Packaging design brief

What the calculator produces

The calculator accepts eight inputs and returns summary rows, a note and a labelled text block. The rows contain Format and Success criteria only. The note repeats the tool's limitation: a brief is not a dieline, legal copy review or manufacturing specification, and unresolved requirements need named owners before design approval. The text block carries every entered field in fixed order with uppercase labels.

Two fields are visible twice. Format appears in the first summary row and in the FORMAT line. Success criteria appears in the second row and in the SUCCESS line. The other six fields appear only in the text block. A reviewer can scan format and acceptance criteria quickly while keeping the full handoff intact.

Product and format inputs

Product is free text. Enter the item or range name the designer should recognize, not a slogan. The default Example product is placeholder text and should be replaced before sharing.

Format is a select limited to Box, Carton, Pouch, Label and Sleeve. Choose the physical format the artwork will be produced for. The calculator does not calculate dimensions, material thickness, print process or dieline geometry from this choice. If the project spans several formats, run separate briefs or state the additional formats in Constraints so the selected Format row remains unambiguous.

Audience objective and required assets

Audience and sales channel is free text. Identify the buyer and channel in the same entry, for example a retail shopper buying from a shelf or a purchaser receiving a sample. Replace the default Specify buyer and channel; it is an instruction, not project data.

Primary objective should name the job the pack must do. Required assets and information should list brand assets, product copy and approved claims the designer may use. Mark unapproved claims as pending with an owner. The calculator copies this text into the MUST line without checking completeness, permissions or claim approval.

Constraints acceptance criteria and deliverables

Constraints is the place for confirmed dimensions, material, budget and supplier process. Include units when you state a dimension, and say whether a value is confirmed or still pending. The tool does not validate units, convert measurements or compare a budget figure against anything.

Acceptance criteria should be measurable and tied to a physical check. Fit, readability and production feasibility can be expressed as checks the reviewer can perform. Deliverables should identify editable artwork, linked assets and a print-ready proof. The calculator does not create those files; it records what the handoff is expected to contain.

Reading the generated handoff

The output text uses one uppercase label per line: PRODUCT, FORMAT, AUDIENCE, OBJECTIVE, MUST, CONSTRAINTS, SUCCESS and DELIVERABLES. Each line repeats the entered value after a colon and space. The summary rows use title case labels, Format and Success criteria, while the note stays separate from the text block.

Changing Format updates the first summary row and the FORMAT line. Changing Success updates the second summary row and the SUCCESS line. Changing Product, Audience, Objective, Must, Constraints or Deliverables leaves both summary rows unchanged and alters only the corresponding text line. A changed format or acceptance criterion is therefore more prominent than a changed constraint.

Worked example: default box brief

With the starting scenario, the summary rows read Format Box and Success criteria Measurable fit, readability and production feasibility. The note repeats the limitation. The text block lists PRODUCT: Example product, FORMAT: Box, AUDIENCE: Specify buyer and channel, OBJECTIVE: Protect the product and communicate its identity, MUST: Brand assets, product copy and approved claims, CONSTRAINTS: Confirm dimensions, material, budget and supplier process, SUCCESS: Measurable fit, readability and production feasibility, and DELIVERABLES: Editable artwork, linked assets and print-ready proof.

This draft remains incomplete until the placeholder audience is replaced with the actual buyer and sales channel. The success line names checks but does not define how fit or readability will be measured. A reviewer can use it to start a handoff, not to approve production.

Worked example: pouch readability change

Changing Format to Pouch, Primary objective to Improve shelf readability, and Acceptance criteria to Approve legible product identity on a full-size filled sample updates two summary rows and three text lines. The Format row becomes Pouch. The Success criteria row becomes the new acceptance text. The text block keeps the other values and updates FORMAT, OBJECTIVE and SUCCESS.

The words full-size filled sample make readability physically testable rather than a preference. The calculator does not create that sample or define shelf distance, type size or contrast. It records the criterion only, so sampling responsibility needs a named owner outside the tool.

Edge case: vague criteria and unowned requirements

If Acceptance criteria remain abstract, the output still formats them, but the handoff gives designers no clear approval gate. Replace a vague goal with a checkable statement and keep it in the Success field so it appears in the summary row. If a requirement cannot be resolved, do not hide it in prose. Name the owner in Constraints or Required assets and information and keep the limitation note attached.

A brief can cover several deliverables and still omit an owner for approvals. The tool has no owner, date or version field. Record those details in the relevant free-text field if they are part of the project record. Do not treat the generated text as a substitute for a dieline, legal copy review or manufacturing specification.

Questions about packaging design brief