

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible Spending Account
• Health savings account
• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Company paid life insurance and long-term disability insurance
• Voluntary Life insurance
• Voluntary Short-Term Disability
• Paid time off

The successful candidate must be able to pass a pre-employment background check and drug screening.