Since ancient times, manufacturers have paid great attention to the design of packaging and, above all, tothe design of labels. Even before our era, due to the lack of paper, tiny pieces of leather or parchment with markings were used to create labels. Beverage manufacturers labeled bottles, amphorae or clay vessels. And, with the advent of paper in Europe, paper labels completely conquered the packaging industry, because paper labels, compared to leather or stamps, held more information. In the 19th century the most developing area of label production was winemaking, and by the 20th century a whole set of rules on label design was formed, which was included in the European legislation, – the order of naming and design of wines. Many famous artists of the 20th century such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Marc Chagall, etc. worked on the artistic design of labels.
In addition to basic information about the product, name, manufacturer and place of manufacture, a modern label contains instructions for use by the consumer and, most importantly, advertising appeals. The modern label is a revolutionary tool in winning the target audience, attracting and keeping their attention.
A label is not just a graphic or textual sign that is applied to a product in the form of a label, sticker or tag with information about the product and the manufacturer. A label is a business card of your brand, which forms the first opinion about the product in the eyes of the consumer!
In recent times, the label, along with packaging, has become a powerful tool to stimulate sales of products, as well as the cause of impulse purchases, which then grow into a habit. A beautiful and unusual label attracts the buyer’s interest and motivates him to make a purchase, which is why it is so important to label design, the right colors, fonts, graphics и material.
All market-leading companies and well-known global brands always pay a great deal of attention to to the design of labels and packaging. For example, the Coca-Cola Company – a famous world brand and a monopolist of the soft drinks market during the whole period of its existence constantly modernized and updated both the packaging and the label of the product, and almost always – successfully!
By the example of Coca-Cola, we can trace the entire evolution of the label from the branding and paper labels to modern polymer labels. It is the positioning of the company as a brand that brings joy and pleasure, which are constantly present in our lives, accompanying important events and holidays (“Always Coca-Cola!” – the company’s slogan), the design of the label, packaging, logo, corporate identity, etc. – makes Coca-Cola a permanent market leader, a brand that is a colossal success on a global scale.
The need to develop a label design arises in the case of entering the market or in the case of declining popularity and loss of position in the market, in this case the label is redesigned. The reasons for label redesign can also be changes in the corporate style of the company, its individual elements, changes in the properties of the product, design obsolescence, etc. Redesign is a powerful means of restoring its position in the market and winning new segments.
Many large companies producing well-known brands resort to redesigning their labels and packaging, which allows them to maintain their position in the market for many years and strengthen the positive image of the company. Brand new examples of redesign are the updated labels of Coca-Cola’s Bonaqua mineral water and Unilever’s Timotei brand.
The main purpose of the redesign of mineral water “Bonaqua” from Coca-Cola Company is to identify its product among competitors. The water market in Russia has more than 300 producers, so companies try to distinguish themselves from their competitors as much as possible.Thenew “Bonaqua”label design is bright, youthful, trendy and consumer-friendly.
The new design is one of the components of the Bonaqua brand repositioning policy, which aims to make the brand more modern and attractive to young people. For this purpose, the company has removed the unnecessary pathos characteristic of its main competitor, AquaMinerale. A rounded font was chosen for the title of the new label, and the title itself starts with a lowercase letter, which is typical for writing short texts in sms and chats by young people, and generally disposes the consumer. The packaging also looks trendy due to the multiplayer filling. New labels and a new logo attract attention and are more favorably perceived by consumers, and selected different colors of the line make it easy to distinguish the types of water. However, the shape of the bottle itself has not changed, and the packaging does not fully reveal the concept of brand positioning, so the company is likely to continue to modify Bonaqua products. However, the redesign of the label and logo has made a difference, and the newly designed Bonaqua products have dramatically increased the company’s sales.
Unilever is alsoactively engaged in label redesign for the Timotei brand. The new Timotei design concept is aimed at “Harmony of beauty and naturalness, ingredient diversity and minimalism“.The new design of images and ingredient names – bright, emotional and juicy, allowed to clearly distinguish the brand area, and the packaging perfectly fulfills both marketing and advertising functions, and, in addition, emphasizes the company’s unique selling proposition (UTP) – “Harmony of beauty and naturalness, ingredient diversity and minimalism”.
To further emphasize the naturalness of the ingredients, the “Natural Ingredients” branding has become clearer, the pictogram of the green tree has been updated and has rounded shapes, evoking in the consumer a feeling of harmony and reliability. The brand logo and the “Natural Ingredients” branding have been placed closer together, making the brand block more harmonious. Needless to say, the updated Timotei product line has brought the company a new wave of popularity in more than 10 countries around the world!
When starting to develop a label design it is necessary first of all to research the market, analyze competitors’ products and study the desires of the target audience. After that, marketing specialists and designers at KOLORO will create several variants of label concepts, from which the Customer can choose the concept that best meets the requirements and needs of the company, maximally emphasizing the advantages of the product. And most importantly – containing unique selling proposition.
