Vehicle wraps are a fun, unique, and striking way of advertising your brand. Even if the vehicle wrap is not meant for advertising purposes, it can still stand out and turn heads. No matter how you decide to use a vehicle wrap, it will get noticed! Creating a design for a commercial vehicle wrap can be daunting, but as long as you pay attention to details and keep the design simple, you’ll have a great mobile advertisement!
Start by Looking for Vehicle Wrap Design Inspiration
The most difficult part of starting a vehicle wrap design is at the beginning. You might start out with a very broad design idea, but when there are too many styles and ideas to work from, you might get overwhelmed with everything that’s out there. Consult with the vast bank of design inspiration that is the internet. A couple of great places to check out are Tumblr and Pinterest. The one catch with searching for design inspiration on the internet, however, is the temptation to plagiarize another vehicle wrap design. Make sure that you’re looking for inspiration, not a completed design made by another designer.
Don’t Hesitate to Purchase Design Elements
If you get stuck on a design or are unhappy with the way it’s looking, there’s no shame in purchasing a pre-made stock illustration to use for an eye-catching background. When you purchase a royalty-free stock graphic you will be able to use it for all your business’s marketing assets. Vehicle wraps are large-format digitally printed over-sized stickers, so ensure that your print will look clean and crisp by buying vector-based graphics only. High-resolution photos will work but will result in a very large file which slows the processing time down when the wrap is being printed.
Work from a Scaled-down Vehicle Template
Any trust-worthy, reputable, experienced sign company will gladly send you or your designer a vector vehicle template to create a vehicle wrap design. They will most likely send it to you for free if you have them print and install the vehicle wrap. Obviously, working from a template will ensure that the important elements of the design are not impeded with door handles or plastic rocker panels. One more tip for working from a template is to make sure that it is accurate to the actual vehicle that will be wrapped. Measure the wheelbase (the measurement from the center or the front wheels to the back wheels), measure the height and width of the vehicle, and the windows.
When in Doubt, Keep it Simple!
Take it or leave it, but the most effective vehicle wraps are the ones with the simplest designs. “Keeping the design simple” means that you’re not distracting from your main product or service that you offer. A vehicle wrap design that is too busy with lots of text and imagery will almost always be overlooked and ignored. Everyone has different opinions and preferences, but an advertising vehicle wrap should not be an extension of what you think looks good (it’s for marketing your business). Keep the design simple, straight-forward, and eye-catching and that’s it!
