Next up it was time to look at developing clothing tags to go with my branding of the collaboration. In the clothing tags I think it is important to create something that fits in with the story of the collaboration. Informing the customer and taking them on the journey is an important element.
I guess the question is why are swing tags important on garments ? Well Swing tags are a convenient and simple way of identifying items in your retail setting and are a great way to display your branding and prices on products. A swing tag is an informational text attached to a garment for sale and can be also known as a swing ticket. Unlike a laundry symbol or size marker that are sewn into a garment, swing tags are not part of a garment: a swing tag may be attached to the garment by thread or by a plastic joiner.
Swing Tags Help Communicate Brand Values and Attributes
Swing tags can be used to communicate the attributes and values of a brand and is a key marketing tool in order to reinforce what the company is all about. So with that it’s going to be a huge missed marketing opportunity for companies that don’t use or utilise them correctly and productively a constant lack of swing tags is pretty much a marketing blunder and a ton of free advertising down the drain as they are a much cheaper way of marketing your company than other types of promotion too.
Swing tags come in all shapes, sizes, and materials with a variety of different types and the look they have is pretty much entirely down on what values and identity you want to be communicated. If you wish to communicate that your brand or product you’re trying to sell is luxurious opting for a high-quality material swing tag with an elegant interface is going to be your best bet.
Swing Tags Influence the Buying Decision Of Consumers
Tags, especially for retail purposes, can help influence the buying decision of the consumer as they will communicate what the brand is all about. If there’s a poorly designed swing tag it can give a negative impression of that product. Also anything poorly designed will put off consumers from purchasing the item. Your brand is represented by the product packaging and labels are no exception to this.
You Can Communicate Directly With Customers
Swing tags are the perfect opportunity for you to talk to your customers and convince them your product is worth buying. Through communicating directly to your consumers you will be able to talk about what’s so great about your brand and so what’s unique about the product or garment they are considering buying. You should use labels and tags as a full communication channel with customers, mentioning contact details, and in this day and age also your social media details too. This ensures that you are using the swing tags to their full potential and maximising on promotion.
British Tags has been supplying bespoke swing tickets or “hangtags” since 1947 when the company was founded by Joseph Fairston. Joseph had worked in the garment industry for most of his life managing mainly coat manufacturing companies. Wrightsons Printers was a family business based in Ruislip and producing a wide range of printed products.
The garment industry used printed swing tickets, which at that time were informational only giving details of the product, such as sizing and price. However Joseph was a visionary and he could see the value of customising swing tickets with a company’s logo and branding so that a clothing item became more associated with the designer/retailer. And thus British Tags Ltd was born.
The future looks as interesting as its past with the new decade’s challenge to all of us to tackle the urgent issue of climate change full on. Customers are more and more demanding sustainable products with buyers concerned about carbon footprint, and British Tags’ eco-friendly offering is growing.
Circular Swing Tags - By far one of the most popular choices of shapes when it comes to swinging tags. We offer a range of 6 different circle sizes so you’re sure to find a size which suits your needs.
Oval Swing Tags - Our oval templates have 4 different sizes in order to fit the purpose of the tag. Using oval shaped tags is a great choice for attaching to food and beverage items.
Rectangle Swing Tags - Rectangle tags are another of the most popular due to their universal appeal and are very practical. Here at Handy Tags, rectangle shaped tags come in 5 different sizes and are most commonly used for clothing and price tags
Square Swing Tags - Square tags are somewhat a little more niche but this makes them more appealing as it’s just that little bit different to what you’re used to seeing. You can take your pick from 5 different square sizes.
Starting off i wanted to start looking at different shapes and styles just to see what I was drawn more to. Also I had to take into consideration the two concepts that these where being designed for. The first being a more geometric shape influence and the other a more waved influence.
I also wanted to consider that these didn't have too many layers to them. What I mean by that is that the customer really just wants to see the size and price. Having to many elements or information the customer probably won't want to take this in.
Taking this forward selecting the ideal shape, size and style forward first off will help me be able to develop these more than to take the wrong style forward.
Before going onto developing some symbols to include in my swing tags I wanted to do a little research if the symbols differed or if there was any universal symbols that I needed to include in my designs.
The Mobius Loop symbol indicates that the product is capable of being recycled. However, this icon does not guarantee that the material will be accepted by your local recycling centre or collection and it does not signify that the product is made from recycled materials. Sometimes this symbol is used with a percentage figure in the middle to explain that the packaging contains x% of recycled material. There is not much certification surrounding this label meaning companies can post this on their packaging relatively easily.
Cashmere is a type of wool shear from goats. It is known for its refine, airy and delicate fibre, which offers an extra-soft and insulation feel. Cashmere is well-known for extra warmth than any other type of wool materials.
Natural fibers are made from plant-based or insects, it is biodegradable in water and in soil, or decomposable by bacteria. It is an Eco-friendly material to minimize negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources
next up I needed to have a look at the brands I was designing for. I had noticed on looking on their websites and inshore some of the symbols that they used. Was there any difference or where they similar. Below I firstly looked on Pangaia’s website.
From working in Primark o tried to look at some of the symbols that they use in the Primark Cares program. I took some pictures of some of the ones that I found around store in the Primark Cares inshore studio. I noticed that some of them where ever similar the the symbols used in the Pangaia website. this was a good starting point as I didn't want to try and recreate something but almost merge them together and make them there own for this collab.
After looking back on my research I wanted to draw out a couple of ideas to potentially take into digital.
Taking it into digital I wanted to play around with some of the symbols I had drawn out and also consider the symbols that are currently infuse for these brands.
It was time to merge my symbols in with some of the styles of tags I had developed.
This was a good starting point. I played around with adding text and symbols. Although I have used colour in this I don't think these work well with the rest of the branding to I need to look at making it cohesive with the other elements of my designs.
Next up I had I look at adding in the branding. I also played around with different fonts and weights. Although I do understand it is quite hard to see. My other worry like shown above it that is it legible ? Something I will need to look at in my final design.
Above I had a look at using a different styles of swing tag. Adding in the brand logo to the design. Again I played around with different fonts and weights swell as the sizing of the symbols. I do like the two design better as the symbols are bigger and are more visible. I also added in the barcode, sizing and cost element of the design.
Overall I am happy with the final outcome of the swing tags. I tired to keep them simple yet informative. As swing tags are such an important piece of the customer journey and are part of the clothing that the customer is buying it was important to me to keep true to the brand. If I was to make any changes to these it would be to develop them more and push the design aspect of these.
