How To Design Awesome Branding Stickers

comgraphx branding stickers

Creating solid branding stickers is much harder than it seems. Isn’t that the case with most things design-related? Branding stickers are very influential in creating awareness for your products and services. Using good sticker-design tips will help stickers get noticed. We’ve developed a list of 7 tips to help you design awesome branding stickers!

Our top 7 branding sticker design tips:

  1. Design a product your customers can’t wait to use.
  2. Simplicity in design is impactful and eye-catching. 
  3. Custom-shaped die-cut stickers highlight the twists and turns of a design.
  4. Create a sticker consistent with your brand’s content messaging and branding standards.
  5. Print on the back of the sticker (backprint) to give your customer several points of contact.
  6. Engage your customer through social media references.
  7. Do something crazy and outside the box if that works for your brand’s identity.

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Let's dive a little deeper into each one of our branding sticker design tips!

1. Design a product your customers can't wait to use.

Your customers are your best ambassadors. Don’t waste your money on stickers your customers don’t want to use. Further, give them a sticker they are super excited to stick to anything in sight! Your branding stickers will last for years to come and will give your company immense impressions over that time period. 

2. Simplicity in design is the most impactful and eye-catching.

Simplicity is one of the hardest design principles to implement. When executed well, simplicity brings clarity to your brand’s message. What does that mean when it comes to stickers? We think using 2-3 spot colors in your design is a great way to keep things simple. Also make sure there’s only one message point per design. Over-messaging the customer is a good way to make sure no message is understood! Screen printed stickers are perfect for simple designs. 

One of the best quotes about simplicity in design comes from Lindon Leader:

“I strive for two things in design: simplicity and clarity. Great design is born of those two things.”

-Lindon Leader

3. Use a custom-shaped die cut sticker to highlight the design elements of your sticker.

Custom shapes are always cooler, right? With custom die cut decals, your branding stickers will be unique to your brand. That special shape also helps your stickers stand out from all other stickers out there! Also check out kiss cut stickers. These stickers are cut to shape, but travel on a square backer for extra stability in packaging. 

4. Create a sticker consistent with your brand's content messaging and branding standards.

Design a brand consistent decal so there is no confusion between your brand and your product or service. By limiting confusion your customers will focus on the correct message.

Not all stickers need to be perfectly on-brand. There’s definitely a time and place to create alternate designs and we fully support that effort. But when it comes to branding stickers, stay on brand!

5. Print on the back of the liner (backprint) to give your customer several points of contact.

Backprint stickers (sometimes called liner print stickers) are the perfect place to advertise a special promotion. It’s also a good place to provide contact information, such as your customer service phone number or url. 

6. Engage your customer through social media references.

Stickers go hand-in-hand with social media. Both products are used to reach a mass audience and capitalize on high rates of impression. Use your decals and social accounts in tandem! Offer a special giveaway for pictures of your stickers in use. Create a hashtag for your brand and stickers. 

7. Do something crazy and outside the box if that works for your brand's identity.

For some brands, staying on-brand means doing something crazy, outside-the-box. If that’s you, go for it! Your off-the-wall branding stickers could be the product that gets you exactly the attention you want. 

Branding Stickers are the perfect way to bring attention to your brand and create brand loyalty.

The end goal for your stickers is to create long-term loyal customers and get your brand’s message out to a bigger audience. By following these tips, your stickers will be loved by your customers and end up in all kinds of places. Billboards that last for years! 

Does Your Custom Sticker Match Your Intended Use?

Continuing in our series on what makes for a “good sticker,” let’s take a look at some of the elements that go into whether outdoor custom stickers were printed with the appropriate materials and inks. For the other posts in our series, check out the following topics.

  1. Introduction to a good custom sticker
  2. Does the sticker look good, and was it printed correctly?
  3. Does the graphic design result in an effective custom sticker for your brand?

Custom Sticker Material Should Match The Intended Use

My daughter loves stickers and enjoys peeling them off the backer sheet and sticking them to anything in sight. It’s been fun to watch her receive so much joy from something so closely related to my daily job. In the same sense, it’s also a very different product from the majority of what Comgraphx produces.

The stickers she plays with are paper princess stickers purchased from a children’s store. These stickers are well printed and kiss-cut with precision. In the eye of most consumers, they would be labeled as “good stickers.” And indeed they are good stickers, because the materials, ink, and print process match the intended use.

The stickers your brand uses as a way to generate brand loyalty should not be printed on paper material using indoor inks. While very good looking stickers can be made out of paper, they will not last outdoors.

Outdoor Durable Branding Stickers

What makes for a really good princess sticker is not the same set of attributes that make for a highly effective brand-promotion sticker. Yet, they are both be considered “good stickers.” The reason is that branding stickers must be capable of lasting outdoors for 4-5 years with no sign of deterioration. In other words, they should look GOOD for many years to come.

What Are Common Materials and Inks for Outdoor Custom Stickers?

The best outdoor stickers are screen printed using UV outdoor durable ink. This produces the classic outdoor sticker product we’ve all come to know and love. In terms of material, vinyl is the standard material used in the industry, but certain uses require polyester.

In recent years digital printing has become very common. Some digital presses are capable of printing outdoor durable stickers, but not all. You should be very cautious with digital printing until you know for sure the press is capable of producing an outdoor durable product.

Materials to Watch Out For

Be very cautious if your printer starts talking about polypropylene (some times referred to as bopp). Because this material is intended to be used as a product packaging/labeling material, it’s not well suited for outdoor usage. Some flexo printers will push bopp material because it’s what they are used to using in other areas of their business. They don’t have your best interest at heart.

Print Processes to Stay Away From

Please don’t buy outdoor stickers that are offset or flexo printed; they won’t last outdoors and your money will be wasted. We offer both print processes within our capabilities, but we would never recommend either as a suitable process for outdoor stickers.