Most disappointing Amazon image sets are not the result of a bad designer or a weak photographer. They are the result of a weak brief. When a creative partner receives a product, a logo and the instruction "make it look premium", they fill every gap with guesses. Some guesses land, many do not, and the seller ends up paying for extra revision rounds or living with images that never quite say the right thing.
A good brief removes the guessing. It tells the creative team who the buyer is, what each image slot must achieve, which claims are approved, what the finished files must look like and how feedback will work. This guide shows you how to write one, section by section, and ends with a template you can reuse for every launch. It assumes you already know what your image stack should contain; if not, start with our guide to what goes in each image slot and come back here to turn that plan into instructions.
Why the Brief Matters More Than the Budget
A brief is the cheapest part of any image project and the one that most affects the result. An hour spent writing it can save several days of back-and-forth, a reshoot or a second design round. It also protects you when you change suppliers: a written brief means the next photographer can match the work of the last one, and your catalogue stays consistent.
There is also a compliance reason. Amazon has firm rules for the main image, such as a pure white background, the product filling roughly 85% of the frame and no text, logos or badges added to it. A creative partner who mostly shoots for websites or social media may not know these rules by heart. Writing them into the brief means nobody can say they were not told, and you avoid suppressed listings caused by a designer adding a "bestseller" ribbon to your hero shot.
Start With the Business Goal, Not the Pictures
Open the brief with two or three sentences on why the project exists. Is this a new launch, a refresh of a listing whose conversion has slipped, a new variation, or a rebrand? Each goal changes priorities. A launch needs the full set. A refresh may need only a stronger main image and two new infographics. A rebrand needs every image to match a new style guide.
Then state the outcome you will judge success by. Keep it simple, such as "improve unit session percentage on the core ASIN" or "reduce returns that mention size". You do not need to share sales figures with an outside supplier, but telling them the problem you are solving helps them make better creative decisions when the brief does not cover something.
Describe the Buyer and the Competition
Designers make better choices when they can picture the person scrolling past. Write a short buyer profile: who buys, why they buy, what they worry about and how they will use the product. Pull the worries straight from reviews, both yours and your competitors', because those concerns should become image content. If buyers repeatedly ask whether a lunch box fits in a standard backpack, an image should answer that question.
Add a short competitive note. List three to five competitor ASINs and say what you like and dislike about their images. If you have already run a structured review of rival listings, attach the findings; our guide on auditing competitor images explains how to produce a gap matrix that slots neatly into a brief. The aim is not to copy anyone but to show the creative team the visual space you need to stand out in.
The Slot-by-Slot Shot List
The shot list is the heart of the brief. Number every image you need, give each one a single job and describe it in enough detail that two different designers would produce similar results. For each slot, include:
- Slot number and purpose: for example, "Image 3: prove the bottle is leak-proof".
- Image type: white background, infographic, lifestyle, dimension, comparison, in the box or close-up detail.
- What must be visible: the product angle, variant, accessories, model or setting.
- Approved copy: the exact headline and callouts, written and signed off by you, not invented by the designer.
- Must avoid: anything that would mislead, break policy or clash with the brand.
Write the copy yourself, or have your copywriter supply it, before the designer starts. Designers are rarely the right people to decide which product claims can be substantiated, and changing text after layout is finished is one of the most common causes of wasted revision rounds. Our guide to writing text for image overlays covers how to keep that copy short and readable.
References, Mood Boards and Brand Assets
Words alone are unreliable for describing style. "Bright and clean" means something different to every reader. Attach visual references and label what each one is for: "lighting like this", "font weight like this", "colour of the background like this, not the props". Unlabelled mood boards cause confusion because the designer has to guess which aspect of each image you liked.
Supply every brand asset the team will need in one folder: logo files in vector format, brand colour codes, approved fonts with licences, icon sets you already use and any existing A+ or Storefront designs the new images must sit beside. If your brand has a style guide, attach it. If it does not, the brief is a good moment to start one, and our guide on building a consistent visual brand explains what it should contain.
Physical samples and product facts
For photography, send production samples, not prototypes, unless you are knowingly shooting early. Include a spec sheet with exact dimensions, weights, materials, capacities and what is in the box. Designers building dimension graphics or callouts need verified numbers, and a wrong figure on an image is both a return risk and a policy risk.
Technical Requirements and Deliverables
Be explicit about what you want delivered. Vague delivery terms lead to files that look fine in an email preview but fail on upload or look soft when zoomed. A typical deliverables section covers:
- Square images, usually exported at 2000 by 2000 pixels or larger so zoom works well (Amazon needs at least 1000 pixels on the longest side to enable zoom).
- JPEG as the main delivery format, in the sRGB colour profile, with high quality compression.
- A main image on pure white, RGB 255,255,255, with nothing but the product being sold.
- Layered source files for every designed image, so text can be edited later without starting again.
- Unretouched and retouched versions of key photographs, if you may want to reuse them elsewhere.
- Files named to your convention so they can be uploaded without renaming.
Specifications can change and some categories have their own rules, so ask the creative team to confirm against the current guidance in Seller Central rather than relying on an old checklist. Our article on Amazon image requirements lists the current core rules in detail.
Usage rights
State who owns the finished work and where you may use it. You will probably want to reuse images in A+ content, Storefront pages, advertising, social media and other marketplaces. If models appear, confirm that their release covers commercial use online for the period you need. Getting this in writing at the brief stage is far easier than negotiating after launch.
