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Designing Your Label
Getting help from a graphic designer or a design
firm is strongly recommended. A well designed label
makes your product easier to sell to consumers,
retailers, mail order catalogs, brokers and
distributors.
Look for a designer or firm that has produced labels
or package design. To find a designer whose work
you like, walk the aisles of markets and retail shops
and jot down the names of product labels that appeal
to you. Contact the companies and ask for referrals.
It is not a good idea to work with a designer who is
already producing a label for the manufacturer of a
competitive product. In any case, most reputable
designers would politely refer you to another
designer or firm if they felt that working on your
product would harm their relationship with their
current clients.
Select a few designers and arrange to meet with
them and to see a portfolio of their work. Discuss
fees and expenses. Then determine whom you feel
most comfortable working with.
Your decision should be based on your response to
their portfolio of work, your feelings about how well
you would work together and the proposed fee
structure.
Remember, this is an important relationship. Your
designer must produce a label and logo that will
capture the essence of the product you have worked
so hard to produce. There is a lot riding on the
success of your decision, so be sure it is based on all
the factors, not just on price.
Some designers work for a flat fee plus expenses.
Others work for a fee plus royalties. The latter is
sometimes an easier arrangement for a smaller
producer as it allows you an initially lower fee for
the design of the label and the first printing. If the
product sells well and you reprint the label, the
designer is paid a predetermined royalty, based on
the print run.
There are creative ways to negotiate fee structures.
Be honest about how much you can afford and let
them tell you if they can work within your budget.
Get a contract that spells out who retains the rights
to the artwork and whether royalties are to be paid
for future printings. Be specific about the press run
and the royalty agreement. The graphic design
industry has guidelines intended to help you and the
designer create a contract that covers all of these
issues and more.
Working With Your Designer
Your designer needs to know the package sizes, the
number of colors available for printing and all the
copy that must appear on the label.
You also want to discuss who your competition is
and where you plan to sell your product. If your
product is mass-marketed, the label needs a different
look than a product available only at gourmet food
stores or retail shops. You may need two different
labels for the same product if you have two very
different markets. Have your designer go to the
market to see what other products look like and get a
better sense of where your product will be sitting on
the shelf.
If you have an existing product and want your
package redesigned, take the package with you so
that you can discuss what you like and dislike about
the existing label. You may want to carry over some
aspects of the existing label into your new design so
that consumers can quickly identify your product on
the shelf. The same is true if you are introducing a
new addition to your family of products. You should
build on the brand identity you have established with
consumers. If they recognize some familiar aspect of
the label, they may try your new product out of
brand loyalty.
You can expect designers to show you sketches of
the proposed design after your first meeting. You
will meet to discuss the sketches and then the
designer will revise the ideas and present you with a
final sketch for approval. Then, they will
commission artwork or produce the finished product.
If you do not like the proposed designs and
revisions, and feel you can no longer work with the
designer; you can opt to terminate the relationship
by paying him what is called a kill fee. But, if you
have carefully and thoughtfully done the preliminary
work of interviewing, looking at portfolios, and
checking references, this should not happen.