Lightning Labels Blog

Do You Need Package Design Inspiration?

Most people are not design experts. Many of us cannot even afford to hire someone who is a design expert. Here at Lightning Labels we deal with many start-up companies where the owner of the business has to do everything. This includes product label and packaging design.

Where do you go for design inspiration? Luckily there are many great resources online that showcase great design. Here are my top three favorites:

The Dieline - You will see the tagline when you visit the Dieline: "the world's #1 package design website". While you may think this is a somewhat grandiose claim, in the many years I have been reading blogs and visiting package design websites, I agree with their claim. They showcase the most creative and beautiful packaging from every product category you can imagine. If you only visit one site it should be this one.

Packaging of the World - another blog devoted to showcasing beautiful packaging. As you can tell by the name this blog has more of an international focus. It has arranged all the packaging into neat categories so you can choose the kind of packaging you want to see. Also, there are small thumbnails of each design that allows for easy browsing of the different designs.

Design You Trust - this one is a little different. It is outside of the strictly package design field and into more general design. But Design You Trust is probably the most visited design site in the world. It covers book design, illustration, fashion, photography, website design and yes, packaging design. Sometimes it is useful to look beyond your industry for design ideas.

Related Articles

The Blogsmith in Label & Narrow Web magazine - Nov/Dec 2009

Ten Elements of Good Product Label Design

Packaging Diva's Monthly Picks - showcasing the best of the packaging blogs each month

Photo above from 2009 Pentawards for outstanding package design.

Package Design Magazine Makeover Challenge Winner

Back in August we wrote about Package Design Magazine's Makeover Challenge for Casa Visco sauces. Well, the votes are in and a winner has been selected. Estudio Ray, a boutique design studio in Phoenix received the most votes with their packaging makeover featured above. As you can see they created unique product labels in glass containers with a metal clamp - they are certainly eye catching designs.

Package Design Magazine enlisted the services of Hotspex, a research company, to confirm the results of the reader survey with actual consumers. Interestingly, Studio Ray's designs also came out on top in almost all categories in these tests. The Casa Visco brand of sauces now has some powerful research to justify their packaging makeover.

You can read the full article here. It includes some fascinating research that will help anyone who is thinking about conducting their own packaging makeover.

Holiday Gift Ideas for Graphic Designers & Other Creative Types

Even though many stores have been selling Christmas decorations for a month now, the holiday shopping season officially kicks off with Black Friday - just a week from now. If you are wondering what to get your graphic designer - or anyone with a flair for creativity and passion for technology - here are some great ideas to inspire you. Happy Shopping Season, Ya'll!

Fun Yet Practical USB Drives

Mimobot sells USB flash drives that mimic almost any pop character one could think of, from Darth Vader and C-3CPO to Hello Kitty and characters from that Halo video game I've never played but hear is STILL popular.

Did you realize you can download not only tunes but all kinds of data to an iPod Shuffle? Barely bigger than a postage stamp,the clip on this tiny iPod isn't good for workouts - it also lessens the possibility of losing it in a laptop bag or purse. As a bonus, it also comes in a rainbow of colors. The 3rd Generation 2G iPod Shuffle is on sale now for $55 at Target online.

And now I have seen everything. The Scent 2.0 USB not only totes data from computer to computer, but provides aromatherapy right at your desk. The designer on your gift list just needs to add a little of the lavender oil that comes with it, plug it into any USB drive, and enjoy the therapeutic benefits of aromatherapy right in their office(or home or coffee shop). Currently available from ThinkGeek for $5.99.

If the USB jump drives I've recommended so far sound too impersonal for your gift-giving style, take a little time to customize a plain one yourself. Need inspiration? The DIY blog Instructables has step-by-step directions on how to hide a USB flash drive inside a classic pink eraser or a Lego block.

Books & Magazines (The Paper Kind)

The new Zen of CSS Design Book by Dave Shea and Molly E. Holzschlag. Based on the popular website CSS Zen Garden, this book Illustrates the range and potential of Web sites afforded by CSS-based Web design. Currently on sale at Amazon.com for $29.69.

The Encyclopedia of Fonts by Gwyn Headley. $18.21 at Amazon.com. 

A one-year subscription to Communication Arts Magazine includes the Design, Advertising, Illustration, Photography and Interactive annuals plus access to premium online content. $53 when purchased online (63% off the newsstand price).

Tee Shirts - Because You Can't Have Too Many ...

