Designer vs. Manufacturer: Who Does What in Perfume Packaging?

PERFUME PACKAGING · DESIGN HANDOVER

The artwork is approved, but the manufacturer says a dieline is missing. The manufacturer returns an adjusted file, and the designer notices that the graphics have moved. The problem may be more than a missing attachment: each person may understand “finished” differently.

A perfume packaging project can involve an independent designer and a packaging supplier, or one team can cover several activities. Either way, identify the output, its purpose, the recipient, and the approval it needs. Approving a rendering, receiving a file, accepting it for sampling, and releasing it for production are separate decisions.

Agree the scope before assigning deliverables

The title “packaging designer” does not automatically include structural development, artwork, finish separations, and production follow-up. A manufacturer does not automatically provide free visual design, artwork corrections, or every structural file either.

List the work your project needs, then name the person responsible for each part. Brand direction, bottle and box structure, layout, production file preparation, sample review, and change control can belong to different people. If a service is unresolved, mark it as open rather than leave an unowned gap.

For example, a designer might handle the visual layout, a structural specialist might supply the applicable dieline, and the supplier might check whether the submitted files meet its manufacturing requirements. The brand would approve its content and direction. This is one arrangement to discuss, not a default division of work for every project.

Identify the brand's inputs and approvals

The brand should identify the product configuration, content sources, and people authorised to approve decisions. For perfume packaging, the bottle, cap, accessories, and their current status should correspond to the project record. An unresolved component should not silently become a final input during handover.

Assign responsibility for supplying and checking brand assets, product names, copy, language versions, and codes. Placing text in a layout does not mean the designer has verified every statement for the brand. If specialist review is needed, state who arranges it rather than assume it is included in design or manufacturing.

Tie feedback to an output. “Visual direction approved; back-panel copy pending; current file for the next sample discussion only” gives the team useful instructions. “Looks fine” leaves the approval boundary unclear.

Explain the purpose of every file in the design package

A handover may include editable files, output files for the next manufacturing step, previews, and a written specification. Agree the required formats and versions with the recipient before preparing the package.

An editable master supports future changes. A manufacturing copy may need specific processing requested by the supplier. Keep them distinct so a one-time production export does not overwrite the only editable original. If editable files are outside the agreed service, make that clear at the start.

A preview helps people review the image and orientation. It does not automatically validate structure, dimensions, finishes, or colour. Likewise, a PDF, AI, or other file extension does not establish that its contents meet a particular manufacturer's requirements. The recipient still needs to check the file and output conditions.

The accompanying notes should connect the files to the project: which product and structural version they use, where finishes are intended, what is reference material, and what remains open. Record the applicable use conditions and handover scope for fonts, images, and other assets. Being able to open a file does not establish permission to use everything it contains.

Name the provider and reviewer of the dieline

The structural dieline may come from the packaging supplier, an independent structural specialist, or a design team whose scope includes that work. The important step is to identify the responsible person and the conditions to which that version applies.

Connect the graphic layout to a named structural version. If the supplier provides the dieline, the designer can work within the agreed layout scope while clarifying what its lines and marks mean and what must remain unchanged without review. If the graphics conflict with the structure, raise the conflict before deciding whether to move the artwork or reassess the structure.

Do not move structural elements without a recorded decision simply to centre the graphics. An online template should not become the approved project dieline by assumption either. It can help explain an idea; its suitability for manufacturing still needs confirmation by the people responsible for structure and production.

Agree line conventions, layers, colour markings, bleed, and other output requirements using the supplier's template and the project's conditions. This guide does not prescribe one set of values for every box format.

Ask for a response after file receipt

Confirm which version the supplier has received and which next step it is suitable for. Successful transfer is not automatic permission to start production.

If an image is missing, text is unclear, dimensions need review, or a finish is ambiguous, feedback should identify the file and location. Name the person who will correct it and the person who will review the correction. If the supplier makes an agreed adjustment, ask for the revised file and change note rather than only “we have fixed it.”

For a sample, identify differences from the files: temporary materials, finishes not yet represented, or provisional manufacturing steps. These are handover needs to agree for your project, not a promise that every supplier offers the same service.

The brand, designer, and manufacturing team should review the sample within their assigned responsibilities. Text, graphics, orientation, structure, insertion, and removal need corresponding observations. An item that has not been reviewed should stay open.

Define what a revision does to previous approvals

An artwork revision may change only the text, or it may affect structure, finish positions, and other files. When issuing it, state what changed, who changed it, which outputs it affects, and who needs to confirm it again.

Keep older versions for traceability, but clearly mark them as superseded. The current artwork, structural file, preview, and notes should correspond to one another. Avoid a handover package containing dimensions and graphics from different versions.

A hypothetical record might read: “Artwork V3 follows structure S2. This revision changes back-panel text only. Brand content review is complete; manufacturing output review remains open.” The value is the approval scope, not a requirement to use this naming convention.

If the structure or product configuration changes, have the relevant people determine whether earlier sample conclusions still apply. A small visual difference between files does not prove that all previous approvals remain valid.

Use a handover matrix

Use the following fields to discuss responsibilities, then enter the actual people and service scope for your project.

A useful handover answers four questions: what was sent, to whom, for what purpose, and what remains unfinished. With those answers, the next person can continue even if a particular task still needs revision.

For the next handover, a short confirmation request could read: “Please confirm receipt of artwork V3, structure S2, and the current notes. This submission is for manufacturing file review, not batch production approval. If changes are needed, identify the affected location and return the revised version.”

Clear responsibilities do not require everyone to perform every task. They connect design, manufacturing, and brand decisions to identifiable outputs, with unresolved issues visible before the project moves forward.