Millions of products sell on racks of supermarkets and even online. What makes your product stand out from the crowd is its packaging and labeling. Today we learn about nine essential steps to create a fantastic product label. Make sure to follow the steps in the order of mention.
1. Research for style
There are a variety of labels already in the market for your type of product. One Google search will show up lots of labels, all of which are different. How to then decide which style is right for you?
Researching for a style requires a process called mood boarding.
You make collages of similar looking design elements and pictures. Comparing the collages gives you clarity on what should be the style of your brand.
A mood board not just helps in finding the right style but also helps with your overall brand strategy.
2. Define Information flow
Once you have a fair idea of the style, you need to create an information flow for your label. The information flow is following the messaging that you want to convey.
A critical factor in your information flow is the central message you want to highlight. It could be the name of the product, a feature, benefit, or even the price. The central message is always in the focal center, and all other words are in the readable distance.
3. Create the right message
Always remember that your product will be one amongst many on a vending shelf. Buyers will never have the time to read through your products complete details.
They are interested in picking up a brand that appeals to them. The message on the focal center is what gets read by the customers. Make sure you have the right words at the focal center.
If the main highlight of your product is its low price, do not hesitate to make it the highlight of your label.
4. Pick the right Colour Scheme
Once you have decided on the message, you need to decide on the color scheme of your label. Different colors stand for mixed emotions.
Choose the right colors to connect with your target customers. You should also go back to the mood board created in step1 to look for the color scheme that sounds appealing to you.
An important to point to remember is that your color scheme should go well with your brand colors otherwise it could adversely affect your advertising goals.
5. Pick the right fonts
Font gives character to a label. Your choice of fonts will decide how appealing is it to your target customers.
Some brands prefer to look for new trending fonts while others want to stick to traditional or retro font families.
Whatever fonts you may choose, make sure they are readable and go well with your overall branding.
6. Decide on the visual elements
A label uses various visual elements to highlight things and also to balance the overall design.
Visual elements can be anything seen with a naked eye, which helps in making some distinction on the label. Visual elements are colors, fonts, lines, shapes, textures, and pictures.
Since you have already decided on the colors and fonts, its time to select the right visual elements to go with the whole set. A good label designer knows the art of using all visual elements in an appealing way that makes your product stand out.
7. Be aware of restrictions
While you are free to run your imagination while creating a product label, there are certain restrictions you need to check out.
The shape of the container is an essential factor. Slim shapes and forms like those used in cosmetics call for thin fonts as you can express more within less space. Another factor is the color of the container. Dark color containers should have light colored labels and vice versa.
Other regulatory restrictions change from country to country that you need to be aware of and provision for in your labels.
8. Seek feedback
Before finalizing your label design, it is a good practice to show it to a sample set of customers and seek their input.
You may get to hear things that you may not have considered significant. Rectify all such issues before it goes for final printing.
9. Improvise
Improvisation is a way of life. What works today may not work tomorrow. It is essential to be in sync with the latest trends in labeling designs. To keep your customers interested in your products, you should consider revamping your product labels periodically. Else you will be forced to do it to match your competitor’s actions.
