What Makes an Attractive Label – Content

The first installment of this two part series we covered the elements of color and design that make an attractive label, and in this conclusion we are going to explore the content of an attractive label!

Picture vs Text

Because the label design has to fit all regulatory information into small spaces, real estate for branding is very important. Walls and blocks of text can be overwhelming, and customers can tend to glaze over or skip over your label. A picture can help focus and slow down a customer’s eye so they linger on your label longer, then they’ll move to the next largest focal point, which should be the Statement of Identity.

 

Statement of Identity

A “statement of identity” is a declaration of a food’s common name that must be displayed on the principal display panel (PDP) of the label. The PDP is the part of a label that is designed to most likely be displayed, presented, shown, or examined under normal conditions of display and purchase.

If you don’t have a photo, by making sure your Statement of Identity is large, bold, a contrasting color from the background, and has some “white space” (space around the text without any other text or interfering graphics) you can still focus the consumer’s eye on your label. At the end of the day, it’s all about how each element of the label works together.

Label Layout

Most people read left to right, top to bottom, so having your most important elements (logo/brand name, Statement of Identity, or the product photo) near the top is a good way to layout your design. Try to keep your photo to one section of the label: top, bottom side, middle, etc., and your text around the photo in the rest of the empty space.

What you don’t want to do is put text on top of your photo, as that’s a really easy way to make a label design look busy and hard to read right off the bat. If you have to put text on top of a photo, try placing it inside of a bar/rectangle, or make sure there’s a drop shadow or glow behind, so your text is nice and legible.

If you have any questions or would like to chat about redesigning one of your labels please Reach Out today!