diff --git a/src/mbgl/programs/attributes.hpp b/src/mbgl/programs/attributes.hpp
index 7d39c043950..e43a87aa2b4 100644
--- a/src/mbgl/programs/attributes.hpp
+++ b/src/mbgl/programs/attributes.hpp
@@ -8,6 +8,16 @@
 namespace mbgl {
 namespace attributes {
 
+/*
+ * Pack a pair of values, interpreted as uint8's, into a single float.
+ * Used to conserve vertex attributes. Values are unpacked in the vertex
+ * shader using the `unpack_float()` function, defined in _prelude.vertex.glsl.
+ */
+template <typename T>
+inline uint16_t packUint8Pair(T a, T b) {
+    return static_cast<uint16_t>(a) * 256 + static_cast<uint16_t>(b);
+}
+
 // Layout attributes
 
 MBGL_DEFINE_ATTRIBUTE(int16_t, 2, a_pos);
diff --git a/src/mbgl/programs/symbol_program.hpp b/src/mbgl/programs/symbol_program.hpp
index 9b01b8ec5df..060c7fdd5ac 100644
--- a/src/mbgl/programs/symbol_program.hpp
+++ b/src/mbgl/programs/symbol_program.hpp
@@ -57,13 +57,17 @@ struct SymbolLayoutAttributes : gl::Attributes<
             }},
             {{
                 static_cast<uint16_t>(tx / 4),
-                static_cast<uint16_t>(ty / 4)
+                static_cast<uint16_t>(ty / 4),
+                mbgl::attributes::packUint8Pair(
+                   static_cast<uint8_t>(labelminzoom * 10), // 1/10 zoom levels: z16 == 160
+                   static_cast<uint8_t>(labelangle)
+                ),
+                mbgl::attributes::packUint8Pair(
+                   static_cast<uint8_t>(minzoom * 10),
+                   static_cast<uint8_t>(::fmin(maxzoom, 25) * 10)
+                )
             }},
             {{
-                static_cast<uint8_t>(labelminzoom * 10), // 1/10 zoom levels: z16 == 160
-                static_cast<uint8_t>(labelangle),
-                static_cast<uint8_t>(minzoom * 10),
-                static_cast<uint8_t>(::fmin(maxzoom, 25) * 10)
             }}
         };
     }
diff --git a/src/mbgl/style/paint_property_binder.hpp b/src/mbgl/style/paint_property_binder.hpp
index e6e957958c5..d26ab16f8e2 100644
--- a/src/mbgl/style/paint_property_binder.hpp
+++ b/src/mbgl/style/paint_property_binder.hpp
@@ -26,16 +26,12 @@ inline std::array<float, 1> attributeValue(float v) {
     uses 8-bit precision for each color component, for each float we use the upper 8
     bits for one component (e.g. (color.r * 255) * 256), and the lower 8 for another.
     
-    Also note:
-     - Colors come in as floats 0..1, so we scale by 255.
-     - Casting the scaled values to ints is important: without doing this, e.g., the
-       fractional part of the `r` component would corrupt the lower-8 bits of the encoded
-       value, which must be reserved for the `g` component.
+    Also note that colors come in as floats 0..1, so we scale by 255.
 */
 inline std::array<float, 2> attributeValue(const Color& color) {
     return {{
-        static_cast<float>(static_cast<uint16_t>(color.r * 255) * 256 + static_cast<uint16_t>(color.g * 255)),
-        static_cast<float>(static_cast<uint16_t>(color.b * 255) * 256 + static_cast<uint16_t>(color.a * 255))
+        static_cast<float>(mbgl::attributes::packUint8Pair(255 * color.r, 255 * color.g)),
+        static_cast<float>(mbgl::attributes::packUint8Pair(255 * color.b, 255 * color.a))
     }};
 }