If you’ve just taken over packaging at your company, you’re probably asking:
Where do I even start? What does a good artwork workflow look like? How can I avoid errors and build a system that scales as we grow? 

This guide is designed exactly for that moment. 

Whether you're inheriting a chaotic mess or a halfway decent system, the first 90 days are your best shot at shaping how your packaging team (and everyone they collaborate with) works. This playbook walks you through exactly what to focus on in your first 30, 60, and 90 days so you can build a reliable, repeatable, and scalable artwork management process. 

First 30 days: Understand the landscape 

Your goal here is to observe, audit, and learn. You're not here to fix things just yet, but understand how things currently work, where the friction lies, and who touches what. 

1. Map the existing artwork workflow 

Ask yourself: 

• Who initiates artwork projects? 

• What tools are used to brief, review, and approve packaging designs? 

• Where are files stored? Are they versioned? 

• How are final files handed off to printers or suppliers? 

Most teams use a mix of email, spreadsheets, shared drives, and maybe a design platform like Adobe Illustrator. But what’s often missing is a central system that ties it all together.  

This is where tools like Artwork Flow can help bring visibility, structure, and version control to your packaging lifecycle without adding more complexity. 

2. Audit recent artwork projects 

Review 3 to 5 recent artwork projects, especially those that involved multiple rounds of feedback or tight deadlines. Ask: 

• How many packaging revisions did they go through? 

• Where did delays happen? 

• Were there any artwork compliance issues or errors caught late? 

You’ll start spotting patterns like missing briefs, overlapping feedback, or unclear ownership. 

3. Talk to key stakeholders 

Talk to teams involved in the packaging lifecycle, like: 

• Marketing or Brand (they own the brief) 

• Legal/Regulatory (they review content) 

• Design (in-house or agency) 

• R&D/Product (they give technical specs) 

• QA or Packaging Engineering (they check for manufacturability) 

• Vendors or printers (they work with final files) 

Ask each stakeholder: 

• What frustrates you most about the current process? 

• Where do mistakes usually happen? 

• What do you wish was easier or faster? 

These insights will help you build a packaging workflow that people actually want to use. 

Days 30–60: Design your ideal artwork workflow 

Now that you understand how things work and where they break, you’re ready to start building the system that your team can scale with. 

Step 1: Define your core workflow stages 

A scalable packaging workflow typically includes the following stages: 

1. Briefing: What are we creating? What are the specs, claims, SKU details, and deadlines? 

2. Design & development: Where first drafts and versions are created. 

3. Internal review: Usually by marketing or product teams. 

4. Regulatory & legal review: Critical for label compliance. 

5. Artwork finalization: Final tweaks, mechanicals, die-line adjustments. 

6. Prepress & printer handoff: Files are released for production. 

Write this down. Better yet, make a visual flowchart. 

Pro Tip: Assign owners and deadlines to each stage. If everything’s everyone’s job, it won’t get done. 

Step 2: Create standardized templates 

Templates reduce confusion and keep everyone aligned. 

Some must-haves: 

• A creative brief template: Include fields for SKU, claims, dimensions, regulatory constraints, and assets needed. 

• A compliance checklist: Tailored to your industry’s packaging requirements (FDA, FSSAI, EU labeling laws, etc.). 

• A reviewer matrix: Defines who must sign off on what (and in which order). 

This makes the process repeatable, even as your team grows or changes. 

Step 3: Identify gaps in your tool stack 

At this point, you’ll notice where tools fall short. You might find: 

• Files are scattered across email, Google Drive, and desktops 

• There’s no version control 

• Feedback is hard to track 

• Regulatory checks happen too late 

Consider introducing: 

• An artwork management system that centralizes briefs, versions, and approvals 

• Proofing tools that let you annotate files and compare revisions side by side 

• Compliance checkers that verify mandatory elements (like ingredient declarations, barcode placement, or warning statements) 

If you’re looking to consolidate briefs, artwork, feedback, and approvals into a single system, Artwork Flow can help you simplify the process while staying compliant and on schedule. 

Day 60–90: Pilot your new system and roll it out 

You’ve done the research, built a framework, and selected tools. Now it’s time to put it into action on a small scale. 

1. Run a pilot project 

Pick one packaging project (like a label refresh or SKU extension) and run it through your new workflow. 

Keep it simple: 

• Use your new brief and checklist 

• Assign reviewers for each stage 

• Use your proofing or artwork management tool 

Document everything such as how long it takes, what works well, and what breaks. 

2. Collect feedback and refine 

After the pilot, gather feedback: 

• Did reviewers feel rushed or confused? 

• Did version control hold up? 

• Were there still delays? 

Use this feedback to refine your templates, add clarity to handoffs, or automate repetitive tasks (like sending review reminders). 

3. Roll it out across the team 

Now that the process is tested, scale it to more projects or brands. 

Make it easy to adopt: 

• Host a kickoff or training session 

• Create a simple SOP document 

• Offer 1:1 onboarding for power users 

Position yourself not just as a process builder, but as a packaging operations leader who makes others’ work smoother and faster. 

Beyond 90 days: Optimize and evolve 

A scalable artwork system is never truly “done.” But by day 90, you should have: 

• A clearly mapped, documented workflow 

• Standardized briefs and checklists 

• The right tools to manage collaboration, review, and compliance 

• A small group of trained team members who can champion the new process 

From here, focus on optimizing: 

• Can you speed up reviews with automation? 

• Can you reduce rounds of revisions by improving briefs? 

• Can you scale to more SKUs, regions, or packaging types without chaos? 

With the foundation you’ve built, the answer will almost always be yes. 

With a platform like Artwork Flow, you can track these metrics in real time, giving you the visibility to scale without sacrificing accuracy or speed.  

What should my artwork workflow look like? 

If you're taking over packaging at your company, here's your 90-day plan: 

Final thoughts 

When packaging errors happen, it’s rarely because people don’t care. As a new packaging manager, your biggest value is not managing individual projects. It’s designing a system that makes the right thing the easiest thing to do. 

If you're ready to bring structure, speed, and clarity to your artwork process, Artwork Flow gives you everything you need to scale packaging operations without the growing pains. Book a demo today.

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