so i bought labels, and have a question

[lionprincess00]

Ive read a ton on labels and such. I decided stick em on labels is easiest right now, and i found the perfect size i wanted on a website. I bought them and downloaded the template. I positioned my wording and did different fonts and such.
My question is, what do you recommend for design?
I want something more than words on it. Do you use a clipart you purchased? Did you purchase a banner?

I've got stickey labels and have hit a brick wall on where to even start looking on 'how to' or 'what to' make as a unique and personal design.

Final question.

Cigar band makers. Do you design your template in a program, make the 4 or so per page, print on paper and hand cut them out?

Sorry you all, this is a new thing for me and after a ton of researching and browsing websites for design info I'm at a loss.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I make my bands in Photoshop and print 5 or so on a page.

As for design - what is your brand?

 

[lionprincess00]

Do you hand cut the bands after printing them up? Strange question and I feel silly being so green behind the ears on this.
I'm amber waves of soap. I thought of a wave or wheat or something. That said, I see nice looking clipart like http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=50216, or nice labels with colorful frames like post #5 here http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=49788. I am just clueless where they get the designs from, their computer or Microsoft clipart or a website, or does hmlove purchase pre printed designed stickers or print the pretty turquoise design themselves?

I guess design is what I want and haven't a clue how to go about doing it. I gift these soaps right now and want to get labels correct for that and have that solidified well before I consider selling or attempting to sell anything.

 

[sabistarr]

I am a graphic designer and so able to design all my labels. From a design point of view - I think its really important to keep it simple unless you have design skills. There is nothing more off-putting than over designed labels. Some of the most beautiful designs are very simple - and work well.

I buy my labels at OnlineLabels.com and they have a free label design software - I have not looked into it, as I have my own software, but I love the website!

Some basic design tips to consider:
- be aware of fonts. No more than 2 fonts per design - one fancy, one plain.
- stay away from fancy borders and shapes
- avoid bright and solid colors unless your printer (and toner bill) can handle it

Sorry, I don't know anything about your bands - but hope this helps a little!

 

[lionprincess00]

My labels fit my tall skinny soaps quite well, and if I do a slab mold they can still fit, though the edges are close.

For the swap, I wrapped the soap in cling wrap and used a blow dryer to seal it after punching out 4 breathe holes (2 per side), wrapped like a gift in Kraft wrapping paper, and made cigar bands in a solid color with solid construction paper I precut to go around the belly of the soap. I used a glue stick for the wrapping paper and the solid hand cut construction paper cigar band, and finally stuck my sticker printed labels onto the band in front and one with ingredients in back. It was clean, but a little plain. The worst of it all was it took way too long to complete! It was time consuming and not practical whatsoever.

 

[cmzaha]

That is way to much work LionPrincess. We had our banner type graphic designed, but before that we purchased graphics from Can Stock Photo. They are the best price we found and if you purchase credits you get a price break. This is why I made a label for all soaps in a readily available label stock, no cigar bands to fool with. Just shrink wrap and stick on the label. I only use round labels when I absolutely have to since I find them very pesky to format for my printer even with templates that are supposed to print correctly

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I print a sheet and then cut. Well, The Admirable Lady cuts them as she is much better at it than I!

I would start by thinking about what you would buy. Your label should convey the feel of your brand - what is the basis for people to buy your soap? What are you selling? Soaps, aye - but what soaps? What is the point? Your label needs to convey this point.

Are they funky? Traditional? Homey? Minimalist? The label needs to get that over to your customer and help create the emotional connection between the customer and your product.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

As for sources, you could try to find royalty free stuff that is also open for business use but that is not often easy to find or the choice is limited. As Carolyn said, some spending will be needed, but this is a business after all - you'll have to invest. Save a few too many of your greenbacks here and you might be doing yourself a massive injustice.

 

[navigator9]

I use Avery Design Pro, a free download, to print my cigar band labels. I print them on colored copy paper, in my brand colors. I get four labels to a sheet, with no wasted space, and I cut them with a paper cutter that has a laser, so you can see exactly where you're cutting. They're not that expensive, and save a lot of time trying to line up your labels, and a lot of wasted paper because you cut them wrong. I agree with the advice above about keeping it clean and simple. There are free graphics websites where you should be able to find wheat and wave designs. If you have a good idea what your brand is, it will help you in designing your labels. I think it's something that a lot of us struggle and spend a lot of time on, before we're happy. Good luck to you!

 

[lionprincess00]

Gent, I want to convey classy, modern and simple being a keyword. I like clean lines, simple elegance behind a minimalist countenance, and such. So that's my branding I want to convey.
I will definitely check out can stock photo Carolyn as yes, it was way too impractical what I did lol. I think this will work well for a stock photo.

I take it black ink is best for starting out...and yes, putting money into branding is a definite necessity I agree gent!

Sabistar, I agree on font. I have my main font for name and fragrance and used a similar font in small for the words soap and net weight. On the back I used a separate font not fancy, but official looking for ingredients and contact information. I need to work on this as well.

I was just at a loss on to how I begin designing the labels, and what to design is a totally new and different thing I need to think about as well!

 

[Aline]

When I started out I found label design incredibly challenging. I had a vague idea in my head but it went through a few incarnations till I was happy with it. I use the free program Gimp (which was a bit of a learning curve but there's a lot of helpful people on their forum). I could have kept it simpler but I do sell in a B & M store so decided my packaging had to look really good.