The world around us is becoming more complex, and many companies are vying for your attention at each moment.
Brands are continuously looking for ways they can cut through the clutter and stand out in the market so they can grab the market's attention and appeal to consumers.
Many companies choose designs that shout 'attention here' as they try to capture consumers' peripheral vision with bold typography and screaming colors. However, there's an emerging trend of minimalist label design, a directly opposite approach that's gradually becoming more prominent.
What Is Minimalism
At its core, minimalist label design is about decluttering and getting rid of the excess. The concept has found its way into many areas of modern society, such as architecture, interior design, art, and, more relevantly, graphic design.
Even though markets today are neck-deep in an ocean of excessive advertising, several companies have chosen to go out of their way to avoid it altogether.
Although minimalistic label design is by no means a new trend, we are starting to see brands exercise extreme simplicity in label and packaging design.
Here is a list of reasons why minimalist label design carries so much potential.
Draws Focus on the Product
As critical as good label design is, selling your product won't be very effective if it's distracting to your target market. With a minimalist design, you get to keep customers focus on the product.
You might be wondering how a simple design can draw customer focus effectively.
A minimalist design is best placed for starters on just the right label size, not too big and not too small. They also have slightly or completely transparent elements and usually have a few important details about the product to avoid distraction.
A minimalist design also helps prevent customers from thinking the product is being over-marketed.
Convey a Unique Message With Custom Label Printing
Minimalist design can do a great job in distinguishing a brand from its competitors. It helps to convey that there is something special about the product that makes it unique and more interesting than its rivals.
For instance, if you use recycled label material in the production process, you can use a simple design to communicate to your customers that your brand is concerned about conserving the environment. Customers want to spend their money on brands that practice eco-friendly measures or any other ethical issues in society.
Highlight the Product's USP with Personalized Labels
Minimalist label design can also help highlight the USP (Unique Selling Point) of the product. A USP is a statement made by a brand to showcase what makes its product different or superior to those competitors.
More often than not, a brand's unique selling point is what sways the customer's final buying decision.
With a maximalist label design, it's easy for product information to get lost amongst other elements in the design. But a minimalist label easily draws the eyes of consumers to the most important information you would like to communicate.
Create a Relationship of Trust With Customers
One of the primary functions of product labels is to build trust with new or potential customers.
A minimalist label design sends out a message that the manufacturer is confident in their product and is happy to let the product speak for itself. The confidence of simplicity will compel likely customers to buy the product.
It can also help strengthen the relationship with those loyal to the brand. After all, we can't think of anyone who wants to be associated with a brand that commonly uses flashy elements in its label design.
Simple, Custom Labels Are More Visually Appealing
A great way of achieving a modern and visually appealing aesthetic for your product is to use a simplistic approach in your design. Few visual elements on your label will help you make good use of white space, which would otherwise not have been possible with a more complex design.
The Colors Used Stand Out More
One critical element that stands out in any minimalist label design is the choice of colors. The colors used are very important in all product labels, but none more so than in minimalist labels because there aren't many design elements to distract.
Color works at a primal level, triggering certain emotions in the buyer's brain. Regardless of your choice of color palette, be it bold and striking or calm and relaxed, a simple and custom label design will make your brand colors feature a lot more prominently.
Tips to Creating the Best Personalized Labels
Now that you've understood just how powerful a minimalist approach to your product packaging design can be. Let's walk you through some ways to achieve the perfect label design for your brand.
Be Direct, but Not Too Direct
A good way of going about a minimalist design is to take a 'what you see is what you get approach. But at the same time, it shouldn't be too ambiguous for your customers to know instantly what to expect from the product. Use as few words as you can, and don't be too obvious.
Mind Your Copy (and Typography)
Use fewer words and avoid lengthy descriptions to achieve a simple product packaging design. You could even abbreviate your brand's name or use a catchy slogan no longer than one sentence.
Consider your typography too! Make sure you use a simple font that is easy for potential buyers to read.
How to Print Labels That Matter
The whole idea of minimalism stems from the concept that less is more. Putting the most important elements in a certain space allows them to stand out in a visual environment. This helps the elements feature more prominently.
When other products on the shelf are overly complex, simplicity becomes a lot easier to notice. Once you have your ideal minimalist label design in place, you're going to need a printing company like Anchor Graphics to print labels for you.
Call us at 1-800-875-7859 for more information on how we can help you create custom labels or with your custom label printing needs.