Nature’s Own Labels

Our redesign of Nature’s Own range of health product labels on behalf of not-for-profit research organisation CRI, resulted in a number of exciting innovations in label design. We developed a design solution that works effectively over the four different bottle sizes and across the product range in excess of 300 types.

Before doing any design work we tested the old labels with customers to see if they could use them effectively.

We found that the key information on the front of the labels was obscured by cluttering graphic elements such as starbursts and the busy logo. Important product information was missed by customers because it was divided across two panels, while the use of red type on a yellow background made the text difficult to read. The instructions were hard to read because they ‘disappeared’ around the circumference of the bottle. In response to these findings we made a number of significant changes.

As well as reducing the clutter on the front panel by removing elements and cleaning up the logo, we did away with the tired old convention of placing the ‘front panel’ in the middle of the label. Instead, we moved this panel to the left hand side of the label. This layout change allowed the instructions and product information to flow uninterrupted as a list. We also rotated the instructional text sideways so that it did not disappear around the bottle’s circumference. This was a radical departure from what had been produced previously.

Finally, we changed the order of the information in the instructions to reflect the order that a consumer would follow when making a choice, or when using the product.

When we tested the new label design the usability problems had vanished. Nature’s Own have adopted these labels and successfully implemented the design across their entire range. The design received the annual Quality Use of Medicines award for label innovation in 2005.