Truck signs

I think what’s bothering a lot of us is that there’s not a lot of contrast. I feel like it’s a little hard to read. Maybe if you just had a small black outline around the blue characters, it would help it stand out more. Especially when you get that bright red new truck.

I need to get a lighter picture of my truck. Where you see the big blue letters pictured above you can easily read it. I get what you are all saying though. Its just been kinda our think with those colors lol.

The rear sign for the big truck will be in reflective vinyl. That way cars behind me at night can see it well.

I kinda feel like a 100% white vinyl wrap is in order here. Then, your blue will pop nicely. A nice blank canvas. Data shows (tho i cant recall where) that white vehicles are interpreted as harmless/safe. Just a thought. Or, take it to maaco.


I did this one for @akinat041. Against a white truck it would really pop. Id go with the smaller logo myself.

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I thought about going the wrap route but for the money old fashioned lettering was a lot easier to read and less expensive. I’m sure there’s some things that I could have done better but it’s payed for itself over and over again.

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Hey Kenny, How is the mr pipeline company worked out for you? They made a website for you and manage SEO?

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Nice truck! I was only suggesting it as plain Summit White (hehe) starting point. The burgundy is kinda tuff to work with.

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It’s been great. I’m very satisfied with the ROI considering the time of year. We’re not doing SEO yet. We’ll start that late spring. I’m doing AdWords right now for immediate exposure and once my cushion gets rebuilt (spent everything on equipment) we’ll begin working on seo. But I’m very happy with them.

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Well, figured I’d post my little Vista print gem :joy::rofl:

On both sides, and smaller one(space reasons) on tailgate. I like it though. Business cards have same kind of template.

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If those are magnets, make sure to take them off at least once a week and clean under them. Also smart to have a good coat of wax on the paint. Magnets are a great option for temporary signage, but left unattended can wreck your paint job.

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I know you’re pretty much set on your decision here, Chris, but I just had to add my ‘plus 1’ on the preference for white vehicles.

It’s been my observation that when it comes to advertising, a lot of people seem to be subconsciously “colorblind” in regards to brand awareness. They may consciously know that WalMart uses blue, and Comcast uses red on their xfinity trucks. But that doesn’t stop people from asking me for help while I’m browsing walmart in my bright green shirt, or trying to ask cable-related questions when they see my logo’d car.

It’s my (completely unscientific and anecdotal) opinion that many people have stronger subconscious triggers related to wording and other cues. People in walmart, for instance, probably see me as someone who knows what he’s doing, and appears professional and approachable. People who read “Infinity” on my car, most likely pick up on the phonetic similarity, and then sense that I’m an approachable guy who has technical knowledge.

What I’m getting at, is I bet if you kept everything the same except the color of your trucks, maybe half of your customers would notice the change, and perhaps 1% would somehow get “thrown” or confused by that change.

All the while, subconsciously, you may appear more likeable and trustworthy due to the color change.

JMHO.

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Yes, they are magnets. Thank you for the advice. I’m using my personal vehicle to pull my trailer setup. I don’t have a dedicated vehicle just for the business.

It’s been about a week since I last washed the truck. I better get on it.

[Begin Tangent]
I’ve already acquired a few small dents and dings since starting this venture. Dented my tailgate the other day when getting home and putting everything away from that job, had one of those round shaped master locks for my storage unit sitting on the bumper with the key in it…Opened the tailgate, forgot it was there. Bam, dent. The other is a spot on the bumper where it’s painted… Trailer took off on me when unhitching it. Crushed my hand a little too. [End Tangent]

You’re right. Left them on for months on my old truck. Ruined the paint and actually took some of the paint off when I finally did take them off.

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Just a few graphics design pointers that might help -

  1. A contrasting color stroke (border around letter), even if it is only 1 point (which is in some cases not really visible) makes the letter “pop” from the background more.

  2. Subtle drop shadow can add in this as well. People tend to overdo the drop shadow and it looks bad.

  3. Gradient Overlays can add dimension to an otherwise flat plain lettering.
    Again with these elements, be subtle with a “less is more” approach to make letters pop and be more interesting and eye-catching off the “page”.

  4. Use 2 fonts and no more than 2 fonts. Stay away from bubble type, goth, script, etc type fonts that will be hard to read from more than 20 feet. Ariel is about as boring as you can get, but their are endless fonts available that can add depth, character and interest to your lettering. 2 fonts allow a visual cue to different pieces of information. It happens in a subconscious manner. 3 fonts and now you have a circus on confusing words.

  5. Stay away from italics - slanting the letters leads to difficulty in reading it.

  6. Some people focus on the company name being the biggest thing. Yes it needs to be on their along with the logo, but in a situation of either limited real estate (space on truck) or limited budget, determine what is most important - in my case what I do and phone number were given more space than logo and name.

  7. Colors - take a look at a color spectrum. Your blues, red, greens and black all come from the darker side of the scale. They provide little contrast against each other. White, yellow, orange come from the other side of the scale. With any color from one side as a background then using any color from the other side, you will automatically have stark contrast. This aids in readability.

Take a look at this simple image:

a. Not sure if you can see it, but the letters do have a 1 point white stoke. White worked better than black in this image as the goal is to pop not look clowny.
b. Drop shadow - very light but gives the letters some pop and dimension on the flat page. Could actually use a tad less shadow. It is borderline too much.
c. Font style - easy to read - no script or bubbly letter, separation between characters.
d. Color Contrast - very light (gray) background with dark red letters.
e. While I did not use a gradient overlay on the letters, I did some very minimal inner shadow to create whitish effect on the letters to give them depth.
f. I added a border that I applied a bevel and chiseled look to. This was again to add depth to the image. Give it a subtle 3-d like effect to it. Makes it more interesting than a plain box.
Just some things to think about.

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Same image with no effects - a much different image

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Your post was very informative but when you added the second post without the effects it really shows what your talking about. Nice job.

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Also note - look at what the mega companies do. They have HUGE marketing departments and budgets.

Make notes of their logos, colors, how they lay out an image or message. Trust me, nothing you see in a print ad just happens. Their is 100% a validated reason for each color, position, font, etc.

Do not outright steal their idea, but do borrow the theme of the idea, the elements in the idea, etc.

Like in music - their are only 12 notes (8 whole tones and 4 half tones) . When you hear a new song, it is nothing new. They borrowed from someone, just added their spin on it to make it sound new. How many “new” ways can you arrange the same 12 notes?

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And there is a man who could do more with 12 notes than almost anyone!

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Has this actually worked for you buying a second domain? How do you advertise it on signs/trucks? Your primary website or your extra domain or both?