The packaging design process, start to finish: how a project actually runs

The six stages at a glance

The durations assume inputs arrive on time and one decision-maker signs off within a few days. They stretch in proportion to the number of people who need to agree.

Stage 1: brief and discovery

The project starts with a written brief, built from the client's inputs and the studio's questions. Our note on briefing a packaging designer sets out what to bring. Discovery adds the context the brief cannot: a shelf audit of the category in the target retailers, the competitor set, the retailer's packaging requirements, the regulatory regime (food, supplement, cosmetic, pet, alcohol) and the production constraints already in place (existing dielines, contracted printer, pack formats). The output is a brief both sides have agreed, a project plan with dates, and the list of inputs the client owes and when.

Stage 2: strategy and range architecture

Before anything is drawn, the studio sets out what the brand stands for, what the pack must say first, second and third, how the range is organised (by variant, by format, by tier, by need), and what formats and substrates the strategy implies. For a new brand this includes naming and the claims hierarchy; for a refresh it includes an equity audit of what to keep. The output is a short document the client approves. It is the cheapest stage to change your mind in and the most expensive stage to skip.

Stage 3: concept design

Two or three distinct directions on the hero SKU, shown as the pack in context: on shelf beside the competitors, at thumbnail size as the retailer's website will show it, and in the hand. Each direction is a real answer to the strategy, not a sketch. The client chooses one direction. We do not blend directions; the strongest feature of one and the colour of another produces a third thing that was never designed. If none of the three is right, the brief was wrong and stage 2 is revisited, which is rare when stage 2 was done.

Stage 4: design development

The chosen direction is refined and extended across every SKU, format and pack level: consumer unit, multipack, shipper where it is seen by the shopper. Range logic is tested for real: does the shopper find the right variant in three seconds, does the system hold at twenty SKUs, does it work on a tube and a jar and a carton. Mandatory content goes in now, at the right sizes, so the design is built around it: ingredient panels, nutrition panels, warnings, barcode, net quantity, recycling label, the Health Star Rating where it applies. 3D renders show the client what the finished pack will look like. The stage ends with the client approving the range design.

Stage 5: artwork, compliance and pre-press

Artwork is the technical translation of the approved design onto the printer's dieline for each SKU. It includes final copy, final regulatory content, the GS1 barcode at the correct size and position, bleed, safe zones, colour separations, overprint and trap settings to the printer's specification, and every version. Compliance is checked against a written checklist (our retailer artwork submission checklist is the public version) and, where the client has one, by their regulatory adviser. The client signs off each artwork; the signature is on a PDF proof with the dieline visible. Print-ready files are then prepared to the printer's spec and sent with a specification sheet.

• Final copy is frozen before artwork begins. A copy change after sign-off is a new round.
• Dielines come from the printer or converter, not from a template. Artwork on the wrong dieline is the most common cause of reprints.
• Barcodes are verified on a printed sample, not on screen.
• One sign-off per SKU, in writing, by the named decision-maker.

Stage 6: print management and launch

The studio briefs the printer, compares quotes, checks digital and contract proofs, attends the press check for hero SKUs where the budget allows, and signs off the press sheet against the proof. For retail launches it prepares the images and data the retailer's portal asks for and supports the range review submission. At the end the client receives the master files, the dielines, a colour specification and a short brand guideline so the next SKU can be built the same way.

What the client provides, and when

How long it takes

Add print lead time (two to eight weeks depending on process and finish), retailer artwork approval where the retailer reviews artwork (Own Brand projects, some pharmacy lines), and the range review calendar. A product aimed at a supermarket review in March needs finished packs in the buyer's hands in January, which means artwork in November and a brief in August.

Where projects go wrong

• No single decision-maker. Three opinions at concept stage become three rounds; the brief should name who decides.
• Copy and regulatory content arriving after artwork starts. The artwork stage is built around frozen content.
• Format decided after design. A design for a carton does not become a pouch design.
• Dielines assumed. Every converter's dieline is different; get the real one before artwork.
• Concepts blended. The client picks the colour of one and the layout of another and asks for both.
• Research used as a referendum. A focus group can tell you what confuses people; it cannot choose a direction.
• Print briefed late. The printer discovers the foil cannot run on that board the week of the deadline.

Written by

Morice Kastoun, Founder & Creative Director

Morice Kastoun is the founder and creative director of Morice&Co., an independent Melbourne branding and packaging studio. His packaging has shipped through the compliance processes of Coles, Woolworths, Chemist Warehouse, Priceline, Petbarn, Big W, Myer and Sephora US.