Starting a brand or giving your business a glow-up is so exciting, but it can also feel a little overwhelming when you hit the design stage. Between scrolling through endless Pinterest boards and trying every font in Canva, how do you actually pick a combo that fits your brand’s personality and works across your packaging, labels, and website?
We believe your branding should be uniquely, unmistakably, and unapologetically yours. But it also needs to work hard for your business out in the real world!
Whether you’re crafting your own visual identity or designing artwork for your next batch of labels, here is our guide to choosing the right colours and fonts for your brand
Finding Your Brand’s Colour Palette
Colour is super important, it sets the mood before a customer even reads a single word on your label.
1. Start with the Vibe (Brand Psychology)
Ask yourself: How do I want people to feel when they unbox my products?
- Calm & Serene: Think ethereal blues, greens, or soft lilacs.
- Warm & Grounded: Earthy terracotta, pastel olive green, and salmon pink bring a comforting, organic feel.
- Bold & Playful: Bright teals, bubblegum pinks, or yellow accents can bring a fun retro energy.
2. Aim for a 3-to-5 Shade Colour Palette
You don't need a million different colours to stand out! A solid brand palette usually includes:
- 1–2 Primary Colours: Your main brand identifiers (used for logos and important elements).
- 1–2 Accent Colours: Used for highlights, callouts, or secondary packaging details.
- 1 Light & 1 Dark Neutral: Essential for background contrast and readable text both digitally and in printing (especially important for textured label printing)!
3. The Golden Print Rule: RGB vs. CMYK
Here’s some quick tips from our prepress team! Bright, vibrant neons look amazing on a backlit phone screen (that's RGB mode), but printing machines use inks (CMYK).
- Work in or check your artwork in CMYK mode early on so there are no unexpected surprises when your physical labels, cards, or packaging arrive!
- Need absolute colour perfection? If exact shade consistency across all your printed marketing materials and vinyls is super important to your brand, ask us about matching to a specific Pantone (PMS) colour code.
Picking Fonts That Speak Your Brand’s Language
Typography gives your brand its "voice." The trick is pairing fonts that complement each other without competing for attention.
1. Stick to Two (or Three)
For a cohesive look, limit your brand to 2–3 fonts maximum:
- Header Font: Your personality font. Bold, distinctive, and eye-catching.
- Body Font: Clean, simple, and hyper-legible for descriptions, ingredients, and small print.
- Accent Font (Optional): A handwritten script, sub-header italic, or fun display font used sparingly for extra flair. We love to use an accent font in our email campaigns!
2. Match Font Styles to Your Brand’s Vision
Tip: Don’t forget to check the licensing agreements for fonts you plan to use in your branding and products.
- Serif fonts (think elegant strokes like Times or Garamond) they feel timeless, elevated, and luxury.
- Sans-Serif fonts (clean and modern like Helvetica or Montserrat) feel sleek, approachable, and minimal.
- Display / Script fonts add character and charm, just make sure they stay legible at smaller sizes!
3. Don't Forget Print Readability!
What looks crystal clear blown up on your desktop computer screen might be tricky to read when printed on a 40mm label for example.
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Minimum Font Size: As a general rule, try not to go below 5pt or 6pt for small print details on standard labels.
- Texture & Foil: If you’re printing on textured vinyls or adding foil embellishments, avoid ultra-thin line fonts, as fine details can get lost or filled in during specialty printing!
Bringing It All Together With High Contrast
If there’s one golden rule we preach at LSS, it’s Contrast is King .
Always ensure high contrast between your typography and your background colour:
- Dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background.
- Avoid low-contrast pairings like light pink text on a beige background, it might look soft on Canva, but in print, it will be super hard to see!
We hope these tips help you feel super confident in your design journey! Whether you're starting from a blank canvas with our Design Team or you've already crafted your print-ready artwork and just need us to work our magic on the printing side, we’re here to make bringing your vision to life seamless and stress-free .
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Need help bringing your brand to life? Explore our Design & Branding Packages.
Got your designs ready to print? Check out our Artwork Setup Guide to get your files print-perfect!