Vehicle wraps are one of the most cost-effective and high-impact ingredients in the marketing mix. However, get the design wrong and you’ve wasted time, energy and money on a failed marketing strategy, while missing the opportunity to promote brand awareness. If you want to understand the fundamentals of good design, these straightforward tips will help you maximise impact and return on investment.
Start with your brand
Your vehicle livery design will stand or fall on the strength of your brand. If your branding is poor, then you’ll be missing a huge marketing opportunity and wasting your money on a vinyl wrap that doesn’t attract interest. Your brand should always form the central message of your car wrap, so use vinyl wrapping as an opportunity to rebrand your business if necessary.
Don’t use a photo
Unless a photo connects directly to your brand, don’t use it. You have as little as 3 seconds to make an impression and convey critical information about your business. Although images can create better recall than words, only use an image if it contributes to brand awareness – if you’re a plumber and the takeaway from your design is an image of a U-bend rather than your contact details, then you need to rethink.
Keep the message simple
These are the message elements your design needs for maximum impact, and in this hierarchy:
Your brand
A tagline message
Your website
Your contact number
Focus on the key messages you want your audience to remember. Lists or jumbles of text have no place on your vehicle livery.
Vehicle livery design should stand out, not fit in
What would you imagine would make your design stand out? The correct answer, perhaps surprisingly, is not throwing everything and the kitchen sink into the mix. In the visual jungle that is our modern streetscape, less is very much more. Create a design that’s clear and bold and that your audience can read and remember ,and you’ll definitely stand out from the crowd. You’ll achieve that by depending on your strong branding and a clear message, not by using graphics and messages unrelated to your core branding.
Simplicity is good
Imagine how you’d advertise using a stationary billboard that traffic and pedestrians are constantly passing. If your design expects your audience to guess what your key brand message is, you’ve already lost them. There are only seconds in which your viewer can absorb your message when you’re on the move, and even when your vehicle is stationary, a clear primary takeaway is your first objective. That will also drive considerations of colour, contrast, font and image size for legibility at a distance. Remember, customers prefer passive publicity like a vinyl wrap to more aggressive marketing methods.
Creating vehicle livery design that’s right for you
At the Sussex Sign Company, we offer a bespoke and fully integrated service, from design to installation, by one of the finest teams in the country. If you’re in West Sussex and you’re interested in finding out what this cost-effective form of marketing can do for your business, contact us today via phone or email.