When launching a new product, designing an attention-grabbing label is one of the key jobs to be done. When your product is new in the market, its label would represent it to the world. It’s the label that would create the first impression of your product in the minds of buyers, and remember, first impression IS the last impression for customers. So, your product labels must be impressive enough to tempt a buyer to pick up the item from the shelf. Good product design is important in making an impact on your buyers.
Although there is no clearly defined formula for creating labels that bring sales, however, following certain guidelines can help you design a good product label. Listed below are the chief factors you should consider when planning your new product’s label design:
#1. Colors
The colors you use on your product label can influence the buying decision of a customer. So, you can well imagine the significance of colors on labels. Different factors need to be taken into account when determining colors for labels. For example, the container’s color should be considered, or in case the container is transparent, the product’s color should be taken into account, and so on.
Usually, yellow and red are colors that encourage customers to purchase, but these colors do not make the best choice always. Well, don’t worry as there are tools to help you decide the right colors. A few good online tools you can use to choose the colors for your product labels are – Adobe Kuler and ColorBlender.
Moreover, when placed on shelves, your product should stand out from other similar products. So, before starting the design process, consider doing a bit of competitive analysis and research in a few local stores.
#2. Fonts
Fonts have a major role to play and so, call for planning and careful consideration. Avoid going for the overused fonts like Times New Roman, Arial, etc. Go for a font type that makes your product stand out from the crowd, or captures the product’s personality. For instance, if you are offering a product like a hot taco sauce, pick up a font reflecting fun and the item’s spicy aspect. If your product is for the automotive market, choose a font that is bold, or reflects toughness and longevity.
Another thing to consider when choosing a font is its readability. The text on the label should be readable from up close as well as from several feet away (at least the most important text). You get only a fraction of a second to catch the buyer’s attention, so the buyer must be able to read your label easily at the first glance.
#3. Company or Product Name
Needless to say, ensure that your company and/or product name appears on the label clearly. This name should be identifiable easily, and should be the first element noticed by a buyer. You should also maintain consistency in terms of your brand’s look, so that buyers can quickly identify your product kept on a store’s shelf along with many others, when they head to the store the next time.
#4. Label Size
The size of your product label will depend largely on the packaging or container of your product. You also need to determine whether you would create one single label or multiple ones for the product’s front and back. With labels on both the front and the back, you can isolate the design/branding on the label’s front, from the smaller-sized elements like instructions, ingredients, etc. which can be mentioned at the back.
However, buying two labels for a single product doesn’t seem to be a cost effective idea. Alternatively, you may choose to create one single “wrap-around” label, which would let you design an appealing front panel, and add the smaller, text-based elements to the back or side, based on the way the product’s packaging is configured.
#5. Barcode
The barcode is an element on labels, which conveys the product information to electronic scanners. Grocery stores used barcodes for the first time, and now products can be sold easily in all kinds of stores owing to barcodes. Universal Product Code (UPC) barcodes are employed for helping companies increase the security of products and/or keep a track of inventory.
UPC barcodes are like an optical Morse code. They are white spaces and black bars of various widths arranged in a series. Optical scanners are used to read UPC barcodes, which interpret the barcode into letters and numbers, which are then passed to the computer.
UPCs for products are obtained from a company known as the “Uniform Code Council (UCC)”. Manufacturers provide their application to UCC to acquire the permission for entering the UPC system, and for this they need to pay a small fee annually. The UCC provides every manufacturer with a “manufacturer identification number”, i.e., a unique number of six digits. The UCC also states the guidelines about how manufacturers should use this number. When this information is available to manufacturers, they can give it to a printer that can print barcode labels.
#6. Contact Information
Besides designing an attention-grabbing label, it’s also essential that you provide the company contact information on your product label. Mentioning your company’s contact information is an effective way to encourage communication with buyers, promote your company and build brand trust. So, include the 800 number of your company, its physical address, website address and the social media information (like Facebook, Twitter, etc.) on your product labels. This can help you get feedback about your products from customers, and can help customers contribute to the promotion of your products.
So, these factors form the foundation to creating a good product label capable of fetching you sales. Of course, you can become as creative as possible to enhance the appeal of your labels, but adhering to the above guidelines will help you design labels that represent your new product in its best form.
Images: “set of label (tag) isolated on white background/Shutterstock.com“
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