Stand Out from the Pack: 5 Tips for Vehicle Signage Design
Designing your ideal vehicle signage that matches your company and reaches out to prospective customers involves a lot of elements that are often overlooked. There are plenty of advantages that come with adopting a vehicle signage strategy for your work vehicle or fleet of vehicles. How can you get the most out of your design and stand out from the pack? These five top tips for vehicle signage design can help you get started!
- Measure Twice, Cut Once
Before committing to any vehicle signage design, the first step should be to have a thorough inspection of the vehicle and to establish how much ‘real estate’ you’ve got to work with. Begin by taking photographs of all sides of the vehicle and avoid taking photos at an angle. This provides you and the graphic designer with a good idea of how much space can be used for logos and graphics, and which parts require simplicity. You don’t want to finish the process with regrets about spaces you could have optimised! And vice versa, regrets about packing too much onto a small surface area. Be sure to flag things like design quirks in your vehicle, towballs, spare tyres etc. Your Go Graphics graphic designer will also be super handy in pointing out potential red flags, bringing their years of experience with car designs to the table.
Take for example Alex Junior’s new Jeep, featuring subtle but effective branding directing people to the business’s social pages for bookings. To combat a huge spare tyre which hangs on the back, limiting rear vision for the driver, we went with a simple decal along the roof of the car; simple but engaging as it’s a quirky hashtag which plays into the branding.
2. Keep it Relevant
Vehicle signage needs to be relevant to your business. Clever and eye-catching designs increase brand awareness and create tens of thousands of impressions per day, so make sure that the message you’d like to display is clear and concise.
For example, consider whether your message can be condensed into one or two sentences at most. A short and simple message has more chances of being remembered when seen. Consider that your vehicle will be passing by other vehicles on the motorway, so the few seconds that it’s seen on the road need to be memorable!
3. See What Your Competitors Are Doing
Of course your design should be original and reflect your company and its values, but it’s often helpful to have a look at what your competitors are doing. Source design and creative inspiration from all kinds of influences, from fellow businesses in the industry, to leaders and trendsetters in the art and design world. Follow design trends to help form and shape your own ideas and expectations from your signage.
4. Choose Colours and Fonts Carefully
The first aspect of your vehicle signage that will draw attention is the colour palette. Choose colours that match your brand image, and don’t be afraid to use contrasting colours to add some variation to your design. Bright colours naturally stand out, but they may not work for all businesses. Dark colours may help lighter text to pop more but may lack a feeling of vibrancy or enthusiasm.
In terms of fonts, consider that many drivers and pedestrians will be reading text on your vehicle from a distance. This means that big, bold lettering stands out and can be read from further away than small fonts.
5. Don’t Overcomplicate It!
Not all vehicle signage designs need to have a witty catchphrase or oversized logo. If your colour choice and a simple design are enough to get attention, consider only adding the most relevant contact details and social media links so that you can convert leads into sales.
In today’s day and age where most of us have our mobiles on hand, QR codes and quick links to your website and social media can be a clean and effective way to convey a lot of information without cluttering the vehicle.
Go Graphics
The best way to kickstart your vehicle signage design is to consult with one of our friendly experts at Go Graphics in Perth. Our expertise in creating vibrant and eye-catching vehicle signage can help your business bring in more leads and sales, so direct your enquiries to us if you’d like to learn more about how we can help!