Things To Think About When Making A Label Design

Here are our top tips for creating your own label design.

A label design should look good while performing a particular job. This could be displaying brand or product information, conveying important information, or creating a strong visual message with a professional, high quality finish. Planning a label design before you start working on a label template (or even before buying your labels) gives you a chance to clarify what you want to achieve and how to achieve it - saving you a lot of time and bother. 

Obviously, for simple address or logo labels, you can simply add your address or logo. If you want something a bit more complicated, however, it’s worth taking time to plan out your design – especially if your labels contain vital information or need to have a strong visual impact.

By plan, we don’t necessarily mean a detailed diagram with specific measurements (although you can do this if you like!). To plan a label design, you simply need to decide what you want to include on your labels. You can then write or draw your design on paper or create a digital mockup. 

We recommend that you:

• Write or type out any text included in your label design. This will let you know how much space you need for your text and help you choose the right size of label OR the right font size for your design.
• Make a quick sketch of where each element will sit in your label design. This will let you know if everything will fit on your label, what your final design will look like, and can help you to plan how to build up your design (i.e. help you plan which elements to add first). 

There are three key benefits to planning your design out first.

• Planning your label design helps you choose the most suitable label size and shape
  You can see exactly how much space you need for your design so it doesn't look cluttered or difficult to read. This is espectially important for labels that are supposed to provide important information, directions, or instructions (such as ingredient lists or instructions for use). You can then buy labels KNOWING they are the perfect size and shape. Simply guessing at a suitable size could mean you have to squash your design onto labels that are too small or spread your design over labels that are too big. 
  Additional tip: if you’re struggling to fit everything in, try splitting your content over multiple labels to see if this produces a more effective design.

• Planning your label design helps you to create a design that is practical AND pretty
  You can play around with your content to find an arrangement that makes your labels as practical and pretty as possible. A quick sketch is a quick way to find the best way to arrange your content into an attractive and professional design that also meets practical expectations (for example, product labels that promote your brand and provide important product information). If your sketch is messy and cluttered, you can edit your design quickly and easily (and repeatedly) without having to spend time revising a template.
  
  
• Planning your label design helps you to create a label design that is easy to make & print
  You can work out the best way to create your design, which will reduce the amount of time you spend setting up your label template. It can also help to identify any elements in your design that might make your labels more difficult and time-consuming to print properly.
  For example, elements that use the shaping of your labels (especially around the edges of your labels) are more difficult to print properly because you have to ensure that the alignment is perfect or your labels won’t look right.

In short, taking the time to sketch out your design can save you time, money, resources AND avoid a whole lot of stress and upset.