Labels are your brand’s personal billboard! It’s where you display everything your target customers might want to know about your product. Labels are what create brand awareness, promote your brand and secure the desired visibility. So, something of such significance shouldn’t be roughly put together but designed to perfection. To help you on this front, we have listed the dos and don’ts of label making. These are some expert tips you can follow to design those perfect labels for all your products.
Let’s get started.
Dos of Label Making
When investing in label printing, these are the few points that you need to follow.
Invest in Top-quality Printing Equipment and Materials
When it comes to labels, quality does matter because peeling and fading labels don’t echo credibility. Depending on the nature of your product, labels are exposed to diverse natural and man-made conditions and are susceptible to normal wear and tear. But a good quality label is durable and is able to withstand all these conditions. So, while investing in label making, you have to ensure that you employ the right label printing methods and use top-quality materials, including printers, adhesives, ink, etc.
Make it Informative
Labels are not just meant for decorative purposes but to deliver information about your product and brand. So, any label should contain all the information your target audience would wish to know before investing in your product.
All product labels should include:
- Brand Name and Logo
- Product Name
- Product Measurements (Quantity or Weight)
- Contact Information
- Ingredients
- USP of your Product
- Product Warnings (if any)
If your potential customers cannot find the information they need, they will move on to the next alternative on the rack. So, include all these details and print informative labels for your products.
Be Consistent with Brand Logo and Name
While labels can be upgraded with time to reflect specific festive offers, new launches, etc,, they should always remain consistent in terms of brand logo and name. A logo and name act like an identification marker for your brand. It’s how your loyal customers identify and differentiate your product from a rack of hundreds.
For instance, Coca-Cola is a brand we all are familiar with, and when you hear the name, the brand logo pops into your mind. While Coca-Cola has launched several products over the years, it has adopted strict consistency in terms of brand name and logo. So, when a customer notices a new product with their logo on the shelf, they see a brand they trust and, therefore, a product they can invest in. When you tweak your logo and brand name often, you do away with this sense of familiarity, negatively impacting your brand recognition. This is one rule you should always remember while engaging in label printing.
Prioritise Readability
Fancy fonts are surely aesthetic but are they easy to read? Especially when they are printed on a limited space like on a label. Label making can be tricky because you have to find the right balance between aesthetics and readability. The font and design you use should be aesthetic enough to attract attention but also easy to read and understand. Therefore, design choices should be made carefully.
For instance, there should be a clear contrast between the background and the fonts and graphics for each element to stand out. If the font and background are both in dark shades, it will impact the readability of your label. So, always be conscious of all your design choices and make sure each element works well together.
Don’ts of Label Making
Now that we know the dos, let’s have a look at the don’ts of label making.
Never Exaggerate
It’s always recommended to highlight your product’s USP (Unique Selling Point) on the label but avoid making exaggerated or false claims. For instance, some brands claim environment friendliness or cruelly-free production techniques and advertise it on their labels even when they don’t justify such titles. This will earn you an immediate customer spur, but in the long run, this plan might backfire and tarnish your reputation and brand image.
Also, phrases like “no added preservatives”, “organic”, “sugar-free”, or “naturally-sweetened” work similarly. Such phrases are a great addition to your labels but only when they apply to your products.
Don’t Blindly Follow Trends
Because a packaging style or a particular design is in trend, you should not modify your label or product to meet those trends. Why?
- What has worked for another brand or product might not work for you.
- If you mindlessly follow trends, your product will lose its unique voice and appear to be a copy of another brand.
- What is in trend today might not be in trend tomorrow. So, changing the look and feel of your product for a passing trend is not a cost-effective solution.
That being said, it’s okay to explore trends when printing labels but adopt only those that work for your brand and echo its vision.
Don’t Cram the Label Space
Never overcrowd your label but always keep it simple and classy. When you bombard your label with too much information or too many graphics, your labels become too distracting, and the needful information gets lost. A good label intends to inform the customers and not overwhelm them. So, keep only the required information, graphics and other design elements on your label. Also, leave enough white space so there is a proper balance and your product label doesn’t look crowded.
Conclusion
These are some dos and don’ts of label making. Make sure to follow them the next time you print labels for your brand. If you have any questions or queries, consult a professional label printing company and proceed in the right direction.