Did you know that the design of your packaging, label or tag plays a part in the success of your marketing plans? Also called “branding”, items that you use for helping promote your company, like promotional plates, giveaways and the like, should be well designed and crafted for these to be effective. In short, such marketing materials need to be well thought out and made in order for these to serve their purpose.
Some people question why it is necessary to take real care in designing these promotional items. They do not realize that no matter how big or how small your business, the effectiveness of your marketing efforts lies in how memorable and recognizable your promotional materials are. In order for your promotional plates, tags and labels to do their work, you first need to do yours and that is to design these in such a way that makes them memorable and helps you stand out from your competition.
When you talk about design elements that need to be focused on, there are actually a lot. Good label and promotional plate design should begin with the basic elements and here are some of the things you need to focus on:
Color combinations – one of the things you need to keep in mind is that the more noticeable the promotional and marketing tags, the more memorable they will be. Think about how colors catch a person’s eye and focus on that concept. Some color combinations draw a person’s attention easily compared to others, and these help capture the curiosity of your target market. Of course, you need to take into consideration first the original color of your logo and your brand when considering the colors to use on your promotional items.
Make sure to choose colors that don’t only catch a person’s attention but also does so in a pleasant way. Some companies opt for the shock effect with the use of bright, glaring contrasting shades and this may get a person’s attention but may not have the positive effect that they want it to have.
Readability – this is another thing you need to ensure that your labels, tags and other promotional material carries – readable copy that people won’t have to try to decipher to understand. This means that what you write on your tags or your plates should be legible and should use fonts that are easy to understand. While a lot of businesses opt to use fancy fonts that are sometimes difficult to make out, a few choose to use fonts that are attractive enough to look at yet easy to read.
You should also make sure that the size of your main copy is large enough to be read from a short distance, with the smaller copy readable when the item is handled by your prospective buyer or when the customer is about a foot or so away from your tags or labels. It is also advisable that you steer clear of overused fonts, such as Arial or Times New Roman since, as readable as these are, these fonts are not as eye catching and memorable as other options.
Size and shape – also worth considering is the size and shape of your labels, tags, promotional plates and other marketing paraphernalia when putting together such items. Make sure that these are the right size and the right shape to complement your products, services and offerings when you start designing them. Some companies choose to use uniquely shaped tags while others use standard rectangular, square or round ones. The choice should depend on your brand and what looks good with it.
The size of your tags and plates should also be in line with its usage and with your branding. Choosing too big a tag for a small item is rather uncalled for. The right size is not too big or too small for your product or purpose.