labels Sam&Oliver sauce company - sample label, bottle render soon

Previously on TheHotPepper.com
 
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 "Should I just start over?" 
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 "There has to be a point where you stop taking advice and roll with what you like."
 
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 "It's the pride of trying to do everything yourself..."
  
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"...if you have a vision you want to achieve, hiring an artist can be a great way to go..."
 
--------------------- 8< *snip*
 
So here's the product design that the marketing firm and I settled on after discussing our company vision and direction.  Aside from minor edits (I see a few even now) I wanted a product packaging that would appeal to a broad general population audience from young to mature, with a bold look that could be easily identified and used by back-yard-grillers to sandwich shops to restaurant tables without losing it's charm.
 
Sam&Oliver is committed to only using the best wholesome ingredients to create healthy and fun condiments for anyone who wants to enjoy them with their food creations, and as such the packaging should also reflect this ideal with a clean label.
 
Sample Label:
 
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Bottle Render by the design firm:  Finished product will use black caps and a black tamper-evident shrink band:

(coming soon)
 
Here's the Brand:
 
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and
 
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Colors used for the logo:
 
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So that's what I've been doing for the last few weeks.  Once this is finalized I can start my Kickstarter, and then look into production, then product liability insurance and trying to figure out how to actually sell and/or ship the stuff for a fair price.
 
Ok,` we can discuss singular/plural cinders later.  Can we at least get the front panel laid out?  :lol:

Also, You can have a sense of humor and have a fun label that will still be taken seriously.  Feisty Parrot did that. 
 
I like the dogs on the side too (if not becoming the main logo). At least if you are curious who Sam & Oliver are, it's evident. By curious I mean looking for it. And hot sauce fans are bottle readers. It does look like the same dog twice though (copy/pate/resize), have the designer change the tails to one up one down, like your dogs.
 
Its a placeholder clipart. I would hand draw my dogs if need be in black w/grey.

I dont do the mods except with gimp for touchups. I reiterate all the items inwant changed and make him do it in AI.

I should have just given you guys the $1200 and let you help lol
 
LOL...
 
We help for free. Always.
 
Your people are doing good work, just try to be the director a little more and get exactly what YOU want.
 
And for the price we charge, you can take the advice or leave it with no qualms!  :rofl: 
 
Win-Win for all.  We get to spout off opinions and you get to kick 'em all to the curb if they don't suit your vision.   :dance:
 
 
 
I like the pups on the side, and knowing they'd be customized for your critters, that's a good way to personalize the label and the pups.
 
Kalitarios said:
Marketing rule #1, he said " repetition, repetition, repetition "
 
SL brought this up too and agreed with removing an instance.
 
Remember these bottles are small and very narrow, and the labels are not high. Look at the front of a hot sauce bottle. You can see everything without moving your eyes. So the company name twice is not repetition, it's redundancy. Repetition would be at another eyeshot location. Side. Back. Etc.
 
I agree with your guy but not for hot sauce, or even BBQ sauce.
 
Just took a look through a bunch of sauces, didn't see any with company names twice on the front. Not to say they don't exist.
 
Hope all this helps. Looking forward to the next label.
 
