Places
Label Design
Paste-up
for Auto Brand Yellow Cling Peaches, by Ralph Rambo for Hunt Brothers
Packing Co., 1918.The process of creating a label started with a discussion between the artist, the salesman and the client. The artist created - with watercolor or pen and ink - an initial concept for the label and artwork. These thumbnail sketches would be discussed and refined until the client and artist agreed on a design. The artist then created a “rough”, a more-complete rendering of the design in actual size, which the client and art director would approve. The artist might execute a comprehensive (or “comp”) version if the client demanded an exact rendering of the final design.
In the early days, approval of a label design came almost exclusively from the client directly – often the senior male in a family-owned business. Muirson clients typically approved a design that they found personally pleasing. Neither clients nor the art department conducted market research or probed the depths of consumer tendencies during the creative process. Rather, they relied on common sense and Ralph Rambo’s keen artistic talent to create a look that would have “reach appeal”. Muirson’s Art Department also maintained an inventory of “stock” images, especially for the most popular Valley-grown fruits. Customers could save a few dollars on the design cost by choosing one of the stock images appropriate to their product.
In later years, the Muirson Label Company increasingly worked with corporate marketing departments and marketing consultants to foster brand-identity and a unified approach to a company’s public image. Label design in the 20th century was also dramatically affected by the development of strict labeling standards by the federal government.
