Oddly enough but we live in a font world. Look around and you realize that there are inscriptions everywhere whether it’s a pack of tea, a box of cookies, or a bottle of wine. Well, obviously, they look in completely different ways. The reason is in a wide range of ways of drawing letters and symbols, in other words, in fonts.

Fonts are a crucial part of label and packaging design. The speed of reading text, ease of perception and overall impression of the design depend on the configuration, color, size of printed characters.

When picking the fonts for labels or packaging, legal requirements, design rules, and trends, as well as printing features, are taken into account.

Letter of the Law: Regulatory Requirements for Labels

The main requirement for fonts, as an element of product labeling, is to ensure the legibility of the inscriptions. To some extent, these standards are regulated by legislation.

For example, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted the Law “On Information for Consumers on Food Products”. The Law provides for new requirements regarding the fonts placed on food labels.

In particular, there is indicated that a minimum font size applied to mandatory information must be printed using a font with a minimum x-height of 1.2 mm, and if the largest surface area of packaging is less than 80cm squared, it should be used a minimum x-height of 0.9 mm.

The other significant issue as a matter of Law is intellectual property rights in the commercial use of a particular font. Lots of fonts are publicly available but a large number of fonts are licensed and charged. Certain design fonts require a special license to use.

Design Rules and Requirements for Label Font

In general, the fonts should follow the overall design concept of the label or packaging. The appearance of the letterforms picks depending on the style and the goal that the designer wants to reach, i.e. to convey information, to highlight the inscription, to place visual accents, etc. The typeface itself can become the compositional center and the design’s centerpiece attraction.

As a rule, several types of fonts or different variations of the same font vary in size; the character’s thickness, slant, and spacing are used on labels. Such a variety allows us to structure information, to balance the design, and to make it more expressive.

The number of fonts on one label, in essence, is limited by the designer’s artistic vision. Overall, a maximum of three to five font types is recommended. This is a reasonable requirement but isn’t a mandatory one. Don’t over-saturate an image with the different font sizes, as otherwise, the customer will be dazzled by such an inscription.

The contrast of the fonts and background is one more aspect affecting the readability and aesthetic appearance of inscriptions. The higher this indicator is, the more noticeable the inscription is. Color is an effective attention management tool. So, the inscriptions attracting the customer, for example, the name of the product or brand, should be designed more vivid and expressive.

The retaining of the aesthetic appearance and legibility of the inscriptions when printing labels and packaging is one of the critical requirements for fonts. This is regulated by the technical requirements for layouts.

Fonts and Market Requirements: Trends of the Year 2021

The market also has its own requirements for inscriptions on labels and packaging. What once used to be interesting and in-demand loses its attractiveness over time. Some fonts become obsolete, and vise versa others become popular and trendy. New noteworthy developments emerge in the market.

What fonts will be relevant in 2021? According to experts’ forecasts, this year’s trends are united by the theme of movement, namely, dynamic lines, alternating sizes, and various shapes of fonts. In general, trends are rather diverse but still indicate that the year 2021 will almost certainly trigger a revitalization in fonts.

Order the Design in the TCD Studio Design

The TCD Company offers customers label and packaging design services. Our mission is to provide professional services in an efficient, quick, and cost-effective way and to be the most important partner for our customers in all service needs. If you require any further information or you would like to place an order, feel free to contact us.