Revision Rounds and Feedback Rules
Agree the number of revision rounds before work begins, and define what a round is. A common structure is one round of feedback on rough layouts or a test shot, followed by two rounds on finished images. Changes outside the brief, such as a new claim or a different product colour, are treated as new work.
Give feedback in one consolidated document per round, from one decision maker. When three people on your side send separate comments over two days, the designer receives conflicting instructions and the round is wasted. Number your comments against the slot numbers in the shot list, and say whether each comment is a must-fix, a preference or a question. Mark up the image directly where you can; "move the badge left" is clearer with an arrow than in a paragraph.
Finally, review on a phone. Most Amazon shoppers browse on mobile, and an infographic that reads well on a large monitor can be illegible on a small screen. Ask the designer to send previews sized for phone review alongside the full files.
Timeline, Approvals and Handover
Include key dates: when samples arrive, when first drafts are due, when feedback will be returned, and the final delivery date. Work backwards from the date the images must be live, leaving time for upload, processing and a final check of how the listing looks once Amazon has published the new files. Processing is not always instant, so do not plan a launch for the same day as delivery.
Name the approver. One person should have final sign-off on copy and one on visuals, and ideally they are the same person. Specify how the handover will happen, such as a shared folder with a fixed structure, so files do not get lost in email threads.
A Worked Example: Briefing a Kitchen Scale Launch
A small homeware brand is launching a digital kitchen scale and has budget for seven images and no video. The owner writes a two-page brief. The goal section says the listing must compete with cheaper scales by showing precision and easy cleaning. The buyer profile describes home bakers who weigh small quantities of yeast and spices, drawn from competitor reviews that complain about scales that do not register a few grams.
The shot list reads:
- Main image: scale at a slight three-quarter angle on pure white, display lit showing a realistic reading, no props, no text.
- Infographic: "Accurate to 1g" headline with three callouts for tare button, unit switch and auto-off, using copy supplied in the brief.
- Lifestyle: home baker weighing flour in a bright domestic kitchen, hands only, no faces, so the model release is simple.
- Close-up: display showing a reading of 3g with a teaspoon of yeast, to answer the precision worry.
- Dimension image: footprint and height in centimetres and inches, with a standard mug for scale.
- Cleaning: wipe-clean glass surface, showing a cloth wiping flour away.
- In the box: scale, batteries and instruction leaflet laid flat on white.
References include two competitor listings labelled "avoid cluttered icons like this" and one lifestyle image labelled "match this light, not this styling". Deliverables specify 2000 pixel square JPEGs in sRGB, layered design files, and file names using the ASIN plus slot code. Two revision rounds are agreed, with consolidated feedback from the owner only. The photographer delivers on time, the first round needs only copy size changes for mobile, and the set goes live a week before the planned advertising push.
Common Brief Mistakes to Avoid
- Leaving copy for the designer to write, then rewriting it after layout.
- Sending reference images without saying what you like about them.
- Forgetting to state the main image rules, leading to text or badges on the hero shot.
- Supplying wrong or rounded dimensions that later appear on an infographic.
- Not asking for layered source files, so every future change means starting again.
- Letting several people give feedback separately, which burns revision rounds.
- Approving images on a desktop monitor without checking them on a phone.
Your Reusable Image Brief Checklist
- Project goal and how success will be measured.
- Buyer profile with worries taken from real reviews.
- Competitor ASINs with notes on what to avoid and where to stand out.
- Numbered shot list with one job per slot, image type and must-avoid notes.
- Approved copy for every image, signed off before design starts.
- Labelled references and a complete brand asset folder.
- Verified product facts, dimensions and contents list.
- Technical specs, file formats, naming convention and layered source files.
- Usage rights and model releases.
- Revision rounds, feedback rules and a single approver.
- Timeline with time allowed for upload and processing.
If you would rather hand the whole process to a team that writes the brief with you and then produces the images, Desnora offers Amazon listing image design from shot list to final upload-ready files. Contact us to talk through your next launch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should an Amazon image brief be?
Most briefs fit on two to four pages. Length matters less than clarity: every image slot should have a purpose, approved copy and clear do and do not notes.
Should I write the infographic text or let the designer do it?
Write it yourself or use a copywriter. You know which claims you can substantiate, and changing copy after layout wastes revision rounds.
Do I need to explain Amazon's main image rules to my photographer?
Yes. State the white background, the product filling about 85% of the frame and no added text, logos or badges, even if the photographer says they know the rules.
How many revision rounds should I agree?
Two or three rounds is common. Define what a round includes and treat changes outside the original brief as new work.
What file size should I ask for?
Ask for square images of around 2000 pixels or more on each side. Amazon needs at least 1000 pixels on the longest side to enable zoom, and larger files give you more flexibility.
Why do I need layered source files?
Layered files let you change prices, claims, translations or colours later without recreating the image from scratch.
Should I send a prototype or a production sample?
Send a production sample whenever possible. Prototypes often differ in colour, finish or packaging, which can make images inaccurate.
How do I give useful feedback on drafts?
Send one consolidated document per round, numbered against the shot list, from one decision maker, and mark each comment as a must-fix or a preference.
Who should own the rights to the images?
Agree in writing that you can use the images across Amazon, advertising, your website and social media, and confirm model releases cover that use.
Can I reuse the same brief for future products?
Yes. Keep the structure, brand assets and technical section fixed and update the goal, buyer notes and shot list for each product.
Should the brief mention competitors?
Yes. Listing a few competitor ASINs with notes on what to avoid helps the creative team understand where your images need to stand apart.
How do I check images before approving them?
Review every image on a phone as well as a desktop, check numbers against the spec sheet and confirm the main image meets the white background rules.