Sticker Sheet Production Designer — Adobe Illustrator, Kiss-Cut & Prepress

Production Designer — Men's Planner Sticker System / Print-Ready Kiss-Cut Sheets I'm developing Project Warrior Code, a men's productivity/personal-development brand, and producing a premium line of masculine planner/journal stickers called Field Markers. I already have the product concept, visual direction, copy, categories, marker ideas, and reference artwork. This is primarily production design—not an open-ended branding project. I need an experienced Illustrator/prepress designer who can take my written marker specifications and visual references and rebuild them as clean, original vector artwork suitable for professional sticker manufacturing. FIRST ENGAGEMENT 3 sticker sheets, approximately 60–100 individual markers per sheet. I will provide: Exact marker copy Categories Size modules Visual reference sheets Brand direction Approved colors Icon direction The selected designer will establish a reusable design system that can later expand into additional Field Marker collections. VISUAL DIRECTION Premium masculine / military field manual / architectural / disciplined. Palette: black, charcoal, bone/white, with restrained oxblood/red accent. Think: Military insignia Field-manual typography Shields and geometric badges Command labels Achievement markers Minimal tactical iconography Strong typography Premium men's performance brand NOT: cute planner styling, cartoonish artwork, gradients, flames, wolves, skulls, excessive Spartan imagery, or heavy distressed/grunge effects. The finished product should feel premium and masculine rather than novelty military merchandise. DELIVERABLES PER SHEET Print-ready PDF/X-4 Approximately 7" × 10" finished sheet 0.125" bleed 0.25" safe margin Native Adobe Illustrator (.AI) source file, fully layered and organized Individual kiss-cut contours on dedicated production layer Cut contours configured according to selected printer's final specifications Closed vector cut paths Minimum 0.125" spacing between adjacent markers unless printer specification requires otherwise Minimum 1/16" corner radius where appropriate CMYK artwork Fonts outlined in production file Any approved raster elements at least 300 DPI at final size Matching 8.5" × 11" US Letter arrangement for potential digital-download use Editable master asset library containing reusable approved badges, shields, tabs, banners, icons, etc. Important: final cut-contour spot-color naming and technical setup will follow the specifications of the printer selected for production. Designer must be comfortable adapting files to printer-specific prepress requirements. STANDARD SIZE MODULES Full Box — 1.5" × 1.9" Large Full Box — 1.5" × 2.25" Half Box — 1.5" × 0.95" Header Strip — 1.5" × 0.25" Large Header — 1.5" × 0.5" Icon — approximately 0.5" × 0.5" Flag/Tab — approximately 0.5" × 1.0" Full-Width Banner — approximately 5.5" × 0.4" Some markers will contain writable areas, so layout and typography must account for practical handwriting space. ORIGINAL ARTWORK / IP REQUIREMENTS This is a commercial product. Final production artwork must be newly created for this project and may not contain unapproved: Licensed stock artwork Third-party copyrighted graphics Trademarked graphics/logos Purchased icon packs AI-generated artwork embedded directly into final production files Reference images I provide are creative direction only and should not simply be auto-traced. Designer must recreate approved elements as clean, professional vector artwork. Native source files and all final approved artwork must be delivered upon completion. Final approved work will be work made for hire to the extent permitted by applicable law, with all transferable intellectual-property rights in the final deliverables assigned to the client upon final payment. CONFIDENTIALITY / NDA This project involves an unreleased product line and proprietary brand concepts. Selected candidates must sign a confidentiality/NDA agreement before receiving the complete product library, unreleased artwork, product roadmap, or other confidential Project Warrior Code materials. Confidential materials may not be: Shared with another person or subcontractor Posted publicly Added to a portfolio without written permission Used to create competing products Sold, licensed, distributed, or reused Uploaded to public AI systems or asset libraries without written authorization All project files and confidential materials must remain private. PAID TEST I intend to select up to 3 candidates to complete the same paid production test. Test: one mini-sheet containing approximately 12 markers Flat payment: $135 per candidate The test is intended to evaluate: Vector craftsmanship Typography Prepress knowledge Accuracy Ability to follow established brand direction File/layer organization Communication The strongest fit may receive the full collection and future expansion work. FULL PROJECT BUDGET Approximately $130–$185 per completed sheet, depending on complexity and final scope. This is expected to become an ongoing product line for the right designer. TO APPLY Please answer all four questions. Generic applications that don't answer them will not be considered. 1. Link to kiss-cut/die-cut sticker, label or packaging work you personally prepared for commercial printing. If possible, name the printer/manufacturer the files were supplied to. 2. Explain how you normally set up a kiss-cut contour in Illustrator, including spot-color/overprint treatment, and why. 3. What software will you use to create the production files? 4. Have you prepared multi-design sticker sheets containing dozens of independent kiss-cut paths? If yes, briefly describe the project. Skills: Adobe Illustrator · Print Design · Prepress · Vector Illustration · Packaging & Label Design · Sticker Design