collaboration – Page 2

January 24, 2023January 24, 2023

How many reminders have you sent today?

Collecting feedback on packaging design from multiple stakeholders can be a frustrating and time-consuming process, especially when relying on traditional methods such as email. Not only does it require constant back-and-forth communication, but it also makes it difficult to keep track of comments and revisions from different parties. And let’s not talk about “you know who”, who always needs a few reminders to send the feedback and is almost always late.

One of the biggest challenges in this process is getting feedback from printers, regulatory bodies, marketing teams, contract manufacturers, and clients. Each of these groups has their own specific concerns and requirements that need to be addressed, and coordinating their input can be a logistical nightmare.

Printers will have concerns about the technical aspects of the design, such as file keylines or barcodes, while regulatory teams will need to ensure that the packaging complies with all relevant laws and standards and includes the approved text. Marketing teams will want to ensure that the design follows the “somewhat” strict brand guidelines, while contract manufacturers will need to ensure that the design is suitable for their machinery. And of course, if you are dealing with clients will have their own unique requirements and preferences.

All of these different perspectives and requirements can make the feedback process overwhelming, and it can be difficult to keep track of who has provided what feedback and what revisions have been made. This can lead to delays, miscommunication and increased costs. And….yeah, I won’t mention the fearful recall.

Thankfully, there is a solution to this problem: an approval management system such as the one provided by Twona. This system streamlines the feedback process by providing a central platform for all stakeholders (also external stakeholders to your organization) to collaborate and provide feedback on the design. It eliminates the need for constant back-and-forth communication via email and makes it easy to keep track of comments and revisions (with very strict version control).

With Twona’s approval management system, all stakeholders can easily view the design and provide feedback in real-time. This speeds up the approval process and ensures that all comments and revisions are captured in one place. Additionally, the system allows for easy communication between stakeholders and makes it easy to see which feedback has been addressed and which still needs to be acted upon.

If you’re tired of the frustration and inefficiency of the traditional feedback process and wish you were on the beach instead of sending emails reminding people to do their jobs, contact our sales team today to schedule a demo of Twona’s approval management system. See for yourself how it can make a difference to your packaging design process and improve your bottom line.

July 22, 2022January 24, 2023

Add (this) AMS to your life

Are you involved in Artwork Packaging Design?

If you’re reading this you and your team probably manage thousands of artworks a year: from packaging, to labels, to digital assets, you name it. Between emails, phone calls, reminders, artworks with change requests, new design specifications, and last minute jobs, there’s no doubt you have a busy work day.

If all the above makes you feel stressed it could be because you have not found the right system to help you with all of your workload … YET.

With that in mind I would like you to take a look at Twona AMS, a highly customizable Artwork Management System which is simple and easy to use, and can be integrated with other tools to automate your workflow, all without you having to be a coding expert.

With Twona AMS you will find a one stop shop for your design process, from beginning to end. So what can you expect from Twona AMS?

Twona AMS can provide you with…

Tailored workflows
A complete overview of you and your team’s workload
The ability to allocate time and resources accordingly
A way to oversee the complete process of a project from one single location
A tool to collaborate with your team, add messages, and leave notes
Quality assurance tools, such as graphic and content comparison directly from your job request
A way to share documents and get artwork approvals internally or from external parties
The ability to keep version control and history of all your files
Automation of tasks that can be repetitive
Integration with other applications already used in your organization to avoid duplication of activities

If this sounds lovely, you don’t need to wait any longer to regain control of your workflow and increase your efficiency.

Checking our website is free, and getting yourself a license is too!

You can start today with no obligation.

July 21, 2022February 3, 2023

The Perfect Artwork Request / Briefing

Photo by afif-kusuma-RjqCk9MqhNg-unsplash

Depicts a dartboard with red darts on it — Photo by *afif-kusuma-RjqCk9MqhNg*

What is an Artwork Request/Briefing?

