Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Artwork Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Artwork Coordinator is the central point of contact for artwork production, responsible for preparing, reviewing, approving, and delivering print- and digital-ready artwork across packaging, labeling, and promotional assets. This role ensures brand and regulatory compliance, manages external vendors and internal stakeholders, maintains artwork version control and digital asset hygiene, and drives continuous improvements in artwork workflows to reduce time-to-market and minimize errors.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Graphic Designer with packaging or print experience
Production Artist or Prepress Technician
Packaging Designer or Label Designer

Advancement To:

Senior Artwork Coordinator
Artwork Manager / Artwork Production Manager
Packaging Development Manager or Creative Operations Manager
Head of Print Production or Global Artwork Lead

Lateral Moves:

Prepress Technician / Prepress Specialist
Print Production Coordinator
Vendor Quality & Compliance Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead end-to-end artwork management for packaging and promotional materials, including receiving briefs, creating timelines, coordinating approvals, and delivering print-ready files to vendors while ensuring on-time launch schedules.
Review, edit, and QC artwork files (AI, PDF, InDesign, EPS) against masters, dielines, mechanicals, and spec sheets to ensure accuracy of copy, layout, colors, barcodes, lot and batch numbering fields, and regulatory information.
Maintain strict version control: manage shared artwork repositories, naming conventions, version histories, and approval audit trails to eliminate duplicate work and reduce production errors.
Implement and enforce brand guidelines and visual identity on all packaging and marketing assets, advising internal stakeholders and external agencies on deviations and acceptable exceptions.
Coordinate with regulatory, legal, and quality assurance teams to ensure artwork content meets country-specific labeling laws, ingredient statements, language requirements, warning copy, and regulatory submissions prior to print.
Prepare and export print-ready files using industry standards (PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-4), ensuring correct bleed, trim, crop marks, color profiles (CMYK, spot colors), and resolution for specified print processes.
Conduct color management and proof approval processes, including soft proofs, digital contract proofs, and physical press proofs; reconcile color differences and provide remediation guidance.
Validate barcodes and scannable elements (GS1 compliance) and collaborate with supply chain partners to test and confirm barcode readability across packaging formats.
Manage multiple external print vendors and packaging suppliers: distribute job packs, confirm print specifications, monitor production status, collect proofs and certificates, and resolve vendor queries to avoid delays.
Use and maintain prepress tools (ArtPro, Esko, Enfocus PitStop, Kodak Prinergy or equivalent) and provide hands-on preflight corrections or detailed instructions for vendor prepress teams.
Oversee artwork change controls for product updates, SKU launches, and label revisions, including creation and tracking of change orders, impact assessments, and communication plans.
Collaborate with product marketing, brand, regulatory, quality, procurement, and R&D to translate product and regulatory changes into updated artwork requirements and production schedules.
Audit artwork workflows regularly to identify recurring errors, root causes, and implement corrective actions such as updated checklists, templates, and automation to reduce rework.
Maintain artwork calendars and resource forecasts; prioritize projects by business impact, launch date and regulatory deadlines; escalate conflicts and provide mitigation strategies to stakeholders.
Train and mentor junior artwork staff, agency partners, and internal stakeholders on artwork standards, file preparation best practices, and approval processes to raise organization-wide quality.
Create and maintain standardized artwork templates, dieline libraries, and packaging component specifications for common SKUs and product lines to accelerate production and improve consistency.
Lead post-press reviews and perform final QC on production samples and first-offs; document manufacturing deviations and drive corrective actions with suppliers and internal teams.
Establish and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for artwork efficiency and quality (on-time delivery, first-time-right rate, number of reworks), delivering regular reports and recommendations to leadership.
Manage project budgets related to artwork production and proofing, including vendor quotes, cost approvals, and invoice reconciliation for artwork-specific services.
Act as escalation point for artwork-related issues during product launches or recalls, quickly triaging problems, coordinating cross-functional remediation, and documenting lessons learned.
Ensure artwork and label files are archived securely with full metadata, approval logs and access controls for audit readiness and regulatory inspections.
Support digital asset management (DAM) and product information management (PIM) integrations by supplying compliant, metadata-rich artwork assets to downstream systems.
Participate in continuous improvement projects to standardize workflow automation, web-to-print solutions, and template-driven artwork platforms that lower cycle times.

Secondary Functions

Serve as liaison between creative agencies and internal design teams to onboard new packaging briefs, transfer technical requirements, and ensure deliverables meet production constraints.
Support product launch readiness reviews by providing artwork status, outstanding actions, and risk assessments to cross-functional launch teams.
Facilitate regular vendor performance reviews and qualification activities, contributing to supplier scorecards and improvement plans focused on quality and lead time.
Manage ad-hoc artwork escalations (e.g., last-minute regulatory changes or urgent recalls), coordinating 24/7 vendor support when required to meet critical deadlines.
Contribute to template and automation projects by mapping existing manual steps and advising on business rules for dynamic artwork generation and localization scaling.
Assist in preparing documentation and samples for regulatory filings, export paperwork, and customer audits that require accurate labeling and artwork evidence.
Collaborate with packaging engineers and procurement on dieline updates, substrate changes, and component tolerances that affect artwork layout and print specifications.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop) for packaging and label file creation and edits.
Strong prepress and file preparation experience: PDF/X export, bleed/trim setup, trapping, overprint handling, and vector cleanup.
Hands-on experience with industry prepress tools (Esko ArtPro, DeskPack, Enfocus PitStop, Kodak Prinergy or equivalent).
Deep understanding of printing processes (flexography, gravure, lithography, digital print) and how process choice affects artwork setup and color management.
Color management skills: ICC profiles, Pantone spot color handling, CMYK conversions and soft-proofing workflows.
Barcode creation/validation (GS1 standards), serialisation fields, variable data placeholders and print verification processes.
Knowledge of regulatory labeling requirements across regions (FDA, EU labeling directives, country-specific language/ingredient rules).
Familiarity with dielines, structural templates, and packaging components (folding cartons, labels, shrink sleeves, pouches, cartons).
Experience with document management systems, version control tools and DAM/PIM integrations (ability to maintain audit trails).
Strong MS Office skills (Excel for tracking, Word for documentation) and experience with project management platforms (Jira, Asana, Wrike, Smartsheet).
Basic understanding of printing proofs: contract proofs, color bars, process control strips and press check terminology.
Experience with vendor management and sourcing for print vendors, proofing houses and prepress suppliers.

Soft Skills

Exceptional attention to detail and a zero-tolerance approach to errors in copy, legal text and regulatory content.
Strong stakeholder management and verbal/written communication skills; able to explain technical prepress issues to non-technical teams.
Project prioritization and time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple launches and tight deadlines concurrently.
Problem-solving and decision-making under pressure—able to assess risks and implement pragmatic fixes quickly.
Collaborative team player who can work cross-functionally and build productive vendor relationships.
Continuous improvement mindset; comfortable leading process changes and training others.
Adaptability to changing priorities and new tooling or automation initiatives.
Professionalism in escalation situations and capacity to maintain composure during product launches or recalls.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or equivalent; relevant vocational training in graphic arts, print production, or packaging is acceptable.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Packaging Science, Print Technology, Visual Communications, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Graphic Design
Packaging Science / Engineering
Print Technology or Prepress
Visual Communications
Marketing or Industrial Design

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of artwork, packaging or prepress experience; or 1–3 years plus strong agency/external vendor experience.

Preferred: 3–5+ years in artwork coordination or packaging design support for consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or food industries with exposure to regulatory labeling and print vendor management.