04 Oct How to Use Your Product Label to Achieve a High-end Look

When you want to sell luxury goods, your product’s outer packaging needs to look as high end as what’s on the inside. The customer should receive the best of both worlds – a product that looks every bit as good as it works. Your product label is the place to start capturing this luxury look. Combine your label design with high quality boxes, jars, or other containers and this can be the key to your item hitting the top shelf.

The best place to start creating your high-end look is with the artwork on your label. There are no hard and fast rules you need to follow, but there are a few tips you can use to achieve a luxury look for your label design. All these tips can be adapted to fit your individual product or brand.

1) Limit your colour palette

Black and White

Using a limited colour palette is common practice among most high-end companies. Things like logos, branding, and packaging will often be limited to black and white or other neutral colours. Think of companies like Vogue, Chanel, or Prada, for example. Their logos are all made up of simple black text on a plain white background. This type of minimalist design ensures the brand name stands out on the stark white background, with the black text appearing bold and weighty to the eye. Limited colours add a feeling of sleekness, which deepens the luxurious look.

Signature Colour

Alongside black and white, it’s also common for high-end companies to incorporate a single, signature colour in their packaging. A great example of this is Tiffany with their classic blue boxes. A signature colour makes a brand instantly recognizable and a black logo on the box keeps everything looking elegant and clean.

Monochromatic

Another way to select a limited colour palette is using monochromatic design. This is done by choosing one colour and designing with only tints and shades of this single colour. For example, if you choose to use blue as your single colour, your label can include light blue, dark blue, navy blue, and all shades in between as long as they all belong to the blue colour family.

This type of colour scheme can give your design the unified look you want in a luxury product. You can take this a step farther by matching your monochromatic design to the colour of your actual product. Just don’t go overboard with the number of shades you use. Simple is always better when it comes to luxury design.

2) Keep it simple

It’s without question that your product label is of great importance, but you also want to give the rest of your product time to shine. A label that is too busy or overwhelming can be distracting and detract from the remainder of your packaging. If in doubt, always keep things simple and let the product itself do the talking.

We recommend reducing the number of elements in your label design to a few key features such as your logo, product name and any important measurement or size information. This also allows you to keep the label size small so it won’t overwhelm your product. If more information is required, you can always add it in a separate label on the back or bottom of your product. 

3) Add small flourishes

If you want to add some more personality and flair to your label, there are many ways to do this. Try adding pops of metallic elements. Stick to classic metallic colours such as silver, gold, or rose gold to preserve your classy and expensive feel. Use your metallic elements sparingly to call attention to important elements of your design, like the logo, or to add shiny flourishes to lines and borders.

Another way to add interest to your label is through the shape of the label itself. Try a unique shape to stand out from the crowd. Custom shapes can be particularly effective and give your product an overall luxurious look. Combine both metallic elements and a custom shape to create a truly eye-catching design. Just don’t forget to stick to the previous rules of simplicity and avoid overdoing things.

4) Select the right material

Once you’ve completed your label design, you need to ensure you’ve chosen the right material to print on. When browsing materials, keep in mind both the function of your product and your artwork for printing. These requirements need to be addressed by whatever material you choose. For example, if your product is liquid-based or will be stored in moist, damp environments, you’ll need to choose a weatherproof material that can withstand these conditions. If your label has metallic elements, you’ll need to make sure that the material you select has a metallic sheen to it that allows your metallic colours to print correctly.

For more guidance on designing, your perfect high-end look, give us a call at RGS Labels today!