And because many creative types work in casual environments. Pick up a tee with a witty saying or an unusual design at Threadless. Threadless is a community-driven online tee shirt store where graphic designers can submit tee shirt designs and earn cash for those that are picked, get paid up to $2500 plus $500 per reprint. New tee shirt designs are released each Monday; with sales prices starting at $9.

Or if you are feeling creative yourself, turn the tables and create a personalized tee for the designer on your shopping list for as little as $12.95 per tee at Zazzle.com.

More Ideas

Credits to purchase vector artwork at istockphoto.com

Membership to the professional design association AIGA

Go Media Vector Packs

New Pantone Swatchbooks

Moleskine Notebooks

99designs is Another Avenue to Affordable Graphic Design

Earlier this year, I wrote about DesignBay, a marketplace for graphic design where you can outsource design projects inexpensively. That post generated several comments, both positive and negative, so I thought I should do a followup post about the market leader in this area, 99designs.

This is how 99designs (and DesignBay) work. Say you need a new logo, or product label, designed. You fill out the specs on their web site along with your budget and wait for the designs to come pouring in. One of the great benefits of this approach is that you don't receive just two or three designs back, you will typically receive dozens of original ideas from many different designers. You will have far more choice and you will likely pay less than if you hired a professional graphic designer.

Now, I know there are many graphic designers who read this blog and who are understandably negative about this idea. The way I look at it is this. If you have a tight budget and simply cannot afford to hire a graphic designer, then 99designs provides an inexpensive option. If you want to make sure that you have a consistent graphic look across all your products, that matches your web site and printed materials, then a professional designer is the way to go. Or if you really want to meet your designer face to face and have a personal relationship with them, then 99designs is not for you.

We work with many startups here with very limited budgets and some of these companies are using 99designs for their product label design. If you are also on a limited budget, or want to see a huge number of ideas, then give 99designs a try.

Related Articles

Enlisting a Global Work Force of Freelancers - NY Times

Designers build portfolios, maybe land jobs at 99designs - ZDNet

The Shape of Your Container

 

The September issue of Brand Packaging magazine had an interesting article titled Designing for Retail Realities. The main idea of the article is that we don't just need outstanding packaging that will break through the clutter but we need packaging that stands out in real life conditions - how it actually appears on the retail store shelf.

Yesterday as I was browsing my local grocery store I thought about this article. Many aisles had immaculate shelves with the product labels all pointing in the same direction on the shelf so the consumer could easily see the labels. Then there was the shelf with the product in the photo above. I snapped this photo with my iPhone and you can see that someone had picked up this product and put it back carelessly. It made this product less visually appealing on the shelf.

Now look at the products in this photo above. Again it was taken with my iPhone so it is a little fuzzy but it illustrates my point well. This is a product that shows well, and because of its unusual shape if someone picks it up they will likely put it back on the shelf exactly as they found it.

Most of the products on the supermarket shelf have round bottles with one wraparound product label. So it is easy for a grocery store clerk or a shopper to put the bottles on the shelf in a haphazard way. With a bottle that has an obvious front and back, like the Annie's Naturals brand, there is less likelihood of this happening.

Of course, I am not suggesting everyone switch from round bottles. Almost all wine bottles are round and wine is one of the most label-conscious products there are. But notice that most wine bottles have an obvious front and back label so it is easier to display them correctly on the shelf. Whatever container you use it is important to be aware of the impact that the shape of your container has on your product's visibility on the supermarket shelf.

Italian Fashion Designers Team Up with Coca-Cola to Raise Money for Earthquake Victims

Limited edition bottle designs for Coca-Cola were recently spotlighted at Milan Fashion Week. Famous Italian fashion designers such as Donatella Versace and Alberta Ferretti each stamped their signature style on the designs, which can be seen in the video created for Milan Fashion Week above or on the packaging design blog TheDieline.com.

Coca-Cola commissioned the limited edition designs for its "Tribute to Fashion" fundraiser. Profits from the sell of the limited edition bottles of Coca-Cola Light will fund scholarships for young women affected by the April earthquake that killed 229 people and left thousands homeless in Abruzzio, Italy.

Interested in getting your own designer bottle of Coca-Cola Light? Then you better hurry up and book your airline ticket for Milan now! The limited edition bottles are currently only being sold in the fashion epicenter.

