In 2017, TKO Graphix installed fleet graphics on more than 60,000 vehicles. That’s a lot of vehicle graphics. One contract alone was 17,000 pieces. Although we designed a large percentage of the graphics, and formatted others, we didn’t create the artwork for every installation.

Some of the layouts we received were as good as it gets, others needed some guidance. Thank goodness our loyal client’s heed our advice because I see wraps on the road nearly every day where someone didn’t advise the designer. Here are a few of the most common mistakes DIY’s (do it yourselfer’s) make.

7 Deadly Fleet Graphics Design Sins

  • Too many words. Too much information is distracting. Vehicle graphics only have seconds to capture prospects attention. “Sometimes vehicles with fleet graphics are parked, but the wrap should be designed to be viewed at 65 MPH. You have seconds, only seconds.” — The Fleet Graphics 5 Second Rule.
  • Poor quality images. Low quality or non-vector images become pixelated, for example; when the image of your company’s founder is enlarged it becomes a blob of swirling color. “Vector graphics uses geometric shapes such as points or lines as the mathematical expression of the design. The shapes are assigned an exact position on the plane of the graphic where aspects such as color, shape, and thickness can be added. In this way, the size of the graphic can be increased without diminishing clarity or other qualities of the image.” — TKO Tech Talk: Vector Graphics
  • Too busy. When too many images, shapes, and colors are placed on one vehicle, it’s easy to lose the message in the confusion. And not only too many, but poor color contrast as well can ruin a vehicle graphic.
  • No unified branding. Your fleet vehicles should complement your overall brand. Branded colors, fonts, logos, and taglines should be the same across media including fleet graphics.
  • Hard to read fonts. Some fonts, such as italics, might be attractive, but if they’re difficult to understand the message is lost.
  • Grammar mistakes. Using your for you’re doesn’t make you look like your … I mean you’re … on top of your game.
  • Wrong vehicle specifications. Designing a vehicle graphic for a short bed pick up truck, and then attempting to apply it to a long bed doesn’t work.

So, Should You Self Design Your Own Fleet Graphics?

Probably not, and that’s why I listed the seven deadly vehicle graphic design mistakes. Think about it. DIY designers make these mistakes. Some make more than one. However, a professional vehicle graphics designer doesn’t make these mistakes. And there’s your answer. If you want to take advantage of the advertising opportunities fleet graphics offer, if you want to promote your brand, and if you want to present a professional image its simple – hire a pro – do not do it yourself. If you’d like to talk to a professional vehicle graphics design team, Contact Us, we’ve been designing top fight vehicle graphics since 1985. We don’t DIY we DIP (Do It Pro).

If you’d like a free estimate for your fleet or vehicle graphics; you can Request A Quote.

TKO Graphix is a national fleet and vehicle graphics company helping customers since 1985. We provide full-service graphic design, digital printing, screen printing, graphics installation, and removal of large format graphics.

We’re a fleet and vehicle graphics company and since 1985, we’ve been helping businesses, large and small, brand their fleet of tractor-trailers, service trucks and company vehicles. Whether you have a fleet of thousands or a few vehicles, we are here to lead you through the vehicle branding process.

TKO Graphix is a Certified 3M™ MCS™ Warranty graphics manufacturer. Our installation crews are 3M Certified and are employees of TKO Graphix, not sub-contractors.