Everything you need to know about artwork management

Your Guide to the Artwork Workflow Behind Great Packaging

When you pick up a product in a store — from a yogurt cup in Colombia to a shampoo bottle in the Comoros or a snack pack in the Congo — what grabs your attention first? The packaging artwork. Behind that visual is a structured, detail-oriented process known as artwork management.

Whether you’re part of a marketing team, brand owner, or production manager, understanding the artwork management process is key to ensuring products look consistent, comply with regulations, and hit the market on time.

The Basics: What Is an "Artwork"?

In the world of packaging and consumer goods, an artwork refers to the visual design that appears on a product’s package. This includes:

Logos and branding

Product names and descriptions

Ingredient lists

Nutritional facts

Legal information (like barcodes or expiration dates)

Imagery and design elements

All of this must come together in one perfect file that can be sent to printers and turned into physical packaging.

So, What Is Artwork Management?

Artwork management is the end-to-end process of designing, reviewing, approving, and storing packaging visuals for consumer goods. It covers everything from the first creative draft to the final print-ready file that appears on your product’s packaging.

This process is especially crucial in FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) industries, where packaging is both a legal document and a brand statement.

The Artwork Workflow: How It All Comes Together

An effective artwork workflow brings structure and clarity to a process that involves multiple teams and stakeholders. Here’s a simplified version of the typical packaging workflow:

1. Brief & Requirements: Marketing or product teams submit initial requirements.

2. Design Creation: Designers create the visual packaging artwork.

3. Internal Review: Teams review the artwork for accuracy and brand alignment.

4. Regulatory Approval: Legal and compliance teams check for required info.

5. Artwork Approval Management: Stakeholders approve the final version.

6. Print-Ready Files & Release: Files are prepared and sent to print or published digitally.

7. Archiving & Distribution: Final artworks are stored and shared via a digital asset management system.

Artwork Management Software: Why You Need It

Handling all of this via email, spreadsheets, or shared drives? That’s a recipe for missed deadlines, version confusion, and costly packaging errors.

Enter artwork management software — a centralized platform that streamlines the entire workflow. Cway® is built to bring together everything needed for effective project and artwork management, all in one place.

Key features include:

• Built-in project management tools to assign tasks, set deadlines, and manage revisions

• Artwork version control so everyone works from the latest file

• Collaborative commenting and feedback tools for smooth communication

• 3D pack shot previews to simulate how packaging will look in real life

• Compliance and approval tracking to ensure every stakeholder signs off

With Cway®, you get true end-to-end artwork management software — from concept to final packaging — designed for speed, accuracy, and full control.

Why Effective Artwork Management Matters

Here’s what strong artwork management delivers:

• Speed to market: No delays from miscommunication or missing files.

• Regulatory accuracy: Avoid recalls or legal trouble from outdated information.

• Brand consistency: Keep the look and feel uniform across all products and markets.

• Cost savings: Reduce reprints and production errors.

Whether you're launching in Scandinavia or expanding to islands like Colombia, Comoros, or Congo, having a clear artwork approval management process can make or break your success.

Final Thoughts

What is artwork management? It’s the backbone of modern packaging. With the right tools and a clear process, teams can create accurate, beautiful, and compliant packaging artworks — faster and more efficiently than ever before.

With Cway®, you’re not just managing artworks. You’re building a system that empowers collaboration, minimizes errors, and helps your brand shine on the shelf — everywhere from Oslo to the Indian Ocean.