An Artwork Request is the start of the journey for a design agency. It contains the description of work that needs to be done on a design so that it meets all the necessary requirements to be ready to print and produce. This is applicable to both new designs and edits, and covers the process until it has gotten the sign off from all necessary departments and external parties.

Your design agency/studio needs a good request so that they can translate those requirements into a good artwork version.

Why is a perfect artwork request/briefing important?

It guarantees that you, as a client, get what you are expecting from your designs
It will reduce the number of back-and-forth iterations to complete the project
It assures that the chance of error is kept to a minimum
It makes turnaround times faster

Sounds simple. But in reality, it is not always so.

Why is that?

The reality is that many of the people making change requests do not create their information themselves, but they receive it from a third party (or sometimes even fourth). Frequently in a different language.

Furthermore, the level of understanding and knowledge about design/printing specifics of everybody involved in the artwork process varies a lot: across organisations, across different roles, across countries. It is literally impossible to expect that every single person involved knows the same, and that they are good at translating that information into an actionable instruction.

When that happens, and not enough/clear information is provided, it is very easy to fall into a trend that leads to extra time to ask questions and get answers, and to obtain and provide the right details (measurements, keylines, logos, images…).

What is then the perfect request?

The perfect request is one that describes the changes required in a way that makes the outcome anticipated clear and agreed on by both the requestor and the executor, but also other parties that may need to get involved later (e.g. manufacturer).

The perfect request should cover 5 main areas:

Product guidelines – becoming familiar with the client’s guidelines is a pre. All designs must follow these, so they become a hidden requirement after the first iterations with a customer, but nonetheless, a very important item to request at the beginning or refer to.
(Manufacturing) technical requirements – any printer/manufacturer requirements are important to understand so that the artworks are not sent back for adjustments at the last step of the process.
Key data – including the text, changes to this, and graphics that the artwork needs to include and any earlier mockups or open artworks that may exist.
Keylines – attach these always to a request, as using a wrong one will require big changes to your artwork versions.
Format specifications – dimensions and other details about the artwork.

Obtaining this information may require interaction between different departments. It may be best to ask the experts on each area to pitch in to your request so that you get the right information in one go. Also important to have one system where to collate it all, rather than letting it fly through emails and attachments. But we can talk about that another time!

The important thing is to establish a great collaboration between your design agency and your quality and/or regulatory teams. They, together, need to manage the workflow process in a way that brings an artwork from request to execution with the least amount of changes and time to market.

And this collaboration starts with defining what is for your company a perfect starting point, using the above criteria, and what information needs to be provided and by whom at the start of the process.

Do you already know what YOUR perfect request looks like?

Share with us your perfect briefings via: marketing@twonas.com!

January 15, 2022June 23, 2023

The importance of a Digital Workflow

Photo by Kanhaiya Sharma on Unsplash

Photo of a white staircase, meaning steps, workflow. — *Photo by Kanhaiya Sharma*

Leveraging digital tools on the workplace might seem a topic of 1980, but believe or not, a significant portion of professional packaging related companies still manage their process manually (think emails or even paper trails).

Let me point out some of the fundamental key points on the importance of a proper digital workflow for managing the design of packaging materials for pharmaceutical products:

A proper digital workflow allows for efficient collaboration and communication among the design team, production team, and stakeholders.
It also helps to ensure that the final product meets regulatory requirements and guidelines, as well as brand standards.
Utilizing digital tools, such as design software and project management platforms, can greatly improve the accuracy and speed of the design process.
The use of digital mockups and automated proofing can also aid in the identification of potential issues before going into production, saving both time and costs.

One thing that can be helpful is to use a digital asset management platform to keep all design files, including images, text, and vector graphics, in one central location. This makes it easy for team members to find what they need and for the team to collaborate on the same version of the design.

On a side note, “Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance”

So, as a quick summary: proper digital workflow is essential for managing the design of packaging materials for pharmaceutical products. It allows for efficient collaboration, ensures regulatory compliance, and helps to minimize errors and costs.

If you’re looking to improve your packaging design process, we invite you to contact the team at twonas.com and we’d be more than happy to help you out.