Candle Label Design Principles
Candle label design plays the largest role in building perceived value into your product.
Many candle makers fear the label design process, putting limits on themselves because they don’t believe they have the right skill or tools for it.
The truth is, creating candle labels so sexy the candles sells themselves only requires:
- Graphic design software
- A few random rules and principles
Your label design, among other items that make your work yours, tells the world about your art. Every color, font, name, and structural choice in your candle’s presentation reflects your Why.
We often state Cold Throw sells candles and Hot Throw makes customers return.
If you’re selling online, no one gets to smell your cold throw.
Going one step further, what makes them want to smell the cold throw in the first place?
The allure begins with your design.
If you walk down the aisle in a grocery store, you can usually tell which items are higher end based on their package design.
Sometimes the product is literally the same as a lower-dollar item with the only difference being label design. True story.
Candles are no different.
Building a beautiful candle label adds perceived value to your work, peaks customer curiosity to wonder about the smell, and guides their gaze of your work in a specific and calculated path.
If you’re insecure about graphic design, wondering if you should hire someone to make your label, or have no idea where to start… this guide is for you.
Legal Requirements (US Only)
Candles are a semi-solid commodity regulated by the FPLA and guided by ASTM for safety.
To satisfy the current legal requirements in the United States, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act requires your candle label to include:
- Statement of identity
- Company name
- Net weight, in ounces and grams
This doesn’t necessarily mean it lives on the label of the literal candle, but all this information must be on an accepted interpretation of FPLA 500.2:
“The term label means any written, printed, or graphic matter affixed to or appearing upon any consumer commodity or affixed to or appearing upon a package containing any consumer commodity; except that…”
Which means if it’s not on the main, connected label, your candle needs a package, different than the shipping materials, with all the information.
Given the rise of e-commerce, these regulations really need new interpretations to understand exactly what information needs to be where.
The FPLA has only been revised a handful of times, originally written when “Amazon” still only referred to a forest.
Optional Elements
We still haven’t designed a candle label, but that’s on purpose.
Before we design anything we need to know what to include!
Once you’ve satisfied the legal requirements above, it’s time to consider other elements for the label.
Fragrance or Flavor Name
Naming your candle isn’t actually required.
You could go to market with a Candle and zero additional information, but that’s awfully bland (unless you’re going for a vanilla vibe).
Contrary to common belief, you don’t have to name your candle after the fragrance oils you use to make it.
You don’t have to credit the supplier either. This doesn’t make naming the candle easier, though.
Time to spark your creativity.
Naming a candle is an entire subject of its own, but consider these guidelines a decent start:
- Using something that fits with any theme or collection you’re building; a name with meaning
- Nothing too long that it needs multiple lines. Simpler is better. Less than 30-40 characters usually plays well, but use what works.
- A name that represents exactly what your audience expects from you. Consistency across your brand.
Logo
Your logo can be complicated or simple. Colorful, or monogram. Want a symbol? Letters? A combination?
The harsh truth is it really doesn’t matter what you do with your logo.
When you’re at a place where you need one, don’t stress over if it’ll work. You have to make it work.
A logo operates as a reminder to your customers the promise you’re keeping to them about your work.
When they see the logo, they’ll remember their good experience, maybe the scents of the candle, or even an outstanding dialog they had with you.
The problem with logos and candle makers is they think it’ll serve them if it looks just right, but the reality is we have to add value to our customers to make the logo mean something.
It stands for what you do.
You give meaning and value to your logo, not the other way around.
So although it doesn’t have to be on a candle label, it should be, though there isn’t a functional difference between a logo candle and another.
Graphics & Photography
Photography backgrounds aren’t very popular. They’re way too hard to pull off and they require a lot of ink.
But if you want to give your candle label an extra bit of flair, consider going beyond just words (though Jo Malone might argue words sell just fine).
Harlem Candle Company offers a candle printed with a vintage map of Harlem nightclub locations.
Nest New York puts nothing on their jar, just simple designs on their boxes.
Both extremes vibe with their audience. In once case, extravagance of Harlem – a near-perfect representation of why customers are drawn to that brand.
On the other, simple minimalism, so as not to distract from the luxury fragrance contained within.
