Whether you appoint someone within your own organization, pick a designer off an online marketplace, or hire a high-end professional graphic designer, your designer should be familiar with the specifics of label construction. Great label design should account for the label’s physical properties and the label printing process.
An experienced label designer will ask you about:
- Branding. How will your label’s visual style align with your other brand assets, such as advertising and in-store displays?
- Messaging. What should people take away from viewing your product label? What should they absolutely not take away?
- Size and shape. Do you want a standard rectangular label or something more distinctive like a star or teardrop? Do you have the budget for custom die cutting?
- Colors. What are your brand colors (or do you need help choosing new ones)? How much variance in these colors will you tolerate?
- Fonts. Do you have specific brand fonts? How important is readability to your target audience?
- Materials. Different label materials can affect how a label appears when printed. Do you plan to use paper or film? Will you require durable label materials?
- Packaging. How will the label design look when placed atop your product packaging? Will it clash, blend in or pop?
Bring your label printer in on these conversations and encourage dialogue between them and your designer throughout the design stage. That way, the finished design will work with your printing options and budget … and prevent a lot of rework and frustration.
