Briefing a designer on amenity packaging

Begin with the use, not the look

Packaging for hotel amenities lives in a wet, warm bathroom, is handled by housekeepers and is seen by a guest for a few seconds. Say so in the brief. The designer needs to know where the product will sit, how it is stored, how many are placed in a room and whether the guest may take it home.

Include photos of your bathrooms, your trolley and your store. A designer who has seen a damp shelf will choose a coated board rather than an uncoated one.

Mention volume and reorder pattern too. A design for a 5,000-unit run can afford a special finish. A design that will be reordered monthly in small lots should be simple enough to reprint without a fresh set-up cost each time.

The fixed constraints

Format and size: bottle, tube, sachet, carton or pump, with real dimensions. Request a dieline from the supplier, which is the flat template showing where print can go.
Print method: screen print, label, direct print or foil. Each has limits on colour, detail and minimum text size.
Required text: product name, net quantity, ingredients list, batch or manufacturing information and any other statements your market requires. Check with your supplier and local regulation early.
Languages: single or multiple. More languages means a smaller type size.

Add shelf and trolley limits to the list: the maximum carton weight a housekeeper can carry, the shelf height in the store and the number of items a trolley tray holds. A pack that is 5 mm too tall will not fit, and no amount of beautiful print will fix it.

Brand elements to supply

Provide logo files in vector format, brand colours with reference codes, approved typefaces and a short note on tone. Add three or four examples of packaging you like, and say what you like about each: the type, the colour, the simplicity. Avoid asking for a design that copies another brand. It creates legal and reputational problems.

Give a clear order of priority. For example, the brand name first, the product name second, the fragrance name third, and legal text last and legible. Without a priority order, every element competes for attention.

Be honest about what you do not know. If the brand is still developing, say so and ask for options rather than a final answer. A designer who understands the open questions will propose a flexible system, not a fixed look that you outgrow in a year.

Practical details designers often miss

Bathroom packaging faces steam, splashes and wet hands. Matt varnish can mark easily, and metallic foils can look dull under hotel lighting. Light colours show stains, and very dark colours show fingerprints. Pale text on a mid-tone background becomes unreadable in a dim shower. Ask for a printed proof and look at it on a wet tile under the lighting in your room.

Consider scent colour and labelling, too. If you have several fragrances or product types, a small colour band or icon helps housekeepers sort them quickly and helps guests tell shampoo from conditioner in a shower with poor light.

A useful test is to view the proof from arm's length, as a guest would in a shower, and then from the trolley, as a housekeeper would. If the product name is not readable in both, change the type size.

Sustainability and materials

State your priorities in the brief. If you want recyclable packaging, ask the supplier which materials and inks are suitable and how to label disposal. Avoid claims that you cannot support. Decide whether you prefer fewer components, such as a bottle with a direct print instead of a bottle, label and carton. See the sustainability page for questions to ask on materials.

Approval stages and the final check

Concept: two or three directions, with one chosen.
Artwork on the supplier's dieline.
Printed proof or physical mock-up.
Pre-production sample, on the real container.
First delivery check against the approved sample.

Name one decision-maker at each stage and agree the number of revision rounds. Sign off colours on printed material, not on a screen. If you plan a group-wide range, consider the bespoke route, and request samples of existing packs to see what is possible.

Keep every approved version in one folder with dates, and note who signed. When a reprint arrives with a slightly different colour, the folder settles the question quickly.

Questions on this topic

Should I use a local designer or the supplier's?

Either can work. The key is that the designer works from the supplier's dieline and technical limits.

How many fragrances should the pack carry?

Use a consistent layout with a small colour or name change for each fragrance, to keep stock and print runs manageable.

Who writes the ingredient text?

The supplier or manufacturer should provide it, and you should confirm that it meets the rules in your market.

Keep reading

Looking for supply? See Hotels & resorts, browse the product range or request samples.