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Resources · Vehicle graphics

A vehicle is not
a flat sheet.

Body curves, door handles, trim lines, and glass all sit in the middle of your design. What works on a rectangle rarely survives contact with a van — which is why vehicle work starts with the vehicle, not the artwork.

Start here

What we need before anything is designed

These four facts decide which template the artwork is built on. Without them, any layout is provisional.

Year, make, model, and trim
All four. Body curves, door handle positions, and trim lines differ even between model years of the same vehicle.
Which panels are in scope
Doors only, sides and rear, the whole vehicle — this changes the design fundamentally, not just its size.
Photographs of the actual vehicle
Straight-on shots of each side in even light. Templates are drawings; your vehicle has real trim, real damage, and sometimes non-standard fittings.
Where it lives and works
Sun exposure, whether it is washed in a brush wash, and whether it is parked outside all year affect what is appropriate.
Watch out for

Designing before the vehicle is confirmed is the most expensive mistake here. Body panels differ between model years of the same vehicle, so a layout built against the wrong template has to be rebuilt rather than adjusted.

Designing for something that moves

A vehicle is read in seconds, usually by someone doing something else.

One message, not five
Most people get a glance. Name, what you do, and one way to reach you is usually the whole brief.
Contrast decides legibility
More than size does. Dark on light or light on dark carries; mid-tone on mid-tone disappears at any scale.
Keep detail off the obstacles
Door handles, fuel caps, seams, and body creases interrupt whatever crosses them. Phone numbers and logos belong on flat, clear areas.
Vector artwork throughout
Vehicle graphics are large. Vector scales without loss; a raster logo that looked fine on a card will not.
Windows are a decision
Coverage over glass affects visibility from inside and may be regulated where you drive. Decide it deliberately rather than by default.

The parts that vary, and why we will not guess

Coverage, material, finishing, and installation depend on the specific vehicle and how it will be used. We will give you the right answer for your job rather than a general one that may not apply.

How much coverage suits the vehicle
Partial and full coverage are different products with different considerations. The right choice depends on the vehicle and the goal.
Material and finish
Chosen for the surface, the exposure, and how long the graphics need to last.
What the surface allows
Deep recesses, textured plastic, aftermarket parts, and previous graphics all affect what can be applied and where.
Removal later
Worth discussing at the start if the vehicle is leased or will be resold.

Rather than guess

Ask us when…

  • Before you design anything — bring us the vehicle details first.
  • The vehicle has aftermarket parts, existing graphics, or previous repairs.
  • It is leased, and you need to know about removal.
  • You are doing several vehicles and want them consistent.
  • You want coverage over windows.

None of these are a problem. They are the points where two minutes now saves a reprint later.

Start here

Tell us the vehicle first.

Year, make, model, trim, and a few photos. We will confirm what the template allows before you commit a layout to it.

  1. 1 Start your project
  2. 2 Tell us what you're creating
  3. 3 Receive your estimate
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