There’s an old saying that tells us “brevity is the soul of wit.” Meaning, the shorter joke will always be better than a long one. This isn’t necessarily because long jokes are bad – it’s just that you should never use 10 words to make a statement when five will do just fine.
Even though your product labels aren’t likely to be packed with jokes and non sequiturs, this is still an idea that you need to grasp and utilize to your advantage. Not only will it make your product labels more effective when it comes to conveying essential information, but it will also help you stand out on crowded store shelves in all the ways that you need.
Word Volume Matters – Your Product Labels
As you’re designing your product labels, make a list of all the important ideas you need to get across. Then, work on creating the shortest versions of those ideas completely independent of one another.
In other words, if one of the things you need people to know is that you shouldn’t use your product above or below certain temperatures, write that out as a statement and then think about the absolute shortest way that you can say it. Don’t necessarily skimp on words just because you have to – sometimes something is so important that it demands 15 or 20 words. But if you can cut that down to 10, great. If you can cut that down to five, even better.
Once you’re done, work on bringing those bits of essential information together into what will eventually form your product label. Remember that white space is a powerful tool when utilized properly, so don’t group everything together and make sure everything is spaced out in a nice, easy-to-follow way.
Think about ideas that don’t actually need to be conveyed with words at all.
As a rule of thumb, if you CAN express something visually, you SHOULD express something visually. They say a picture is worth 1000 words – that might not necessarily be true in a literal sense, but when you’re trying to create the sleekest and most straightforward product packaging possible, this is one guideline that you’d do well to lean into.
The human brain is visual anyway – meaning that people are better at following directions via pictures than they are text, so especially if the information you need to get across falls into that category, this will always help and never hurt.
In the end, you’ll be left with product labels that are more than just “easy to read.” You’ll have the framework for a design that is effective in all the ways that you need at precisely the right moment in your relationship with your buyers. Make no mistake, that’s a powerful position to be in.
If you’d like to find out more about why brevity is one of the most valuable resources you have when it comes to your product labels, or if you’d just like to discuss your own situation with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t delay – contact Unique Printing and Labels, today!