Design Tips

Creating Knock Out Sticker Designs

Let the fun begin. Designing custom stickers is a fun process, whether you’re designing a sticker sheet, postcard sticker, keyboard sticker, or one of our many other options. Most of our stickers are fully customizable, so you can take your design in a lot of different directions.

Here are a few things you should keep in mind as you build your one-of-a-kind design.

Inspiration is everywhere. When you create your design, think about additional elements that can be turned into a sticker. Are you using a picture of your mascot as your background? Turn it into a sticker. Want to highlight an iconic building on campus? Make it a sticker.

Designing Your Stickers

With a custom die, the sky’s the limit. A “die” is a specialized piece of metal used to cut a specific shape out of a material, in this case a sticker on a sheet. Our custom die technique gives you the ability create as many custom sized and shaped stickers on the sheet as you want. No two custom-die sticker projects are ever alike. The more creative and thoughtful you are about your die, the more unique and memorable your stickers will be. Also, reorders are a breeze when you reuse your custom die – you can change the artwork, just keep the same sticker size and placement, and you won’t need a new die.

Be Clear That It’s A Sticker

Design with the peel in mind. Make sure it’s clear where your stickers are on the sheet. This is especially important if you’ve chosen a light background color, in which case the die-lines might not be as obvious as on a darker color. You want to make finding and peeling the sticker as easy as possible for the user, after all. So, here are a few tips:

Have simple text that points out your stickers, such as “Peel here! “or “I’m a Sticker!”
Include a mention of the stickers in your copy
For keyboard stickers, use an image of a keyboard to indicate that a sticker is included

Consider using a strong background color. A white or very light color may cause your stickers to get mistaken for your printed piece of paper. If you really want your stickers to stand out, consider making each sticker a color that contrasts with the background.

Think About Your Copy

The power of words. Every sticker has a story. Engaging copy is critical for a postcard sticker, but good content can be just as powerful on a sticker sheet or keyboard sticker. In fact, incorporating brand messaging and targeted content into a promotional product, such as stickers, can make for a more impactful item.

Hashtags: Make sure to include a hashtag in your design so your end users can tag pictures of your stickers on social media. Even better? Turn your hashtag into a sticker itself! When you’re picking your hashtag, make sure to do a little research in advance. The more tailored and unique your hashtag, the less chance you’ll get unrelated posts using the same hashtag.

Make It Fun! You can also include inside jokes and references that your end users would understand. The more fun and relevant your stickers and design are, the more likely your stickers will be placed in prominent locations.

Printing on Other Side: Want to add text to the back of your sticker sheet? We offer two-sided sticker sheets with full color printing on the back as well as two-sided individual die-cut stickers, perfect for informational messages and more visual flair! Check out our two sided stickers and sheets, or ask your Account Manager for details.

Tips for Keyboard Stickers

Know your options. The most popular version of our keyboard sticker includes a sticker in the upper right-hand corner, with an image of a keyboard with the sticker across the bottom. But that’s just one way to do it. Here are a few more ideas:

Rotate the die! As long as the sticker doesn’t move, you can rotate your artwork to fit our die. That means your keyboard sticker can be in any corner of the 3″ x 3″ card. If you want a different placement, we can do that, too. This may require a custom die, but that will allow you to add more than one sticker, as well.

Background Images: Many designs use a keyboard as the background of their keyboard sticker. You can also use an image or creative graphic. With the full-color background, you have creative control over the design.

Tips for Postcard Stickers

Your Two-Sided Design: Now that the front of the postcard is how you want it, what about the back? This is where you can really shine with some fresh design and copy. With a full-color front and back at no additional charge, use the space on the back of the card for more than copy. Add some flair with images and graphics, just leave enough room for mailing info!

Lamination: Lamination is key if you’re planning to mail your postcard stickers. The lamination makes the material more durable, and protects against the mailing machines that process the postcards. Without lamination, you risk your postcard stickers being severely damaged when processed by USPS.