Keep your intended audience in mind when considering overlays and graphic options.
You want your product’s design to align with your values and promises. Designing this ties in with some of your structural elements highlighted below, most notably the color palette.
Structural Elements
These components work as the bones of your design.
Every design has content, and structure.
Not that this is a graphic design blog, so remember all this comes from the lens of candle making. Once you’ve met the legal requirements, and you decide which optional elements to include, you have to overlay it on the structure.
Structure includes…
Color Palette
Generally speaking, your color palette should follow the 60-30-10 rule.
Where your primary color is used 60% of the time. Secondary about 30%, and accent color roughly 10%. This rule gives structure and balance to your branding, ultimately helping you guide and keep attention.
Selecting a color palette doesn’t mean you’re creating a point of no return. These aren’t permanent. Rather, your palette helps align related items in your product line.
Don’t worry about carrying the same palette throughout literally everything you make.
Build a palette for a collection or even an individual candle label, and follow the 60-30-10 rule as close as possible.
For building a palette…
- Ensure the contain an appropriate amount of contrast between colors
- Start with a known background color, which generally operates as your primary color (you can have more than one primary color, too)
- Avoid using too much saturation or too many colors (more than 4-5)
Reserve specific colors from the palette for certain elements.
For instance, if you use white or off-white as a secondary color, it can operate well as the distinguished color of the legal stuff, like net weight or statement of identity (candle/melt/etc).
A final stress about contrast.
Contrast is incredibly important, because your candle label serves to attract and direct attention to particular elements of the label.
Building in contrast, not only with colors but textures and font sizes too sets your label apart from the bland label designs that saturate the market.
Candle Label Size & Shape
The size and shape of your candle label varies depending on your preference.
Obviously, many generic candles come with a square label.
Others have rectangles, and some even are circular. As long as it fits, it ships!
After picking a shape you want to try, build a prototype label for your candle that you sketch on (or even print) with the following steps:
- Measure the height and visible width of your candle jar. Remember, the label is only visible to a certain degree when faced head on.
- Determine an approximate free space buffer above and below the label (area on the jar where the label won’t be). Usually works well as roughly 5% of the total height on each side, totaling 10%. So if you measure your jar as 3″, a 5% buffer above and below would be 3″ x 0.05 which is about 3/16″ (5/32″).
- Cut out a piece of paper and tape it to the jar. Observe how it looks and adjust from their.
You won’t know the entire picture without printing a label (or a mock version of the label) and placing it on the jar, but this exercise gives you a decent idea of the real estate it’ll require.
Font & Typography
Poor font choices ruin a lot of otherwise good candles.
Why?
They often show up as unreadable and with horrible or no contrast.
Great design typically incorporates at least two font types.
One option is to incorporate a serif and a sans serif font in your design.
Serif font has a flair or stroke attached to the ends of the letters.
They’re typically regarded as slightly fancier, or Roman looking. Sans serif, or “without” serif, refers to fonts with no flourish.
When chosen well, and aligned with your color palette, font selection and size provide great contrast for helping guide attention. If you’re looking for fonts to use, Google offers them for free on their site.
Ultimate Goals
The ultimate goal of your candle label is to provide clear story telling guided by contrast and interesting features.
You’ll want your label to exercise minimalism, or purposeful busyness. However, building a “busy” label is hard to do without completely losing your audience.
If you struggle with any element, don’t let it be contrast. No matter your label, customer’s should be able to tell what it is you’re selling and not fight the font size or style to read.
Everything should be legible and supported by your color palette.
Graphic design is iterative.
Build it.
Evaluate it yourself and with the not-too-honest opinions of a trusted few others.
Then update it. Rinse. Repeat.
After you order or print the labels, you want them to answer the following questions:
- How does this design agree with my target audiences lifestyle? What kinds of things do they keep around them and does my candle fit that vibe?
- How will my design stand out on the shelf in a sea of other candles, digital or otherwise?
- Which parts of my label do I really want to highlight and draw attention to? Am I doing that? What are the first things my friends, family and coworkers see when they look at the label?
- What story does this label tell about my work?
And if all else fails… hire someone else to do the work.
However, even if it’s rough and discouraging, finding a design you love is also satisfying!
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