A better brief checklist Use this checklist to evaluate your brief before it goes out the door.
Business and marketing strategy What’s needed?
And why?
Key Business Objectives (KPIs)
This gives us a way to measure our progress during the project and success after the project.
Provide us with a list of reasons why this project is vital to the business, in order of priority.
Target Audience & Bullseye Paint a picture of your perfect customer, the customer who absolutely wants or needs your product or service.
Key Brand/Product Insights What insights do you have about the category, your brand, and your product?
Unique Selling Point (USP) Why does your brand exist? What is different about it? What aspects of a design do, or can, your brand own?
Brand Essence What are your brand's core characteristics, such as its values, what the brand stands for, and how you want people to feel about your brand?
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When we can see a clear portrait of the customer, the tangible nature of the picture helps us create a clear design.
Insights can reveal consumer expectations of your brand or its category, for example, a color cue. This, in turn, informs design considerations.
Your brand's unique selling point helps us develop a unique visual language with design elements that showcase what makes your brand special.
Your brand essence helps us deliver a positive and consistent emotional experience through design to showcase your brand's heart visually and verbally.
Execution What’s needed?
And why?
We need visual references like images, such as:
Current brand: Visual references tell the brand story more fully and how a consumer may interact with the brand.
How the current brand is merchandised across touchpoints References to competitors Inspiration or aspirations that show us where you want to take the brand
SKU Count & Structure Formats The number of products that need to be designed and for which we have to extend the story of the product in its environment e.g., cartons, cases, labels, jars, etc.
Working Files An original, layered, editable, to-scale .ai file with live (not outlined) copy (and a full collection of fonts used), high-resolution live and linked imagery, and a full collection of the images used. It should also include a layer with the dieline.
SKU Count & Structure Formats The number of products that need to be designed and for which we have to extend the story of the product in its environment e.g., cartons, cases, labels, jars, etc.
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Competitors: In our design exploration process, the competitor references, such as visual cues, colors, and other design elements, tell us what others already own. Aspirational: Show us what you consider to be bold or disruptive designs. Images can help us establish a common understanding of terms that can sometimes be subjective.
Accurate SKU information helps us develop a design that can account for the variations and their unique requirements. And, of course, it helps with scoping and timelines for the project.
We often use your files for simple updates or adaptations. We can be more efficient with simple updates when we don't need to re-create them from scratch.
Accurate SKU information helps us develop a design that can account for the variations and their unique requirements. And, of course, it helps with scoping and timelines for the project.
What’s needed?
And why?
Dielines
When we have the dielines, we don't need to create them from scratch, and we can spend our time on design.
A dieline is a mechanical tool that is generally supplied by the printer and is used both in design and production. It establishes the parameters of what can be designed and where the design will go. It gives the designer a proper template to use and adapt into what will eventually be the finalized product. The dieline should be a to-scale vector-based file (.ai, .eps, editable .pdf), with all dieline information on separate layers. Fold lines, type/copy safety, graphic bleed, cut lines, measurements, and print direction are preferred elements to be layered into the dieline file.
Copy & Communication Hierarchy Provide a list of the information that needs to be on the pack, such as SKU name, product benefits, and claims. Indicate the level of importance for each piece of copy. Is this a must-have or a nice-to-have? A consumer can process three messages, maximum, research has revealed. (IMI International)
Stakeholder Introductions Introduce us to other key project contributors who we will work with, such as the printers.
Copy helps us set up a visual hierarchy for information in the design phase, leading to design structures that we can implement across all SKUs and formats. In the production phase, if the copy is locked, it helps avoid unnecessary rounds of refinements.
When you introduce us to your printers early in the project, they give us valuable information so that we can design artwork that meets their specifications. And, the project avoids unnecessary rounds of refinements. Typical, but not exhaustive, examples of information we need from printers are: Does the printer use a four- or five-color press? What kind of finishes are they able to provide?
Timelines & Budget Share your ideal timeline and budget range for the project, keeping in mind your internal approval needs and stakeholder deadlines, such as the printers.
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This information helps us tailor our process and ideas to fit your needs to give you and your stakeholders the best experience possible.