Stickers are fun and easy things that you can apply to your product’s packaging design. 

They can be used for a lot of things but there’s also a lot to consider when making sticker designs; such as, the surface of application, the type of sticker paper or adhesive that will be used, and the material used for printing.

This article will discuss everything about sticker design, from its importance and the things it can do for your brand and products, to sticker design ideas, and how to design stickers for printing. 

So let’s get started!

 

The importance of stickers and sticker design

Stickers are pieces of printed material (typically on paper) that have adhesives on their back to make them stick to different types of surfaces. Having, largely, a visual purpose, stickers have many uses.

They can be used as a labeling tool for organization, an arts and crafts tool, a design tool, and much more. They can even be used as adhesive postage stamps for sending mail!

In marketing, stickers are used as an easy and inexpensive way to put vital information onto the product or its packaging, or just as an embellishment for aesthetic purposes. All of these can be done without having the need to alter the product through direct printing.

Sticker design is much like a subcategory of label design because they are both printed materials that contain information about a brand or product.

Their striking difference (aside from stickers being strictly adhesive) is that stickers don’t necessarily need to contain plain text. Some stickers contain just the logo of the brand or any image that can be associated with it.

Because they are primarily visual in nature, sticker design is applied to make a product, label, or packaging look visually appealing and make them stand out.

Although stickers can be peeled off, the good thing about it is that it also makes them versatile. Stickers can be used for virtually any surface, so it can also be used for any purpose. 

Another benefit of stickers is that in the event that you make a mistake via design error, printing error, or when it just turns out that it doesn’t look good, you can always just remove the sticker and print a new one. 

This makes stickers more time and cost-efficient compared to direct printing to the product or packaging.

Adding to their versatility, well-designed sticker designs can be applied not only to the product or packaging, but they can also be applied to other points of places in your business.

Stickers can be used as decorations to your office or shop, like wall art and decals for your windows.

Stickers can be used as a branding solution for quick packaging. You can quickly incorporate your brand on the packaging for cheap by slapping on some stickers to plain boxes, paper bags, bottles, etc.

Stickers can also be used for merchandise. Stickers can be easily applied to novelty items, bags, shirts, etc.

The stickers themselves can even be considered as cheap merchandise to give out to customers. If the stickers look good and they have good quality, customers might have an interest in getting your stickers so they can stick them to their belongings, giving you free advertising!
 

Aren’t stickers great? Now, here are some things to consider so you can print yours too.



 

How to make custom sticker designs for printing

1. Designing stage

The designing stage is the most crucial stage of making stickers. First, you have to think about the sticker design you’re planning on printing.

If you already have existing assets from your brand that you can print, like a logo for example, then you can skip ahead to the next step. If not, you have to think of a design that best speaks for your brand with the following elements in mind:

• Color
• Font style
• Image (photo or illustration)
• Layout
• Size
• Sticker shape

You can make this easier by finding inspiration and sticker design ideas from other brands.

 

2. Printing materials

Before you print your sticker design, you should first determine which surfaces the stickers would be applied to. Only then can you start researching which type of sticker paper and adhesive would be appropriate for that type of surface.

For sticker papers, glossy paper can be used as a cheap material for products and packaging.

Vinyl can be used to make more durable stickers, like decals that are intended to be applied on outside surfaces.

Lamination can also be added to make your stickers last more.

Lastly, matte can be a finishing touch to add some texture to your stickers.

As for adhesives, there are lots of types to choose from: permanent for long-lasting stickers, high tack for stability, rough surface for uneven surfaces, removable for temporary placement, and static cling for removable stickers that won’t ruin surfaces.

 

3. Printing method

For simple one-off stickers, you can definitely print them using the standard printer you might have at home.

For specialized designs and printing methods, you can look for specialized printing shops. This way, you can choose the printing method depending on the type of printers they have:

• High-end and standard digital printing
• Flexographic printing
• Large format printing
• Hot-stamped 

If you’re still unsure of what printing method to use, specialized printing shops can give you options to help you decide on the best printing method for your sticker design.

 

4. Quality testing

After printing, here are some questions you can ask yourself to test the quality of your stickers:

• Did it turn out looking bad in print?
• Does the color look off?
• Is it too small?
• Does the print fade after a while?
• Does it peel off easily after applying?
• Does the sticker paper disintegrate quickly?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then we highly suggest you go back to one of the previous steps above.

But if not, then congratulations! You now have yourself some great looking stickers.

 

To conclude...

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