What good print design looks like

People often say that design is subjective, a matter of opinion and, to some extent, this is true. But there are some important fundamentals that separate what good print design looks like and when it’s just not right.

Whether you’re designing a full page advert for a lifestyle magazine, product packaging or a promotional mailer the fundamentals of good design should always be the starting point. These are:

• Follow the brand guidelines set by the design agency that created the logo and identity
• Keep the target customer in mind when you’re putting the messaging together
• Think about the size and shape of the item you’re designing and adapt the amount of content accordingly

Here we take each of these 3 fundamentals one-by-one and apply them to print design projects we’ve worked on to give you 3 examples what good print design looks like…

Velarde Gallery

This high-end art gallery in the South Hams in Devon came to us for the creation of their branding and then all the print items needed to get them to the opening night and beyond. We created the logo and identity and of course, supplied them with a brand guidelines for future reference.

The brand guidelines document contains all the relevant information any design agency would need to follow the brand style, tone of voice and gives them examples of how we would (and have) designed their printed materials.

So, if Velarde needed another agency to design an advert, exhibition invitation etc for them, the agency would have been able to follow the brand guidelines and keep the design consistent across everything produced and in-keeping what we designed for all their future print and marketing materials. However, as with most of our clients, we work with them over the long term and as such we have continued to design Velarde’s print items since they opened the gallery doors in July 2023, including this full page print advert that went into several lifestyle magazines:

This is the testimonial from the Gallery Director at Velarde about our on-going design work for them:

“When we first approached Wetdog Creative to develop the brand identity for Velarde Gallery, we were so happy with both the results and the service, that they quickly became our ‘go to’, for all our design and print requirements. The full support and attention to detail, gave us exactly the service we needed; we wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them, they are a joy to work with.”

For Goodness Shakes

Available in all major supermarkets and thousands of high street food retailers, For Goodness Shakes is probably our most high-profile client, with their Head Office in London. They offer a range of high-quality, nutritional protein shakes and related products such as rehydration tabs, recovery drinks and complete super shakes. We’ve been working with them for over 5 years now on all their printed product packaging, trade advertisements and also any digital media that is needed urgently.

We didn’t create the For Goodness Shakes logo as that already existed, and so we’ve worked with another agency’s brand guidelines to ensure we keep all the design projects in-keeping with the brand style whilst ensuring we deliver the right message to their target customer.

When we work on their product packaging (the bottles and case pack trays, you’ll see on the supermarket shelves), the printed design needs to communicate the right messaging to the end consumer. This is the person buying the product that will be deciding between For Goodness Shakes and the competitor’s product on the shelf next to them.

We always work closely with the marketing team at For Goodness Shakes to ensure the unique selling points (USPs) are prominent and that these communicate why the person should choose their shakes over any others. We also make sure the different flavours are easily communicated to the customer. This is a combination of the use of the right colours and including the flavour information on the front of the pack.

When we work on trade adverts for this client it requires a different kind of messaging. Here we think about what the retailer is looking for when purchasing stock for their store. Do they want to know the trade price and the RRP, are they interested whether this is an established brand with one of the best-selling protein shakes on the market (which For Goodness Shakes has!) or are they looking for something completely new to stock before any other store?

Good design is always about understanding the target market and tailoring the message to them, whilst ensuring the overall branding is strong and consistent.

This is the testimonial from the Marketing Manager at For Goodness Shakes about our on-going design work for them:

“We (For Goodness Shakes) have been working with Wetdog Creative for over 5 years across a huge range of design projects including product packaging, packshots, trade adverts, leaflets, stickers and more. They have been an absolute pleasure to deal with throughout, always quick, flexible, reactive, available (can’t underestimate the importance of this in our industry), understanding and most importantly, consistently producing work of the highest quality. As a result, they are the only ad-hoc design agency we ever use, and we’ve briefed long-term projects on major launches (seen by millions) that would ordinarily go to large, global design agencies because we’re always confident that their work will be as good or better. They often go beyond what’s asked and provide highly valued advice, driven by great knowledge and ability. We would certainly recommend Wetdog Creative to anyone.”

Beevive

This company (based in Exeter) is doing some brilliant work to help bees to thrive and survive. They came to us with an exciting new product they had developed that needed a clever slim-line sleeve designing for the outer packaging of their new Bee Hotel Kit that could be posted out and fit through a standard letterbox.

This letterbox-sized packaging gave us a serious challenge! How did we design the product packaging that communicated everything needed to tell the consumer when they are where looking at it in store on the shelf, but also worked in this very slim-line shape (suitable for posting) with minimal space for messaging?

We worked closely with Beevive to understand their key messaging and designed an illustration of the finished Bee Hotel to easily communicate to the customer what was inside this very slim box. The illustration of the finished bee hotel on the front of the box along with minimal wording perfectly communicated all they needed to know.

The side of the branded sleeve was so thin that content had to be very minimal and it was right here to only use the Beevive logo and product name (on both sides) to keep it clean and reinforce the brand. The reverse side of the box could then have the additional information with some overview copy about Beevive as well as building on the illustrative elements from the front, to show the Bee Hotel in its outdoor habitat with bees going from this to the flowers to collect the pollen.

This project really challenged us to make sure our design worked well within the restrictions of the slim shape and size. We had to come up with some design elements, including the illustrations to communicate the right message clearly and quickly with minimal content.

This is the testimonial from the Co-Founder at Beevive about our print design work for them:

“The team at Wetdog Creative are a joy to work with! They listened carefully to our brief, adopted our brand values, and produced some bee-rilliant pieces of work for us, including product packaging for our new DIY Bee Hotel Kits. No detail goes overlooked and we are buzzing with the end result! Thank you from your bee pals at Beevive.”

In summary, when thinking about what good print design looks like, remember the 3 fundamentals: follow the brand guidelines, keep the target customer in mind and think about the size/shape of what you’re working with and adapt the design accordingly. Here at Wetdog Creative good design is what drives us to keep doing what we do and it’s why we love it. The challenge to create good design for print or digital is always an enjoyable experience for us, and we will bring that passion and joy to your next design project.

Get in touch today to talk to us about your design project and let’s work together to make sure it’s a great example of what good design looks like. We look forward to hearing from you.