Act Now for Chance to Win Copy of Boxed and Labelled : New Approaches to Packaging Design

Packaging design blog Lovely Package and visual publishing house and design consulting firm Gestalten are giving away three copies of Boxed and Labelled : New Approaches to Packaging Design.

To throw your hat in the ring, email Lovely Package  with your name and shipping address by October 31, 2009. Winners will selected in a drawing.

Gestalten released the 220-page hardcover book by editors R. Klanten and S. Ehmann this week. According to Lovely Packaging, Boxed and Labelled "is a must have for any designer or lover of beautiful package design." Amazon.com is currently selling copies of Boxed and Labelled for $43.87 with free shipping.

Vitaminwater Launches Label Design Contest on Facebook Oct. 15

Vitaminwater is asking Facebook users to submit label designs and packaging copy for its newest flavor starting October 15 through the company's flavorcreator app.

According to the Big Fat Marketing Blog!, Vitaminwater spokespeople country pop star Carrie Underwood and rapper 50 Cent will select the winning label design in December. The new product is expected to go to market by March 2010. The contest winner will not only get to see their design featured on Vitaminwater bottles around the world, but will be awarded a $5,000 prize as well.

Vitaminwater is currently inviting Facebook users to use the flavorcreator app to vote for a new flavor and vitamin formula for the new product release. The label design contest will be the final step in the creation of Vitaminwater's user-designed product.

According to Fast Company, the list of flavors currently up for vote on flavorcreator was compiled from online conversations Vitaminwater listened in on at sites such as Twitter, Flickr, and Google News. The more a particular flavor was discussed in these online communities, the more likely it was to make the list.

Creating a Label Design Toolbox

Any good handyman knows he is only as good as his toolbox. So if you want to design product labels you won't do much good without the right tools. So here are some ideas for items to include in your label design toolbox.

Software

If you are serious about design then you need the latest Adobe tools: Photoshop and Illustrator. Now, these are expensive tools running over $1,000 total for new versions of both products. While it is true you do get what you pay for you, there are less expensive alternatives. Photoshop Elements is a good entry level product or you can try these free tools: the open source products gimp and inkscape, or Aviary, an online graphic design tool. With all these different tools, just be sure to keep in mind the difference between raster and vector files.

Inspiration

There are plenty of places you can go to online for inspiration in label design. Blogs such as The Dieline and Lovely Package should be a part of any label designers toolbox. Every day these blogs showcase some of the most beautiful packaging you will ever see. Other places to go for inspiration are Packaging of the World, Pentawards, and TLMI Label Awards.

Learning

Learning is the key ingredient for every good handyman. You always need to be improving your skills and trying new things. One of the huge benefits of being a product label designer today is that there is a huge pool of learning tools available for free online. You can learn how to use Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, package design, or all about packaging.

Observation

When learning a new skill nothing beats watching an expert in action. While getting an internship at a package design house may be of incredible value it is not realistic for most people. However, you have an opportunity to view successful finished labels every time you go to the store. Take a look at the grocery store shelves and see which labels and packages capture your eye. Why? The best place to observe great packaging is at the liquor store. Wine labels tend to have the most creative labels of any product, so you can get some great ideas just observing the labels at your local liquor store. Become a student of label design when you shop and you will become a better label designer.

Image Placement on Packaging Influences Consumer Perception of Product, Study Says

Health-conscious shoppers who find themselves in the snack aisle are most likely to toss a package of cookies or crackers in their cart that has a product image at the top or left side of the packaging, according to a study featured in a New York Times article published Aug. 17.

 The University of Miami Business School study, which will be published in the December issue of The Journal of Marketing, concluded that consumers perceive product images placed in either or these locations to be healthy or light. In contrast, product images placed at the bottom or right side of their packaging are viewed as being rich or heavy. Of the 270 cracker and cookie packages included in the study, the images of rich, full-bodied products like decadent double chocolate chunk cookies were placed in the lower or right front portion of the packaging most of the time. Light, “healthy” products were placed in the top or left portion of the packaging 66% of the time.

The New York Times article’s implication that these findings arise from the way the human eye approaches images was challenged earlier this week by The Package Unseen’s blog post about the packaging design study. The blog post’s author notes that the cookie industry is dominated by a handful of large companies, and theorizes that their design systems are more influential on the packaging design in this category than how the human eye approaches images. To me, this is like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg?

At any rate, I am looking forward to examining more of the research when this study is published in full. In the meantime, you might want to experiment designing your product labels based on the research that has already been released.