The Impact of Wine Label Design
With the proliferation of wine brands constantly crowding up the shelves of your local supermarket, wineries are having a hard time making their products stand out. In addition, prospective customers feel overwhelmed by the number of options that all look the same and promise the same things.
That’s why personalised wine label design is crucial. It’s the first thing shoppers will see, be that in the supermarket, at a food and drink festival or online. Marrying your label artwork with your brand’s look and feel sends the right message to new customers and instils trust in familiar ones.
The Role of Wine Label Design in Branding
Wine label design as a branding tool
Adding branding to any product is essential - your packaging needs to stand out, encourage sales and look cohesive across your product range. Wine labelling is no different; in fact, it is one of the most critical parts of the packaging process when creating your vino. Your wine label doesn’t just need to include the required information. It is a brilliant marketing tool that many companies miss out on.
Put yourself in the consumer’s shoes; how often do you walk into the supermarket and pick up the same bottle of wine, as you know it’s good and nothing else catches your eye? If you don’t maximise the potential of your wine bottle stickers, you could miss out on a huge customer base.
Importance of wine label brand design in establishing a unique brand identity
Adding a unique spin to your wine label design is a great way to grab shoppers’ attention. A great example of this is from Treasury Wine Estates, where, in 2018, they collaborated with Snoop Dogg to create an augmented reality experience through their wine labels! 19 crimes use AR to bring their wine labels to life, telling the stories of historical crimes. They have used their wine label design to create an experience for the customer, not just through drinking their product but from the stories the stickers tell.
Consider what makes your brand different from the rest, and capitalise on it on your wine label design and packaging.
Key Elements of Effective Wine Label Design
Visual appeal and storytelling
How can a wine label be designed to encourage consumers to pick up the bottle compared to its competitors?
For ordinary folk who aren't wine connoisseurs, it can be pretty stressful deciding which bottle to bring to a dinner party or picking which wine goes well with a particular dish. This can lead to aimless browsing in the aisles. At impulse, it's easiest to pick out a wine bottle based on its label, hoping it tastes good. A carefully crafted label can make people think the bottle is way more expensive than it actually is.
Consider your three main USPs that make your brand stand out. For example, you could be a small family business that has a unique wine based on each family member and that prioritises protecting the environment. You could opt for an eco-friendly textured paper label and add each wine's unique name and story to the design. For example, you could add how Emily’s red wine is deep and rich and reminds her of her honeymoon in Italy. This creates a relationship with your customer and makes them emotionally attached to your product.
Typography and fonts
Like with graphics, consider your target audience when deciding on a typeface. More traditional fonts appeal to a more conservative audience, while modern and quirky fonts will impress the younger demographic. Wineries must establish their target audience and design a label that will ultimately appeal to them.
When using our free label design tool to create your wine artwork, you have access to a wide variety of fonts, images and backgrounds to choose from.
Colour schemes and their psychological impact
People are highly responsive to visual stimuli, which is why colour brings multiple layers of meaning into a product. One of the questions you need to ask is what kind of emotion you want your brand to convey. If you’re looking to show more warmth and optimism, opt for more yellow tones, whereas if you wish to go down the more professional and calm route, the colour blue will never fail you.
Why are consumers compelled to pick up a certain kind of wine while ignoring the others? Wine labels have a significant role in this as they can convey emotions to potential buyers, evoke feelings and even produce memory recall. A playful, more quirky label can command a lot of attention from the younger generation of drinkers, while a more cream-coloured traditional logo of a vintner's house can impress more mature customers.
A study has shown that millennials are more attracted to brightly coloured wine logos and bolder fonts. The study continues and shows that 94% remember wines better if the label was a bit louder and more graphic compared to more traditional labels. They’re key elements to consider when choosing your label design.
Also, consider the accessibility of your sticker design. It’s crucial not to exclude anyone and to ensure your packaging is readable for all.
Graphics and illustrations
Using bold, clean lines and simple shapes will make a logo more recognisable even from afar. Knowing what graphics will attract the target audience is key such as a colourful, trendy image for a wine targeting millennials. You need your wine label design to mirror your brand ethos so customers know who you are and what you’re about from the first instance.
Material choices and finishes for packaging
Our textured paper is a very popular material choice, as the ribbed, off-white finish gives the appearance of a traditional wine label. We also offer other eco-friendly paper materials too, from a unique brown kraft paper to a glossy paper option.
A waterproof material is needed for bottles kept in the fridge or an ice bucket, which is more common with prosecco or champagne bottles. Whether a standard white matt or gloss finish fits your brand or you’d like to stand out with a metallic vinyl, Handy Labels can help!
Personalised Labels: Adding a Unique Touch
Printing labels isn’t just an important part of selling wine; it’s also a great way to add a special touch to gifts.
Some creative uses of personalised wine labels are to add a unique message to birthday presents or to add to wedding favours. Our minimum order quantity of 25 stickers allows us to facilitate small print runs, perfect for reduced guest lists or gift-giving.
Some companies utilise custom wine stickers to add to corporate gifts. So whether you’re trying to impress a new client, land a big deal or celebrate finalising a real estate contract, personalising wine, prosecco or champagne bottles with a sticker is a cost-effective way to celebrate.
Wine Label Design Best Practices and Tips
Design trends and innovations
In the ever-evolving and competitive world of wine, British producers looking to create striking labels must stay attuned to the latest design trends and innovations. By adopting these cutting-edge ideas, your wine label can become a distinctive piece of art that conveys your brand's unique character and encourages discerning consumers to discover your exceptional product.
- Minimalism: Simplistic, clean, and uncluttered designs are gaining popularity.
- Bold typography: Experiment with bold, eye-catching typography that captures consumers' attention and conveys a sense of style and character, like Bungee font.
- The use of photography - Integrating high-quality, captivating photographs that reflect your brand's story, the wine-making process, or vineyard scenery can create an emotional connection with consumers and elevate your wine label's visual appeal.
Balancing visual appeal with Regulatory requirements
It is crucial for wine producers and importers to adhere to the specific labelling requirements while maintaining visual appeal.
Here's a brief overview of the regulations for different scenarios:
- Wine produced in the UK
Ensure your label meets all UK regulatory requirements while integrating visually appealing design elements to stand out in the market.
- Wine imported from EU and non-EU countries
Wine that you import into Great Britain must be labelled with the address of the importer or bottler, or both. You can use the EU importer or bottler’s details until 31 December 2023.
- Specifics for Northern Ireland
If you’re marketing wine in Northern Ireland, you must use the name and address of the importer or bottler (if it’s a bulk import) that is based in the EU or Northern Ireland on the label.
Please note this is just an overview of wine labelling regulations. It is the customer’s responsibility to do additional research and to ensure their labels comply with current regulations.
Collaborating with professional designers for the best results
We have a range of artwork services that can help you perfect your wine label designs. You can use our free design tool, allowing you to have total creative freedom. Or, we can set up your design for you. We will create a fresh design based on your requirements for a small artwork charge so your bottles stand out on the shelves. Unless you are ordering a reprint of a previous order, we will always send you a PDF proof to approve, so you can iron out any issues before printing takes place.
Buy your wine labels from Handy Labels today to improve your branding!