You’re a freelancer and you’ve received a request for a design, but aren’t sure about what to do or the direction to take. Maybe your client is looking for a designer to get some packaging design work done. This is the right piece for you. Here, we share with you some very important tips on how to put together a packaging design brief that would make it easier for both the client and the freelancer to engage and ultimately attain the desired results. Remember the design of the product package would in many cases determine whether your product is sold or left on the shelves.
A point to note is that a packaging design brief works to give the client some sense of direction as work on the project progresses. The document also helps to save time for both parties because all requirements are usually spelled out.
With that in mind, let's have a look at a few components of a good packaging design brief.
1. Background information about the client company in the packaging design brief
The importance of client company details in a packaging design brief cannot be stressed enough. If you as a freelancer are to create excellent design, background information about the client forms the foundation on which every other aspect of the design work is built. The client’s website would be a good place to get that kind of information, but the information therein may not be sufficient if all that’s needed to create a good packaging design is not uploaded there.
2. Information about the product in the packaging design brief
You're a freelancer and you're about to create a packaging design brief. Get to know the product. If the client doesn't provide you with enough information about the product upfront, yet you believe that some details are vital for you to come up with a good design, it’s imperative upon you to request for the information through your packaging design brief before you start working on the project. Some of the details you should have are the ingredients, volume, weight, lifespan, look, taste and any other such information that would give you a clearer picture of the product.
3. Get to establish the target audience in your packaging design brief
There is no way you're going to create a good packaging design brief without first getting to know the people for whom the design is meant. Instead of reinventing the wheel, you'd most probably find that the client company has spent substantial resources to gather information about their target in terms of age, sex, social status, geographical location, language, and so forth. As a freelancer, getting this information and including it would make your packaging design brief stronger.
4. Get physical packaging specifications in the packaging design brief
When developing a packaging design brief, there are some fundamental elements of the product that must be included if the work is to be completed successfully. Like in point two above, the size of the package is important, understanding that some products would require some extra buffer for protective purposes during transportation and storage.
- Which part of the package is expected to be more visible to the viewers?
- What's the surface area of this part?
- What kind of material is to be used to make the package?
With these answers captured in the packaging design brief, you can be sure that the work would be much easier.
5. Get the copy for the packaging design brief
As a freelance designer, you're probably not going to dabble into copywriting, not unless you're a copywriter and that's one of your responsibilities in the contract. To put it right, ensure that you get a copy done based on the target audience. Also important is the legal information, the barcode, ingredients, a brief text about the product and a "How To" where necessary.
To wrap it all up, if the design is going to require the use of some images, be sure to check on the image copyrights. If you're the one to provide the image for the design, either purchase or use free license images that wouldn't land you into property right issues.
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