Why do some products seem to steal your attention while others grow old on the shelf? A well-designed label can have an extreme influence on the success of your product. With consumers making split-second decisions based on appearance alone, it can be difficult for your product to steal the spotlight in the aisle. Creating a perfect product label is a lot of responsibility, whether it is a luxury product or a simple chemical-resistant label, the design and details matter the most for each of them. An impressive label design can make all the difference to the massive success of a product, especially considering how the majority of shoppers make their decisions about which products to purchase in-store.

Below we have listed 5 of the best practices to create the perfect product label design.

1.  Get To Know Your Target Audience:

Who is your target audience? The more you research them, the easier time you’ll have to design your labels. Think through their shopping motivations and desires.

Ask yourself:

–         What’s their age, gender, location, occupation, lifestyle, education level, etc? Is there anything else that describes them?

–         Why would they choose your product over competitors?

–         What are your competitors’ approaches?

–         What colors are they attracted to?

This research is important for various reasons such as it will help you to avoid designing a label that’s too close to your competitor’s product; and secondly, it will let you know what type of design to create to appeal to that demographic.

2.  Decide the Label Material:

When designing on behalf of a client, mostly the materials that will be used to create the packaging will not have been finalized and this will be the perfect opportunity for you as it allows you to think about the best overall aesthetic for the product you are designing.  If your product is meant for being used in the bathroom or shower, make sure you use a waterproof label. Your label material is an easy place for you to make packaging upgrades or opt for a more eye-catching alternative. The material you use can add a layer of dimension to your product and attract more potential customers.

3.  Create an Information Layout: 

Designing a product label not only means the formation of an eye-catching design that will help to sell the product on the shelves but also provides vital information to every consumer. Certain information obviously demands prominence on the label, namely the name of the product, the tagline, and the company logo. When it comes to the rest of the information on the label, you have to make the call on how and where it will be displayed on the packaging. The essential pieces of information you will need to include on the label are the barcode, price, and nutritional information.

4.  Pick the appropriate Color Scheme:

Choosing the right colors for your label is one of the most crucial factors in designing a great product label. The colors you use will depend on many aspects, including the type of product you are designing the label for, who the target audience is, and the colors used by competing brands. Often the colors you pick will be informed by the overall design of the packaging. Overall the colors of the product should help it to stand out on the shelf from competing brands as well as catch the eye of consumers.

5.  The right Typography is Important

A typical product label will contain a lot of text information and therefore choosing the right typography to reflect it is key. Choosing the right typography for the most important parts of the design, such as the product name and slogan will make a lot of difference. Depending on the designer’s skills, you might opt for custom hand lettering for the label, rather than relying on a pre-existing font. This can help you create something unique and give an edge to your product.

6.  Involve the Customer in the entire Process

When creating a design on behalf of a customer, you should always make sure to keep them updated about the updates in the design process. Different designers have different approaches when it comes to how much they want to engage the client in the design process. Whereas some prefer to include the customer as much as possible at each stage of the design so they can get their approval, others will only provide minimal updates.

By following these 6 steps to creating the perfect product label, laid out above, you give yourself an excellent chance of designing product labels that will help to increase sales and give your brand an edge over the competition.