Factors to Consider When Designing a Label

Designing a label that accurately represents your brand is important for businesses trying to stand out in this competitive marketplace. There are many aspects that play a role in label design including the proper selection of color, shapes, and symbols. Read on as we break down elements to keep in mind when crafting a label for your product.

Keys to Grab the Consumer’s Attention

Many brand marketers believe that words on products are the most important key to grabbing the consumer’s attention, but are those words what really draws the consumer in? Studies have shown that the hierarchy is as follows:

• Color
• Shapes
• Symbols
•  Words

The communication of signs and symbols as elements is a meaningful statement that resonates with the consumer. In fact, the secretariat of the Seoul International Color Expo conducted research and documented information about color and marketing and the relationship between the two:

According to this research, 92.6% of participants felt visual factors are the most important when purchasing products, 5.6% felt the physical feel was most important, and 0.9% are drawn to purchasing a product by hearing and smell.

In addition to this, over half of the respondents think that color is important when choosing products. Color is more than brand recognition, it conveys traits about a company, almost like sending a subliminal message to the consumer. Colors convey personality and emotions. For instance:

• Red conveys the following emotions:
  • Exciting
  • Inviting
  • Increase of passion and intensity
  • Love
• Yellow conveys the emotions of:
  • Cheerful and warm
  • Energy
  • Happiness
• Blue conveys the emotions:
  • Ease
  • Trustworthy
  • Dependable
  • Secure

Studies have shown that consumers take just seconds to locate and select a product. Visibility on the shelf with the appropriate use of color can increase brand recognition, while also serving as an important brand identifier.

Product Placement

The importance of product placement in retail is just as important as the branding. The better a business is at placing products on the shelf the more profit they will make. According to “The Importance of Product Placement In the Retail World,” there are a variety of options for product placement including:

• Block Placement – related items are placed together
• Vertical Placement – items placed on more than one shelf level
• Commercial Placement – items with higher perceived value are given better placement
• Margin Product Placement – more profitable items receive better positions
• Market Share Placement – products that generate the highest revenue are placed in spots easily found

The article “The science that makes us spend more in supermarkets, and feel good while we do it,” cites how a commonly used phrase in retail is “eye level is buy level.” This means products that sell better are positioned at eye level. In addition to this, the number of times a product is seen also impacts sales.

Store layout is important as well. Putting similar items together such as baking goods, chips, and sodas makes sense. However, sometimes convenience makes a purchase more likely. For instance, if you are going to buy ice cream and see toppings at the end of the isle you may purchase these to accompany your ice cream. It is possible that you may have entered the store with no intentions of buying toppings, but once you saw all of the options available you made the purchase for some caramel to go on top of your ice cream.

The Label Design Process

When designing your label make sure to include colors, symbols, and imagery that fit your brand and are likely to impact the consumer’s decision to purchase your product. By designing a label with the elements that lead consumers to take action, your product will have a better chance for success and standing out from the crowd. It is also important to think about the placement of your product in stores during this process so you have a better idea of where your product will be located on the shelf. Having all of this information during the design process will help your brand to think about the way consumers make purchases.

Keep an eye out for our upcoming infographic “Labeling, The Psychology Behind the Design” to learn more about the information on labels and what’s important to the consumer! In the meantime, if you have any questions about labels or labeling please feel free to reach out to us by contacting our sales department at 717.235.8345 or email them at sales@epilabelers.com.