Tips for designing & creating decals & stickers

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Before You Begin To Design Your Sticker.....

Leave Enough Time to design and order - Frequently design suffers and money is wasted due to people putting off the sticker and decal design until "I need them now". Production generally takes 2-4 weeks but you also need time to go over ideas, consider manufacturer recommendations, and properly prepare the artwork.

Think About Your Purpose in producing stickers and decals. What's your goal... building identity... advertising a specific event or product... telling people about your web site? Where do you ideally see the stickers and decals being applied... to cars... to helmets... to computers? How will you be distributing the stickers and decals... in the mail... hand out at trade shows... co-op with another company?

Your answers will effect the size and design of your stickers and decals - be as specific as possible. You don't want to have finished stickers before you realize "oh no, it won't fit in the envelope" or "oh no, the adhesive isn't holding the stickers on our equipment", etc.

Look Around / Research. What are other people in your industry using for stickers? What isn't being done that may be effective? What stickers do you see out on the highway... why are they there... why do they work? How can you do something powerful and unique while still effectively tying in with your other marketing efforts?

When You Design Your Sticker...

Keep It Simple! A sticker needs to convey a message quickly, clearly, and often from a distance. Beware of small details, intricate graphics, more than three colors, and more than one simple message/image. Stickers and decals are not newspaper ads. View them as very small billboards - stick with a clear logo or a "headline".

Bigger Isn't Always Better. The bigger the sticker, the easier to see...right? True... but a promotional sticker won't be seen by anyone if it is never applied. Put big stickers on your company vehicles... but give the public a sticker that they are willing and apt to apply somewhere.

Consider Die-Cutting. A sticker's visual appeal and impact increases when graphics are complimented by a shape other than rectangular. Circles often have no added cost, and any custom shape is possible with the use of a die. A die is usually well worth the inexpensive one-time fee.

Think In Reverse. Just because you are printing on white vinyl doesn't mean the background of the sticker needs to be white. For a one-color sticker use a printed color as the background and leave the copy white for a more effective and appealing image.

Consider Backcopy. If you are creating a promotional sticker, don't waste the white space on the back of the sticker. Use it for advertising, coupons, news, postcard copy, coop ads... any information you want to get into the hands of your prospects and/or customers.

Make It Clear? If you are designing a sticker on clear material for application to windows, it needs white ink! White reflects light (more visible) while darker colors are translucent and blend with the dark window background. White vinyl is more visually effective than clear polyester in 90% of the cases.

How Sticky Do You Want It? Depending on your purposes, stickers can come with ultra-removable adhesive on up to a super aggressive adhesive. Static decals have no adhesive - although for the added price, and limited applications, these are seldom necessary. We also do not recommend stickers with adhesive "on the face" for inside window applications. These have more limited applications, are harder to apply, and usually not necessary.

For more information about these tips and valuable information and ideas, check out our special report; Maximizing the Power of Promotional Stickers and Decals which covers What promotional stickers can do for you, designing your sticker, utilizing backcopy, and producing & purchasing your stickers.

Share your rough ideas, logos, and goals with our Idea Team here at Freely Creative, Inc. We'll show you the best possible options at the best possible price - Just fill out our Sticker Quote Form and fax or e-mail ideas.

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Best tips for designing & creating decals & stickers. Sticker design for promotional decals & stickers