Cost of Beer Label Design

Long River Brewing Breakwater IPA can design
Long River Brewing Breakwater IPA

Wondering about the cost of beer label design? That’s a common question among new brewery owners. Read on to learn more about this important aspect of the beer business

There’s no denying the craft beer scene is booming. It seems like breweries are popping up on every corner. With that comes a lot of new business owners that are tasked with one of the most important aspects of selling beer; getting a professional to design beer labels. They come to find, it’s not such an easy task.

Hopefully this post will shed a little light on the subject.

First, a little about myself. I am a freelance graphic designer with over ten years of graphic design and marketing experience. I have worked the brands large and small on packaging design, website design, and SEO.

With that out of the way, lets dive into to commonly asked questions about the cost of beer label design.

How much should I pay for beer label design?

Answer $500 – $50,000+

Asking that question is much like asking “how much should I pay for a house?” This is because not all business owners have the same budget and/or resources. With that said, label design should not be the last thing considered in the budget. Why is this?

Because good design sells.

New brewery owners often factor in high quality equipment, a nice space for brewing / tap room, and operational costs but leave very little for design. When they approach a designer with a couple hundred bones for label design they are surprised when they are referred to an “offshore” designer that will use clip art and tether back and forth with TONS of revisions. Ultimately wasting your time and money.

Considerations

Lifetime print-run: This is something that might factor into the cost of label design. Most designers will evaluate a brewery and through a little research, determine the estimated exposure the label will receive and factor that into the design cost. A brand new brewery that only sells beer out of their tap room should expect to pay less than an established brewery that widely distributes their beer.

Complexity: Designs that have complex illustration, custom lettering, are that are heavily produced will take more time and thus be more expensive.

Compliance: Remember that beer labels have a variety of requirements including font/type size, Health Warning Statement, and imagery that will need to be approved by the TTB. Our beer label design service will ensure these requirements are met and save the headaches caused by working with a designer inexperienced in this area.

Ways to save on label design

While it’s not advisable to skimp on such an important aspect of your brewery’s success, here are a few ways to not break the bank on beer label design.

  1. Find an artist with an illustration style that you like and see if they offer graphic design services. If they do not offer graphic design, commission them to produce art (be sure to tell them it will be reproduced and sold) and take that to a graphic designer to finish laying out your label.
  2. Keep it simple. If you already have an attractive logo, feature it on the label with eye-catching color combos and typography. This is one of the best ways to save.

Hope this helped. Please feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions. Be sure to check out this post about beer label materials.

Beer Label Design Template

Beer Label Template

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