As a business, you want to make sure that you’re putting your best foot forward in all aspects of your marketing. One way to do this is by using vehicle wraps to advertise your company.
Vehicle wraps are an increasingly popular way to market a business, and for good reason – they’re eye-catching and effective. When designing graphics for car wraps, there are a few key things to keep in mind in order to ensure that you create the most effective wrap possible.
The key to vehicle wrap design
In order to maximize the benefits of a fleet vehicle wrap, you need to carefully plan your design elements and consider what art format is best for car wraps. Here are 4 tips to best design graphics for vehicle wrapping.
Vehicle wraps are 3D
Unlike designing for email or print marketing, vehicles are 3D objects. This means designing for vehicle wraps follows a bit of a different path. First and foremost, you need to account for this variation in shape!
For example, if you have lettering that needs to appear straight across at the top of the rear windshield, you’d actually have to design it curving downward. Specialized design software can help you make these adjustments. For example, designing vehicle wraps in Illustrator is ideal when you want to create scalable vector graphics. Or our design team can help as well.
Consider the larger areas that are best for ad space versus areas that could be more complicated, like around door handles. When designing vehicle wraps, make sure you keep an eye toward the finished product!
Think about how they will look when they’re applied to the car – will all of the elements be visible and legible?
Keep your vehicle wrap simple
While you want your vehicle wrap to be eye-catching, you also don’t want it to be so busy that people can’t figure out what it’s advertising. Remove unnecessary clutter and make sure the important details are visible. Stick to a few key colors and/or patterns, and make sure that your company name and logo are prominently featured.
You want to make sure that your design is clean and easy to read, as people will be seeing it from a distance and for a brief period of time. In addition, you want to make sure that your design is easily recognizable – people should be able to see what your company is at a glance.
Think about your brand identity and the message you’re trying to convey with your car wrap design. Make sure your contact information is accessible and easy to read. When creating your design, less is more.
Consider lines
Lines are important in vehicle wrap design for two reasons. First, they help break up the different elements of your design so that it’s not one big blob of color.
Second, they can actually help with visibility – curvy lines tend to be more visible than straight lines, for example. However, keep in mind that body breaks in the vehicle surface can complicate line breaks, as well.
Lines create unnecessary difficulties during installation that can add to your vehicle wrap costs without adding any real benefit. Whether you’re a small business or a major corporation, budget always matters!
Design elements like bold colors are often more cost-effective and do a better job catching your target audience viewer’s attention better than lines, anyway.
Think about angles and visibility
Think of your fleet vehicle as a mobile billboard. Unlike a stationary billboard, when a fleet vehicle is driving, the angle at which people see it will constantly be changing. That’s why it’s important to design your wrap in a way that is visible from all angles – both near and far.
And if you’re including text in your design, make sure that it’s big enough to be legible from a distance. When creating your design, think about how the graphics will look from all angles – not just when the car is head-on.
If you have specific advertising copy on your vehicle wrap, consider if the font is clear and large enough to read. Is it visible from various positions?
Get started on a car wrap design for your fleet
Now that you know some best tips and practices for designing graphics for car wraps, it’s time to get started on creating a design for your business! If you need help getting started, our team of designers would be happy to assist you. Contact us at National Car Wraps today to learn more.
And don’t forget this one last tip: Get started on your wrap design sooner rather than later – the sooner you start planning, the sooner your wraps will be on the road!
