What to Look for When Hiring a Graphic Designer
Finding a Graphic Designer Who Understands Packaging, Branding, and Growth
If you’re building or growing a product-based business, especially in industries like candles, fragrance, or beauty, here’s a good chance you’ve already realized how important branding and packaging are. But finding the right graphic designer can feel overwhelming. Do you need someone who knows your niche? Can they handle packaging regulations? Do they just make things look good, or do they actually help build your business?
Here’s what to look for when hiring a graphic designer to make sure your visual brand isn’t just attractive, but effective, strategic, and built to grow with your business.
1. Niche-Specific Experience
There are plenty of talented generalists out there, but product-based businesses benefit from hiring someone who’s worked in your industry. Designing packaging for a candle brand, for example, is completely different than creating a logo for a tech startup.
A designer who understands fragrance, wellness, or beauty knows how to:
Balance aesthetics with functionality (for example, will that label survive heat and wax?)
Work with various vessel types and production constraints
Design with in-store presence and the unboxing experience in mind
Why this matters: You don’t want to waste time explaining how product labeling works or what makes a vessel feel premium. Hire someone who already understands your product category, and can help elevate your offering from day one.
2. A Strategic, Brand-Led Approach
Beautiful design is everywhere. But strategic design, the kind that aligns with your business goals and resonates with your customer is harder to find.
Look for a graphic designer who asks the right questions:
Who is your target audience?
What kind of emotion or mood should your packaging and branding evoke?
What’s your brand’s backstory and how can it inform the creative direction?
This is the difference between a one-off logo and a cohesive visual brand that supports your business as it grows.
3. Packaging Design Expertise
Packaging is often the first physical touchpoint someone has with your product. Especially in the home fragrance and personal fragrance industries, it plays a critical role in customer perception.
A packaging designer should understand:
Print production, dielines, and labeling constraints
Material options that elevate your product and fit your budget
Industry-specific regulations, especially for categories like candles and perfume
Cutting corners on packaging design can make a product feel generic. Investing in high-end candle packaging or custom fragrance packaging signals quality, professionalism, and intention.
4. Professional Communication and Ongoing Support
Hiring a designer should be the start of a long-term relationship not a one-time transaction. Your brand will grow and evolve, and so will your visual needs.
Look for someone who:
Communicates clearly and is responsive to deadlines
Can interpret loose ideas into refined design concepts
Offers guidance and clarity when decisions need to be made
And most importantly, someone who can stay involved after the launch. As your business adds new products, updates marketing materials, or expands online, you’ll want to keep your branding tight and consistent. Things can easily veer off-brand if you’re working with too many hands and no clear design lead. Keeping your original designer close ensures your brand continues to feel strong and cohesive.
5. A Portfolio That Shows Versatility and Intentionality
Browse their portfolio not just for visual appeal, but for smart thinking. Look for:
Brands that feel unique and differentiated
A consistent visual language across all touchpoints, logos, packaging, websites, and collateral
Design that matches the brand’s audience and positioning, rather than reflecting a single personal style
A graphic designer who specializes in branding design and packaging design for product-based businesses should be able to adapt their creativity to suit each brand’s unique personality not just replicate trends.
Final Thoughts
The right designer won’t just make your products look great, they’ll help shape the foundation of your brand. If you’re launching or scaling a product-based business in the home fragrance or personal fragrance space, and you want thoughtful, elevated branding and packaging that truly reflects your vision, I’d love to help
Let’s create something beautiful, strategic, and completely yours.
Still want to be a Canva Queen? Why not put your branding work to the test? Take my free mini brand audit to see where you’re strong and were you might need some help.
