Designing and Printing Labels: Useful Tips
5 Simple tips when designing labels
Working on your own custom label design can be a fun experience. But if you’re struggling with it for any reason, we have some advice for you to hopefully help you get things moving in the right direction. Here are a few tips:
1. Do Your Research
The key thing is for you to figure out what purpose your labels will serve. That way, you can figure out what kind of labels you’ll need. When you send your design for printing, you’ll be surprised to know just how many sizes and shapes are available. You also have different finishing options that would give your labels a matte, gloss, or even a high-gloss look. You need to account for all these things as you create your labels. Find the options that are best suited for your needs and go from there.
2. Keep It Simple and Clean
If you’re just new to designing labels, your best bet is to keep the design as simple as possible. Some people tend to overfill their artwork with details that don’t really belong there. Remember that you’re working with a small canvas. What usually works is having a focal point that stands out. It’s important that any other element—design or text—that needs to be there should not overpower your focal point.
3. Find the Right Typography
There are many resources online to help you find the right typography for your project. Whether you should use serif (which refers to those decorative flourishes at the edges of each letter) or sans serif fonts would depend on what your message is. Serif may look fancy but they’re better used for long lines of text since they’re known to increase readability especially on printed items. But there’s a time and place for sans serif fonts. When you need your text to be small, you’re better off using sans serif since they’re less prone to smearing because of their simple form. It’s worth noting that some fonts you’ll find online have rules against being used for commercial purposes, so make sure you understand the terms of use before downloading.
4. Know Your Colors
Your best bet is to use as few colors as possible. Since labels tend to be small, having too many colors tends to distract rather than attract. Again, the internet can provide you with popular color combinations to use. There are also color theories that could help you set the right mood like how red is often associated with energy and warmth, while blue is all about creativity and safety. Having even the basic grasp of these concepts can help improve your label design.
5. Get Technical
The last piece of creation before printing labels is setting up your file for printing. Not doing this correctly can have a direct impact on your design. It’s not unheard of to find design elements missing because they’ve literally been cut off from the label after they’re printed. That’s why it’s important to leave some space between all the important elements and the edge of the artwork. UPrinting has downloadable label templates you can use to visualize what your final product will look like and adjust accordingly.
