A brief isn’t a form you fill out to tick a box. It’s the document that keeps you from paying twice for the same brand. When the product is physical, this matters even more: a bad call isn’t fixed with a click, it’s fixed by reprinting labels.

This is the structure we use at the studio to kick off projects for food, beverage and retail brands. You don’t need it to be perfect. You need it to be honest.

Start with the product, not the logo

Almost every brief we get starts with “I want a modern, minimal logo.” That’s understandable, but it starts at the end. Before talking about aesthetics, describe the product as if you were explaining it to someone who has never tried it:

  • What it is and what problem it solves or craving it covers.
  • How it differs from what already exists. Ingredients, origin, process, price, format.
  • How many sizes or flavors you have today and how many you expect in a year.

That last point changes the design more than you’d think. A brand built for one product breaks when five flavors show up. If you know your product line will grow, the system has to plan for it from the start.

Who buys it and where they first see it

“Women aged 25 to 40” isn’t enough. What helps is knowing the situation in which someone runs into your product. The same jar of sauce lives very different lives if it’s discovered on a supermarket shelf, at a makers’ fair, in an Instagram story or in the catalog you send over WhatsApp.

List your real touchpoints in order of importance. If most of your sales happen through direct messages today, the brand has to look good in a phone photo, not just in a perfect render. If you’re aiming for supermarket chains, the package has to read from two meters away and compete with everything around it.

Physical constraints belong in the brief, not after it

This is where most projects get delayed. The designer delivers a beautiful label, and then the printer says the material can’t take that color, or the container has a curve that warps the text. Write down everything you already know:

  • Container type, dimensions and material. If you already have a supplier, ask for the technical template (die line).
  • Printing method and number of inks, if there’s a cost limit.
  • Mandatory information: health registration, nutrition facts, batch, expiry date, ingredients, net content. Check the labeling rules that apply to your category and to every country where you’ll sell.
  • Space for the barcode and any seal or certification you want to show.

You don’t have to know everything. But share what you do know from day one.

Look at what sits next to you

Your product is never seen alone. Take photos of the shelf, your competitors’ Instagram accounts and the products your customer buys when they don’t buy yours. Put them in a single document.

Not to copy. To spot the category codes: if every honey uses yellow and handcrafted type, you have two paths. Respect the code so people recognize you as honey, or break it so they notice you. Both are valid. What doesn’t work is deciding without having looked.

What already exists and what can change

Many product brands arrive with something already made: a registered name, a logo a relative designed, printed boxes in storage. Be clear about what can change and what can’t.

  • Is the name registered, or can it change?
  • Is there packaging stock you need to use up before switching?
  • Do your current customers recognize an element worth keeping?

A well-executed evolution sometimes pays off more than starting from scratch, especially if customers already know you by a color or a shape.

Real budget and real dates

Talking about money is uncomfortable, but hiding it only drags the process out. With a rough range we can tell you what’s realistic: a full identity with a packaging system, or a solid base that expands when the product justifies it.

The same goes for dates. If you have a fair, a launch with a retail chain or a peak season, say so. Count backwards: the printer needs time and so do color proofs. The date that matters isn’t when you receive the design, it’s when you hold the printed product.

How to know your brief is ready

Before sending it, check whether it answers these questions in one or two sentences each:

  • What do I sell, and why would someone choose it over another option?
  • Who buys it, and where do they first see it?
  • What physical and legal constraints does the packaging have?
  • Which products do I compete with on the shelf or on screen?
  • What exists today, and what can change?
  • How much can I invest, and when do I need the printed product?
  • Who makes the final call?

That last question looks minor and isn’t. A project with three people giving opinions and nobody deciding stretches for weeks. Define who approves from the start.

What can wait

You don’t need to have the color palette, typography or photo style figured out. That’s what the design process is for. You also don’t need a long document: a good brief for a physical product fits in three or four pages, with photos.

What you do need is clarity about your business. Design turns that clarity into something visible. If the clarity isn’t there, no design will invent it.