Brands are constantly looking to make artwork management more efficient. That’s because artwork approval takes time. And strategy mistakes can lead to costly delays in a product launch.

There are some obvious challenges that riddle companies during the artwork design and approval process. But most of these can be overcome with the right tools. What are the common pitfalls that brands face? And how can an artwork management software help?

Let’s find out.

Common Artwork Management Challenges And Their Solutions

Packaging design is one of the first tasks to be undertaken when launching a product.

Collaborators decide the colors, typography, and placement of promotional elements. Multiple departments have to work together in a timely manner to ensure a successful product release.

However, operational issues can crop up resulting in inefficiencies in the artwork management process. These are mostly the result of being dependent on human intervention.

The best way to overcome these hurdles is to use artwork management software, such as a free, cloud-based platform like Artwork Flow, which acts as Design Collaboration Software. This platform helps teams collaborate, track, and manage artwork in the best way possible.

Let’s take a look at how Artwork Flow can help solve the biggest design challenges.

1. Lack of Clarity Between Teams

Collaboration and clarity can ensure a good and on-time product launch. For example, during the artwork approval process, different teams - product, design, branding, sales, legal, and marketing - need to work together.

It’s the manager’s responsibility to make sure all departments are on the same page, timelines are clear, and priorities are understood. But despite frequent sprint planning and grooming, things can get missed out leading to miscommunication affecting product launch.

Solution: Centralized Project Tracking

By giving an overview of project progress, the software helps managers measure team throughput, devise product launches accurately, and reduce the product’s time-to-market.

2. Inefficient Workflows

Along with clear communication, it’s important for teams to get an exact view of the entire artwork approval process. That’s because things need to progress in a sequential manner. For instance, once the legal department checks regulatory compliance, brand and marketing teams need to match colours, fonts, and design with brand guidelines.

Unnecessary waiting can wreck the overall product launch strategy.

Solution: Customized Workflows

Artwork Flow helps you design customized workflows for both in-house and external design agencies. Checklists can be assigned and shown as a sequence of tasks to help teams understand the next steps.

3. Communication Gap

Organizations generally use multiple channels such as email, phone, chat, and shared folders for internal communication. But, this can make it difficult to keep track of important information.

For instance, the exchange of emails back and forth, throughout the entire process, can lead to huge threads. And it can become tough to retrieve or look up feedback, leading to gaps in communication.

Solution: Single Platform for Easy Collaboration

The platform brings transparency to multi-user projects. Files can be versioned, giving teams clarity on feedback. Collaborators can annotate, review, and approve the artwork through this single platform.

4. Manual Oversight

Most of the time, there’s a lot of back-and-forth that happen due to manual proofing.

Things can get missed, leading to rework and shifts in the timeline. This can negatively impact product launch and even branding.

Solution: Automated Proofing Tools

Probably its most important function, Artwork Flow includes proofing tools that speed up the content proofing process. Online tools like the color extractor, PDF compare, and spell-check, help make artwork error-free before sending it for production.

5. Inaccessible Assets

Managing assets at every stage of product development is often a challenge for managers.

That’s because teams often want to use images previously used for the brand. If such resources are not stored in an organized manner, a lot of time gets wasted in retrieving it.

Solution: Online Asset Library

Artwork Flow has a cloud-based digital asset management library that serves as a repository for designs and project resources. It offers security features, allowing only authorized users access to artwork projects.

Devising an Effective Product Launch Strategy

It’s easy to set your sights on sales, recognition, and success that will stem from a ‘new’ product. However, like any business initiative, product launches take time. Rushing into the market is not easy.

As a means of help, artwork management software, integrated with proofing tools, makes the artwork approval process quick and efficient. What challenges do you face when designing artwork? Do you think there’s a need for a transparent communication platform or customized workflows? How about leveraging proofing software to help speed up the product launch? The incorporation of proofing software within the artwork management process enhances collaboration, minimizes errors, and expedites the overall product launch timeline.