Label shapes
The guide you never knew you needed!
Did you know that the shape of your label or sticker has a direct impact on the first impressions of your brand, and customer experiences with your products?
This is the Avery team’s comprehensive guide to shape selection, giving you the knowledge you need about each custom label shape, to help you power-up your products and packaging.
Once you’ve measured the surface area of your product and determined what information you’ll need to include, your next step is to choose the right shape for the job. At Avery, we’ve got a wide range, for good reason. Each label shape has its own merits…
First things first: Measure the surface of your product and determine exactly what information you need to include. Then, refer to the information below for shape-specific details you can use to make a smart selection.
Rectangle labels
A classic for good reason! Great for boxed chocolates, canned goods, tubular containers, creams, mason jars, nutrition labels, and drinks. This is our most popular shape as it's so versatile. Rectangles are an excellent choice when:
- Your container is elongated (think tall and thin, or short and wide)
- You need an exact size
- You’d like your label to wrap around, separating your logo and more technical info
- Your logo is text-heavy
- You’re looking for moderate coverage or more design space
Buy rectangle labels: printed labels or blank labels
Oval Labels
Ideal for baked goods, candles, jarred goods, oils, sauces, soaps, spices, drinks. Oval labels are particularly good when:
- You aren’t in need of a lot of surface space
- You’d prefer minimal coverage
- Your container is a bottle, jar, or fold-over bag
- You’re aiming for a softer, more elegant aesthetic
- Your logo is simple, with a minimalistic design that fits well within the oval shape
- You’re looking to wrap text around the border
Buy oval labels: printed labels or blank labels
Square labels
Sometimes it’s good to be a square. These are ideal for dry foods, gift boxes, pricing, spirits, tea or coffee tins. We recommend square labels when:
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You want to include a lot of information (large square)
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You’re looking for a pricing/ID label (small square)
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Your logo is detailed or elaborate
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Your logo will include a border
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You’d prefer a more modern or sophisticated look and feel
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Your container has a clear front and backside and you’d like to separate information
Buy square labels: printed labels or blank labels
Round labels
Soft and characterful, round labels are ideal for bagged goods, balms and creams, candles, drinks, sauces and jams. Choose round if:
- The surface of your container is curved
- Your logo design is simple and compact
- You need to display a moderate amount of information
- You’re aiming for a more classic aesthetic
- Your label will appear on a lid
- Your label is doubling as a seal (think fold-over brown bags)
- You’re advertising a promotion
- You would like to add a smaller label for secondary messaging
Buy round labels: printed labels or blank labels
Plaque labels
Ooh, fancy! This classic shape is a little more interesting, Ideal for wine bottles, jarred goods, oils, sauces, candles and gift boxes. Try a plaque if:
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You're looking for a decorative finish
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You're aiming for an antique, ornate or luxury aesthetic
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Your container is a bottle, jar or box
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Your design is simple or accentuates the plaque shape
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You want to signify high quality
- You’re not looking to fit a lot of information into one label
Straight oval labels
The straight oval is a long rectangle with curved sides. It provides the softness of an oval, with more usable space. Ideal for jam jars, chutney jars and honey jars, pots, and boxes. Try a straight oval if:
- You need to fit a lot of information into one label
- You're looking for a fun and trendy alternative to oval labels
- You want to create a strong brand identity
- Your design doesn't contain borders
- You're adding ingredients lists
- You need to cover a large surface area
Hexagon labels
A fun and quirky alternative to round labels, hexagons are ideal for honey jars, jam jars, branded stickers, logo stickers, and thank you messages. They’re great when:
- You're wanting to create a strong brand identity
- You're only wanting to print your logo or brand name
- Your design doesn't contain a lot of information
- You aren’t in need of a lot of surface space
- You need something that stands out
Heart labels
Made with love! These cute hearts are ideal for sweet bags, sealing packaging and adding branded messages such as ‘handmade’, ‘made with love', and ‘thank you for your purchase’. Especially for when:
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You want to convey a feeling of warmth and pride
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You're looking for a label that holds short messages
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Your application will be on a bag, box or outer packaging
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Your design doesn't contain a lot of information
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You want a small sticker to aid with branding
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You need something that stands out
Scallop shape
These pretty labels are often used for baked items, logo stickers, promotional stickers, boxes, gift bags and secondary branding labels. Try a scallop if:
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Your label will appear on the top or side of a container
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You want to show your logo or a small amount of text
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You're aiming for a spin on the classic aesthetic
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Your design doesn't contain a lot of information and suits a scalloped edge
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You want a small sticker to aid with branding
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You need something that stands out
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Your label is doubling as a seal
Buy scallop labels
Lid seal labels
These multi-taskers relate well to small business owners! They’re ideal for jam jars, honey jars, candles and cosmetic containers. Pop lid seals in your basket if:
- You need a label that proves your product hasn't been tampered with
- You want to show your logo and a small amount of text
- You're after a cohesive professional look
- Your design can be altered to suit the "lollipop" shape of a lid seal template
- You want to provide your customer with peace of mind, any tampering would break the seal, choose a paper material
- You want to add a finishing touch to your jars, bottles and containers
- You want a multifunctional label
See? A guide you didn’t know you’d need - but hopefully one of the most helpful ones you’ve read in relation to selecting the right products to make your brand stand out from the crowd. Labels do many jobs - from practical and informative, to decorative and experiential. Choosing the right shape is essential. If you're wondering which material is best read our material guide.
Remember to get in touch with us if you need some helpful advice - and once you’ve labelled your products and packaging, please hop onto social media @ukavery and tag us into your photos, we’d love to see and re-share them with our label loving community!
