Last week, I helped a friend who was deliberating over some new labels designs for his product. While he just asked me to use my designer’s eye to tell him which one I liked the best, I came up with some questions for him to ponder.

I thought I’d share a few of these thoughts here, as  they may be of help to others: those of you who might be creating something without designer know how, or even if you are a designer and want to guide a client.

1. Have you checked these colors printed out?

Granted, our home and office printers re different from professional print production places, but my friend’s files RGB, which is usually the case when non-designers design. Files almost always need to be CMYK for printing and of course they will not have a light source behind them, like a computer screen. Since my friend that he could possibly end up losing some of the boldness and contrast he saw on screen, I suggested he check to make sure his colors were in spectrum and color setting set according his print facility’s output requirements,  and if not, to make adjustments.

2. Do you have a palette?

The palette of the new labels was very attractive and bold, but differed from that on the website. I asked if this was a new direction the company was moving in, or if it was random, or simply specific to a certain line of products.

3. Is the typeface part of a new identity?

As with the palette issue, the typeface differed significantly from that on the website in style, weight and family. Visual identity should be consistent over your different media as part of your branding, whether on your website, business cards, brochures, labels, etc. So I asked if the entire look was going through an overhaul or if the lettering on the labels was random, and recommended sticking to a set of type styles to help make the brand more recognizable.

4. When you print it out are you satisfied with the size and readability of all the elements?

There was an element that seemed lost to me; it was small and yet I felt it was crucial enough to demand  more prominence on the label.

5. Have you done any market research on your target audience?  Do you think these bright pop-art colors will appeal to them?

While this is not specifically about design, it’s an area where design impacts on a product’s marketability, and I felt it needed asking. For the most part, I personally liked the colors and style of the labels very much, but I am not their typical target, which is probably more male and to some degree a younger demographic as well.

I suggested doing some tests to see if the new label “speaks” to their market, to see what comparable products they were purchasing. While this brand wants to show how different and unique they are, they could also try also to research why consumers  like what they’ve been buying (beside reputation and/or availability.) If time and budget allowed, I suggested, maybe try a version with slightly deeper colors and see what attracts better, and then go to the locales where those target markets are.

What do you think? Do you find these are questions that clients and even designers sometimes overlook?