Table of Contents
12+ Tag Designs & Templates
The ubiquitous existence of tags is actually due to society’s obsession to put a label in everything. From inanimate objects like shopping items to living companions like dogs, people put tags on them to indicate description or ownership. But whatever their specific purpose may be, it all boils down to the tag created as a bite-sized medium of vital information.
Elements of a Good Tag Design
- Information: A tag must be able to deliver the important information at a glance. More than the design itself, the text placement and presentation play a vital role in making your tag effective. Identification tags must bear names and other contact details, holiday tags must be able to indicate the current holiday of the season, and sale tags must tell the price of a certain item on sale.
- Design: The purpose of the design is to reinforce attention to your text. Especially when you are working on a generic text like a common holiday greeting, the appeal of your tag relies solely on how you did your design. Experiment on what works best with the type of tag you are working on.
- Conciseness: Tags are not made to be big, which makes designing one a huge challenge. Having that element of conciseness in your design means that you are discarding the wordiness of your text and eliminating unnecessary design elements without compromising the tag’s main purpose.
12+ Tag Design Templates
Christmas Gift Tag Template
Baptism Thank-You Tag Sample
Birthday Gift Tag Design
Bridal Shower Tag Template
Luggage Tag Sample
Modern Name Tag Sample
Photo Gift Tag Design
Sale Tag Template
Shopping Tag Sample
Wedding Gift Tag Design
Bookmark Tag Sample
Price Tag Template
Creative Hang Tag Design
Steps to Make a Great Tag Design
- Determine the tag specification: What type of tag are you making? What paper will be used? What shape will it be taking on? The design of your tag is dependent on its type and size so make sure to have definite answers regarding the aforementioned questions before proceeding to design. Most tags are printed on colored papers so it might be unnecessary to add a background color to your design.
- Supply the information: Type in the details that need to be communicated through your tags. For example, if you are working on a sale tag, then slap in the brand at the center and put the price shyly at the bottom; or, if you are designing a birthday gift tag, then splash in the greeting along with the name of the celebrant big and bold at the center. Play with fonts but not so much that it is no longer readable.
- Work your design around the text: It is advisable to work on your design details after coming up with the finalized look of your text to make sure that they will not interfere with each other. Most designers prefer to put details around the border to be safe. When coming up for ideas regarding these details, take design cues from your text to achieve uniformity.
- Check for conformity: If you are already satisfied with your text and design, visualize how these will look like on print. Will it look good against the color and texture of the paper? Does it not look too crowded? Are my texts clear and easy to understand? Bombard yourself with questions and make necessary modifications based on your answers.
Tips for a Great Tag Design
- Keep it neat: Have fun with all the curves and curls as you like, but, as much as possible, keep it away from your text. Modern design, especially minimalism, dictates to eliminate any distracting design elements so that the focus is put on the main intention. When it comes to designing tags, minimalism is one of the most effective approaches.
- Place the message front and center: As you will be dealing with limited space, having the message at the side will only make it less noticeable. Tags are actually mainly created to deliver bite-sized information to the user, so it is only important that it is in the right position.
- Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes: When designing sale tags, imagine how a potential buyer of a product will read your tag. Lay out the different tag elements according to the buyer’s reading convenience and add design ideas that will appeal to that particular buyer niche.
- Mind the space for the punch hole: Be sure not to put any of the design and information on the spot where the tag will be punched. Most, if not all, tags have a perforation so the string can be attached. Designers tend to leave the punch area bare as the string tends to cover it all up, rendering any design element useless.
Types of Tag Designs
If you pay close attention, you can notice that tags exist almost everywhere. They also exist in different forms depending on their function. Below are the different types of tags classified according to their purpose.
- Identification Tags: These tags indicate personal information for the purpose of recognition of the beholder or for indication of ownership of an item. They also sometimes give a profound description of a person or an item. Tags that belong to this category are name tags, product tags, and luggage tags.
- Holiday Tags: Holiday tags are appended on presents given during holidays. These tags are most often bought commercially where they bear the usual greeting of that holiday and leave blanks for the sender and the receiver. Christmas tags, New Year tags, and Valentine tags are three of the most common tags that fall under this type.
- Celebratory Tags: These tags are different from holiday tags in such a way that they are for gifts given during personal occasions such as weddings, birthdays, or christenings.
- Sale Tags: These tags indicate the price and the brand of an item to aid an interested consumer in buying. When an item is marked down in its price, regular sale tags are replaced with special ones that most often bear bold red colors and big discount percentages to catch the attention of buyers.
- Logo Tags: Usually worn for fashion purposes, logo tags require little to no design details as they most often only bear branding or text etched on wood, plastic, or metal. Instead of yarn, ribbon, or other stationery strings to make them hang, logo tags make use of metal chains that are long enough to be worn as a necklace. Dog tags and souvenir bracelets belong to this category.
- Bookmarks: Perhaps the type of tag where a designer can have the full aesthetic freedom, bookmarks are thin paper strips with a ribbon used to indicate a page of the book which the reader last read. Bookmarks can come in a range of forms, from a full graphic design or a favorite quote of a reader rendered in a playful font.
Tag Design Template Sizes
Tags come in different shapes and sizes, but the rectangular ones are the most common. Below are the 12 standard sizes that commercial tag-makers adapt. However, you are free to modify the final size and shape of your tag.
- Size 1: 2.75 in. x 1.375 in.
- Size 2: 3.75 in. x 1.625 in.
- Size 3: 3.75 in. x 1.875 in.
- Size 4: 4.25 in. x 2.125 in.
- Size 5: 4.75 in. x 2.375 in.
- Size 6: 5.25 in. x 2.625 in.
- Size 7: 5.75 in. x 2.875 in.
- Size 8: 6.25 in. x 3.125 in.
- Size 9: 7.5 in. x 3.625 in.
- Size 10: 8.5 in. x 4.125 in.
- Size 11: 9.5 in. x 4.625 in.
- Size 12: 10.5 in. x 5.125 in.
Tag Design FAQs
What is the best shape for a tag?
The rectangular tags are the most popular tags for a reason. They are economically advantageous when it comes to printing and spacious enough when it comes to accommodating your design as they can always have that extra space for the punch area. Rectangular tags can also be folded, which gives you more ways to play around your design.
What strings can be used for tags?
A variety of choices is available when choosing strings for tags. Tags used for casual presentations go well with yarns and ribbons while the ones used for commercial purposes are best with cotton, cord, and fabricated nylon. You can buy the latter type of string in stores where they are already knotted or looped with metal balls.
Should I print the design on both sides of the tag?
Whether or not you should print on both sides depends on the type of the tag. Sales tags and luggage tags are fine with the print on only one side; holiday tags and identification tags require different designs on each side, and bookmarks generally repeat the same design found on one side to the other.
Tags continue to be these underrated minuscule marvels. More than being apt appendages to a variety of objects, tags have tons of uses not relative to its size, always achieving to strike a balance between being an informative read and an aesthetic accessory.
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