Artwork Approval Process

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Overview:

  • The Packaging Artwork Approval Process is a critical stage in product development, particularly in industries like food, CPG, and pharmaceuticals. This process encompasses the review, modification, and final approval of packaging designs to ensure they meet brand standards, regulatory compliance, and market expectations. It involves multiple stakeholders, including designers, marketing teams, regulatory experts, and sometimes external partners.

Challenges:

  • Key challenges in this process include managing feedback from various stakeholders, ensuring alignment with brand guidelines, adhering to strict regulatory standards, and avoiding delays that can impact time-to-market. Additionally, maintaining version control and ensuring the final approved artwork is crucial.

How ManageArtworks addresses these challenges?

  • Centralized feedback and collaboration: ManageArtworks provides a unified platform where all stakeholders can view, comment, and provide feedback on the artwork, ensuring clear communication and reducing the risk of misunderstandings.
  • Compliance and brand consistency tools: ManageArtworks includes powerful proofing tools which can check everything from colors, layers, fonts, barcodes, braille, spelling and do compare artwork versions to show changes. Using these tools users can check the artwork against brand guidelines and regulatory standards, flagging potential issues for review.
  • Automated workflow management: ManageArtworks automates the approval process, notifying stakeholders of pending tasks, and ensuring a streamlined flow from initial design to final approval.

Below is an example of an artwork approval workflow.

  • Artwork request: The artwork request is captured in ManageArtworks using a form which includes fields for product attributes and the packaging component details. Requests can be for a single packaging component or for multiple SKUs and components.
  • Artwork design inputs: This task is performed by multiple stakeholders and includes sharing the dieline on which the artwork will be designed, the images, icons and symbols that need to be used in the artwork and the pack copy. Additional information in the form of a design brief, the colors to be used, typography, etc. may also be required. These artwork design inputs may also be reviewed and approved before sending them to the designer. Users can attach all design inputs as files within the ManageArtworks artwork project as the workflow is routed to each stakeholder.
  • Artwork design: The designer uses all the design inputs and uses Adobe Illustrator or Adobe InDesign to design the artwork as per the design brief. The artwork design may be done by an in-house designer or an external design agency. ManageArtworks brings everyone on the same platform and the external design agency can be a user in the system to download the design inputs and upload the artwork file.
  • Artwork review and approval: Artwork approval is an iterative process where the ManageArtworks workflow routes the artwork review task to different department stakeholders. Each stakeholder has their own unique checklist to review the artwork and use the annotation tools to give feedback and comments. ManageArtworks also has proofing tools to check the Colors, Layers, Fonts, Barcode, Braille and Spelling on the artwork. The first version of the artwork can be compared with the Pack Copy in the Copy Manager to instantly know if all the text on the artwork is the same as the text in the approved copy.

Once all stakeholders have given their feedback, the workflow moves back to the designer who can now go through all the comments and make the changes on the artwork. With the designer uploading the next version of the artwork, the reviewers can now compare the two versions and check if all changes have been made. Once everyone is satisfied with the artwork, the artwork is approved and is released to the printer.

Benefits of using ManageArtworks for Packaging Artwork approval process:

  • Efficient approval cycles: ManageArtworks significantly reduces the time spent inthe approval cycle, enabling faster decision-making and shorter time-to-market.
  • Reduced risk of errors: ManageArtworks helps in minimizing errors through systematic checks and balances, ensuring the final artwork is compliant and accurate.
  • Enhanced collaboration: ManageArtworks is a collaborative environment for internal and external stakeholders, making the approval process more transparent and inclusive.

Packaging Concepts – real world examples:

  • This example of a Trident Xtra Care packet was first place winner in the Student category of the 2015 Dieline awards and garnered some very positive attention for designer Hani Douaji.  It takes a familiar product and reimagines it in a fun way that is sure to win a second glance from consumers as they browse the shelves in the checkout lane.
  • This design concept is minimalistic, fun and, most importantly, does a good job of housing the product. It highlights the product - it’s often easy to forget that what makes packaging great is that it makes the product its centerpiece.
  • With a redesign that resulted in a sales increase of 1000% , Nathan Frank, Founder of Help Remedies, had this to say about the work, “Pearlfisher has done a great job in enhancing our identity so that it communicates everything we have to say without spelling it out, literally.”
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    The colourful packs feature a simple concept that revolves around a specific problem. Taking care of your health can feel stressful and scary. Help Remedies wanted to eliminate that feeling and empower you to make your own health decisions through simpler language and simpler medicine. Besides having a simple and clean design, the packaging itself was done with sustainability in mind.

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