Packaging Designer — Premium Sports Trading Card Product

We're launching a licensed college sports trading card brand and need a packaging designer who thinks like a consumer brand designer, not a card industry designer. What we need designed: • Hobby box (holds 10 foil packs) — custom printed folding carton, premium feel • Blaster box (holds 5 packs) — smaller format, retail-ready • Single pack wrapper — foil wrapper with custom printing • Display box (holds single packs for retail/concession sales) The vibe: Think Le Labo, Aesop, or Apple packaging — not Topps or Upper Deck. Restrained, premium, thoughtful materials. We want someone to pick up this box and immediately feel like it's different from every other card product on the shelf. Clean typography, muted color palette (cream/maroon/gold), minimal design. The packaging should whisper, not scream. We have: • Brand identity and logo concepts (in progress) • Color palette (maroon, gold, cream) • Mockups/reference images showing the direction we want • Card designs in progress separately You should have experience with: • Structural packaging design (dielines, print-ready files) • Consumer product packaging (cosmetics, spirits, DTC brands preferred) • Print production knowledge (paper stocks, coatings, foil stamping, debossing) • Preparing files for manufacturing This is NOT: • A graphic design-only job — we need someone who understands physical packaging production • A rush job — but we are on a timeline (product launches fall 2026) Deliverables: • Structural dielines for all box formats • Print-ready packaging artwork (CMYK + spot colors + foil layers) • 3D mockups for approval before production • Material/finish recommendations