Choosing the Right Fonts for Packaging Design

When designing your product packaging, there are many elements to consider. In a recent post, we outlined 24 elements you can feature on your product packaging to help your product stand out from the competition. Our list includes elements like your brand logo, eye-catching images, and ingredients. Even adding the directions for using the product directly on the packaging can help a prospective customer see the value in choosing your product.

One design feature that doesn’t get enough attention is how to select the right font for your product packaging design. To understand the importance of font selection, consider an alarm company that offers security for your house and family. Would a font like crafty girls with fun curls and waves send the message of a reputable, serious security company? Probably not. But for a product like a children’s coloring book the crafty girls font would be ideal. See the difference and the importance?

How Font Selection Supports the Packaging Design

Fonts are important design elements. They are just as important as coloring, images, and messaging because they can add to the design or completely destroy the overall design.

Font selection contributes to packaging design by:

– Grabbing the buyer’s attention
– Communicating your branding and messaging in a unique way
– Differentiating and defining your product
– Helping your product stand out from competitors

Where to start with selecting a font for your packaging

Getting to the right font is somewhat of a maze. When searching for the right font for your packaging, ask the following questions.

1.How would you describe your brand? Is your brand casual and friendly? Serious and stoic? Somewhere in between? Before choosing the font for your logo, tagline, and your packaging, have a clear description of how you want people to feel when they think of your brand. Then, choose a font that helps represent your brand image.

2.Is the font legible? A beautifully designed font with the perfect color is meaningless if you can’t read it. When selecting a font make sure that design doesn’t outweigh legibility. Sometimes fonts can become illegible because of the package background color, so pay careful attention to all the colors in your package design.

3.How is the font formatted? When selecting a font, consider the format you will use. For example, thicker fonts will look better on your box. These fonts are instantly recognizable and easy to read. Where thin fonts such as serifs can become hard to read when printed on the packaging. In fact, when a font is printed on the packaging, it may lose some design elements. This is especially true when using italics or script fonts.

4.Who is your target audience? The size and legibility of the font are extremely important for the audience. If your product is targeted toward baby boomers who may have trouble reading, then you might need to consider using a larger font or including directions within the box instead of on the box so that you can use a larger font.

5.What is the most important information for your product packaging? Fonts can be used to place emphasis on what is important such as your company brand, what the product is, and your business tagline or promise. Smaller fonts can be used to share less important information.

Industry Tips for Selecting the Right Font for your Packaging

A font may look great in the graphic design proof but it may not transition well onto the packaging material. For best results talk to a packaging specialist or at least have them review your design for you. Here are a few industry standards or best practices to consider when selecting what font to use for packaging.

– Minimum type size is 10 pt for mailer boxes, shipping boxes, and tuck top boxes
– Minimum type size is 6 pt for folding cartons
– Have at least ⅛-inch (.125”) offset on each side of the box so your text is not cut off during box assembly
– Consider the color of your background. When using white fonts on a dark background – use a bold font so the words won’t disappear or seem smaller due to an optical illusion. Use bold fonts with bright or dark colors.

In conclusion, selecting a font is an integral part of packaging design. There is no cookie-cutter solution and there are many factors to consider. If you have questions about what font to use with your packaging design, talk to one of our specialists today!