Label Design Tips and Best Practices

No matter what you’re selling, having a smartly designed label is a must. Labels for products and packaging should be easy to read and eye-catching. When you’re exploring label design options, keep in mind that your labels reflect your brand. Your labels can give customers a great impression of your brand with the right design elements. The following tips and best practices can help you create labels that enhance your products and packaging.

Start with Size

The size of your label helps determine other design elements, such as how large your logo should be or how much information you can fit on it. Make sure you measure the packaging or container your label will be going on before you begin designing it. A label that’s too small or too large won’t look right on your product or packaging, which can give customers a negative impression of your brand. The wrong size can also make it hard to include all of the information needed for labeling regulations. Once you know what size label you’ll need, you can get to work on designing its appearance.

Keep Your Design Simple

A label that’s crowded with images, text, and other design elements can turn customers away. Rather than including as much as possible on your label, aim to create a simple yet visually striking design. Your label should contain key elements, such as your logo and the name of your product, as well as any information needed for labeling regulations. Avoid adding a lot of other elements to your label in order to fill up blank spaces. The right design can easily catch a customer’s eye while still being simple and easy to read or understand.

Make Your Logo Shine

Your logo is a prominent part of your brand, so it should be a key feature of your label design. When you create your label, make sure your logo isn’t overshadowed by other images. Your logo can get lost in your design when it’s surrounded by other visual imagery on your labels. You should also avoid making any changes to your logo that might not make it easy to recognize, such as adding effects or gradients. Leaving your logo as is and keeping other images on your label to a minimum can help it stand out.

Watch Image Quality

You might choose images for your label that are sure to attract customers’ attention. However, the quality of those images can affect how customers view your brand or products. Low-quality images or artwork can have a negative impact on your label design. Customers might assume that your products are also low-quality or that you’re unwilling to put in the time and effort to choose high-quality images for your label. Make sure you’re using high-quality artwork or images for your label design.

Don’t Forget About Function

Label designs are about more than aesthetics. When you’re coming up with your design, take functionality into consideration. Your label should highlight your product rather than obscuring it with aesthetic elements. For example, you might choose to use a clear or opaque label for certain products, such as foods and beverages. This allows customers to see these products instead of having them hidden behind a solid label.

Align Artwork Carefully

While you create your label design, pay close attention to the way artwork, images, and other elements are lined up. These design elements should be properly aligned, but this can be hard to do on your own. Make use of rulers or other tools to line up different elements of your label design. This helps ensure that your label looks its best when it’s placed on your products or packaging.

Leave Bleed Areas

Your label design shouldn’t cover the entire label. Instead, you should leave bleed areas that are 1/16th of an inch around your label on all sides. These bleed areas help ensure that none of your label’s design elements end up being cut off when you have your labels professionally printed. Add bleed areas before you do your label design so that you won’t have to make adjustments to it afterward.

Keep the Competition in Mind

Your label should stand out from the competition in a good way. For example, your label might provide a contrast to a competitive brand that has a less aesthetically pleasing appearance. Take a look at the labels of products that are competition for you, so you can make sure your label design won’t blend in with them.