[SIZE=9.5pt]I've been watching this from the sidelines, and as a relatively new producer myself, I've been in the same spot with the label and branding process. I work in the ad industry, so I am lucky enough to know a lot of creative types and I got a lot of free advice from seasoned professionals. I think what helped me most was applying some of the same brand guidelines I work with every day -- [/SIZE]make your brand clear, concise and creative. It's asking a lot to do all three in perfect harmony, and on a small label, but I think you're weighted down with the creative part. There is so much emphasis on logo, company name, sauce name, description, the dogs, and the dogs' story -- as others have said, there's just too much going on. The clear and concise parts are all over the place and your brand identity is getting completely lost.
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[SIZE=9.5pt]I understand the frustration -- you see something in your head and it doesn't quite play out in the design process, so you end up adding all this stuff suggested by other people. And it's all good advice, but it's got you going in circles (much like your dogs chasing their tales I would imagine) and you are going to end up questioning every single thing, even after you finally decide on something. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=9.5pt] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=9.5pt]You've obviously got a ton of passion and can brainstorm ideas at the drop of a hat -- just pick something and go with it. I agree with the people who are pushing the dogs -- that seems to be where you want to go too, so just do it. Don't get caught up with what the marketing guy said about cats or cartoons -- that's total b.s. Go into ANY hot sauce store and you see all types of labels with animals, cartoons, devils -- whatever. My first label (many moons ago) was “Tres Gatos” because I had three cats at the time. And guess what – the cats were on the label and people liked it! I’ve changed my brand since then, but my point is go with what [/SIZE]you like, brand it as yours and sell that sauce.
 
I hope he rethinks the silhouettes. They are exactly what he is after. Silhouettes are not cartoons. They are black, sharp high contrast images. Perfect for a clean slick look. They tell a story and convey passion. Alienating cat lovers is the biggest crock I've ever heard. It's hot sauce... not an actual dog! Maybe Lucky Dog Hot Sauce should remove the dog and just leave the horseshoe. Oh wait. But his sauce is the most popular on the forum. It has rave reviews. People tell him how professional his labels look. He won "Best Overall Hot Sauce" in THPA 2013. I'd bet some of his customers have cats. :lol:  Yeah.
 
Right, you can't over think that stuff or you will go nuts. My sauce company is Hellraising Hot Sauce -- that is our brand and each flavor has a name that ties back to the brand. I remember briefly wondering if we would lose overly sensitive customers because of the name, but I quickly realized that was ridiculous (because it's a hot sauce, not a religious belief) and not one person has ever brought it up. 
 
This industry is fun... saucemakers are like rockstars... showing their creativity and artistry in their creations... each bottle like a new song release. Have fun with it! That doesn't mean it's not professional. You're not selling frozen broccoli or canned beans.
 
If it's not fun, don't do it.
 
:)

Also think ahead to things like conventions, if you will be doing them. What will make people stop by your booth? The teardrop logo? Or something that conveys passion and excitement?
 
The Hot Pepper said:
This industry is fun... saucemakers are like rockstars... showing their creativity and artistry in their creations... each bottle like a new song release. Have fun with it! That doesn't mean it's not professional. You're not selling frozen broccoli or canned beans.
 
If it's not fun, don't do it.
 
 
 
That hits the nail right on the head -- and trust me, I've actually picked up a few great tips just from this thread.
 
I'm producing and selling now and my labels are already printed, but I don't have a heat level indicator and a few of the other things people have mentioned. I'm keeping track of everything I need for revisions when my current stock runs out -- the point is, you might not get EVERYTHING right the first time, but you can always make minor adjustments as necessary.
 
As "THE HOT PEPPER" said... go with your gut. Design by community or committee is never a good idea. I was in the deign/branding/marketing industry for 20+ years prior to being a farmer and hot sauce maker. The projects that went awry were the ones with to many people involved. We even had a clause in our contract that stated only one point person from a committee was allowed to communicate the final decisions from the group to us.
 
RENDERS
 
None of these products aside from Cinder are actual products.  these were random names chosen.  strangely enough I have a electric-blue scorpion hot sauce but this is not being produced.  This is just an example of range on the bottle as a render.
 
I personally think it looks sharp, crisp and unique.  any of the other graphical elements have not been shown here.  (this is purely just a render)
 

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These were renders from yesterday EOB that I left off with one of the designers.  You think that looks bad?  I thought it looked sharp.  This doesn't show anything but the front panels (obviously) and was just what he sent to me. It shows more than just the red drips and translation into other colors.
 
I'm still working on other design elements.  But this render would be from 12 hours ago.
 
The comments we would have would be the ones you got yesterday after the image you posted because it's exactly the same. So if you want comments on this just scroll up. ;)
 
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