Packaging design brief template
Every question a packaging brief should answer, with a real example filled in. Copy the template, or send it as a guided brief.
The template, filled in
Example answers for Fuego Verde, a hot sauce going into grocery stores.
What’s the business or brand called?
Fuego Verde
What does the business do?
A sentence or two is enough.
Small-batch green hot sauce made in Austin. We sell at farmers markets and online, and we’re about to go into grocery stores.
What should this project achieve?
A new label that gets us picked up off a grocery shelf by people who’ve never heard of us.
Who are we trying to reach?
The people this work is for: who they are and what they care about.
Home cooks in their 20s and 30s who buy hot sauce to try something new.
What should people think or feel when they see it?
A few words is fine.
Fresh and bright, with a bit of heat. Homemade but not messy.
What do you like, and what should we avoid?
Brands, links and examples welcome.
We like bold color blocks and big type. Avoid flames, skulls and chili cartoons: every hot sauce has those.
Anything else we should know?
Key dates, must-haves, anything we haven’t asked.
The first grocery order ships March 1, so print files are due February 1.
What’s the product, and what format is the packaging?
Box, label, bag, bottle…
Green hot sauce in a 5 oz bottle with a wraparound paper label, plus a 6-bottle shipping carton.
Do you have dielines or exact dimensions?
The printer sent a label dieline: 6.5 × 2.75 inches. No carton dieline yet.
Where is it sold, and what sits next to it on the shelf?
The hot sauce aisle at regional grocery stores, next to the big national brands and a wall of red labels.
Any print or material constraints?
Finishes, materials, cost per unit, required legal text.
Waterproof label stock, four colors at most. It needs the net weight, ingredients, nutrition facts and a barcode.
What makes a good packaging design brief
A good packaging brief starts with the dieline, the shelf and the legal text. They set the canvas before any idea does, so get them before concepts, not before print.
Why each question matters is in the packaging design questionnaire. For any other project, start with the design brief template.
Send your next brief as one link.
Your client answers one question at a time on their phone. Briefscope reads the brief, lists what’s missing, and lays out a plan with real dates.
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