You’d be surprised at how many small businesses find success from marketing their brand through vehicle wraps. If done correctly, a well-made vehicle wrap will catch the viewer’s attention and have them think of the promoted brand for days to come. But unfortunately, designing a decent vehicle wrap is easier said than done. This article will take you through the five critical steps of vehicle wrap design. These should set you up for designing good vehicle wraps on your own.

Guidelines for vehicle wrap design

Before we get into the specifics of creating vehicle wrap design, it is essential to note that creating marketing content is no trivial matter. It is rarely, if ever, enough to plaster your logo above a promotional message and call it design for a vehicle wrap. To do what it’s supposed to, you need to have the marketing know-how and the design skills. With this in mind, we will give you the basics of creating a decent design for a vehicle wrap. But keep in mind that input from experienced professionals should always be welcome and that no single article can teach you all you need to know about any type of marketing design.

Step 1: Prep work

Before you start designing, it is crucial to get your hands on the client’s vehicle template. No matter what your vehicle wrap design is like, you will have to fit it on a specific car. And the only way to make sure that the design will turn out as you’ve planned is to have the exact template. Keep in mind that vehicle wrap printing can cost around 75$ per hour, or 250$ in total. Therefore, it is both in your and your client’s interest to get everything right on the first go. If the client cannot provide you with the template, you can look for it online. Just try to get the model of the car right, as slight deviations can cause a lot of issues. Ask your client to provide you with high-quality photos of their vehicle from different angles. That way, you will know if there are any issues.

Secondly, you want to know where your clients would like to print their vehicles. Once you learn that, you can talk to the company and see what specifications they require. Don’t think that all companies use the same specifications. And don’t start working until you know which specifications are needed.

2: Find inspiration

With the technical details under your belt, you need to start finding inspiration. We will assume that you already have the client’s logo at hand and that you only need to find a way to incorporate it into a vehicle wrap. And while this sounds easy, know that most marketing managers spend the majority of the design process in this step. You need to find a way for your client’s logo to stand out yet easily fit with the client’s business image. It should be easy to appreciate and notice while the vehicle is going 60mph. We recommend that you check out various vehicle wrap designs on sites like Pinterest and Google. You are bound to run into something that sparks your imagination and that you can use.

3: Design

Once you have a good idea, you can look to apply it to the photos of your client’s vehicles. After the client okays your design, you can make it in the format required for printing. But, until that happens, you need to keep their expectations in check and your design easy to recreate. Mockup designs are terrific as they give you an easy way to show your client what your wrap will look like on their car.

4: Create a template

You will either use Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop to create a print template in most cases. Depending on what the printing company prefers to work with, you may need only to create vector files. In this case, Adobe Illustrator is your best choice. While making the template, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

• Your document color mode should be CMYK.
• Your document ppi should be 720.
• Use high-resolution photos of vehicles.
• Convert all fonts to outlines.
• Add between 5 and 10 in bleeds to every element of the template.

5: Deliver files

Once you are done, you can provide your client with the .psd or .ai file. In addition to that, you should also provide the uncompressed .tiff file of the vehicle wrap. If you’ve used any additional photos or images in your design, include them. If there is any need for adjustments, both you and the printing company can easily access them.

Final thoughts

While vehicle wraps can be a powerful marketing tool, they can never be the entirety of someone’s marketing. It needs to be well integrated with a more robust marketing strategy. This is why experts from WP Full Care advise that you take great care in how you create and outline your brand. It should be an integral part of every marketing aspect. Everything from your online presence to your vehicles should have your brand adequately integrated.

Finally, when it comes to vehicle wrap design in marketing, you should be aware of everything you can make use of. QR codes, for instance, can be easily placed on a vehicle so that they take the interested viewer to a website or an app. The more you think outside the box, the more effective your marketing stands to be.