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How do you make a plain white 1993 Provost bus spectacular? Craig Cassel, owner of 5 Star Dance Studios, Indiana’s largest dance studio, came to TKO Graphix with this challenge. He wanted spectacular traveling advertisement for his organization, not the plain white bus he had. Something appealing to a wide demographic. Craig had some ideas for the design, but gave the TKO design team a lot of creative room. He wanted loud, eye-catching graphics, without losing the message. Craig wanted to piggyback the popularity of current dance contest TV shows, displaying dancers in a ballroom dance theme.

What Were The Project Challenges?

Many factors were considered. Images of dancing couples needed to be appealing, but not offensive to anyone. The design needed to appeal to men and women in all age groups. The benefits of dancing, convenient studio locations, and the 5 Star Dance Studio’s size needed to be communicated in the images.

Meeting the Challenge

To understand and meet the customer’s expectations, TKO’s design team involved 5 Star Dance Studio in the design process. Among other things, window film and reflective materials were incorporated. Once the design was completed, it was printed on an HP Turbo using 3M vinyl adhesive materials and 3M inks. The quality of installation required was critical and intricate. The first step was inspecting the vehicle for substrate damage such as rust, scars, dents, etc. Then, the installation team tested the surface with a paint adhesion test to determine if the decal would stick to the paint. What was the variation in surface height? Was it uniform, or were there highs and lows? And finally, a complete surface inspection. Were there unsound or damaged surfaces? Was it oily? Was there moisture behind the substrate? Had the exhaust damaged the surface?

Professional Installation

TKO’s experienced 3M certified installers were up to the challenge of this intricate application. Applying a two-dimensional design to a three-dimensional bus takes practice. Manually cutting around curves, windows, and trim molding — while wrapping around grates, over rivets, and removing equipment to wrap behind — were time consuming, but best practice. Precisely aligning the panels — in such an intricate design — is always challenging.

“We are proud to be a 3M™ MCS™ Certified Warranty Manufacturer, which means our customers receive consistent, outstanding products backed by 3M’s most comprehensive warranties. We are members of the United Application Standards Group (UASG), and master certified through the PDAA (Professional Decal Application Alliance), delivering the best installation services possible.” — About TKO Graphix

Do you have wrapped company vehicles? Are they effective? Is it time to re-think the message? Before you wrap your next vehicle, be sure you know what you want, who you want to reach, and who you trust to deliver their message. If you’d like to know more about avoiding vehicle wrap pitfalls, see 10 Questions to Ask About Fleet Graphics.

Who is Five Stars Dance Studio?

“Five Star Dance Studios is the largest adult dance studio in the Midwest offering the best ballroom dance lessons by certified staff! Having been established over forty years ago, we continue to provide the best ballroom dance lessons for dancers of all levels. We offer intensive adult dance lesson programs tailored to improve not only your dancing abilities, but to also develop socialization and cooperation skills.” — About Five Star Dance Studios Indianapolis

How Can we Help?

Are your fleet graphics boring? Do they put prospects to sleep? If so, would love to go to the big dance with you and your vehicle graphics! If we can answer any questions or offer our advice on logos, Contact Us.