Can someone understand your vehicle graphics before the light turns green?

A commercial vehicle doesn’t have much time to make an impression.

Someone may see your truck while passing in the opposite direction, sitting two cars behind you at a traffic light or walking through a parking lot. In many cases, you might have only a few seconds to communicate who you are, what you do and how someone can find you.

That’s the idea behind what we call The Five-Second Test.

Look at your vehicle from the perspective of someone who has never heard of your company before. Give them five seconds and then ask three questions:

What is the name of the company? What do they do? How would I find them?

If those answers aren’t immediately obvious, the design may be trying to do too much.

HIERARCHY MATTERS.

One of the biggest mistakes in commercial vehicle graphics is treating every piece of information as equally important. Phone numbers, websites, QR codes, service lists, slogans, license numbers, social handles and promotional messages all start competing for attention.

Instead, we like to think about the information in a very simple order:

1. COMPANY NAME
Who are you?

2. WHAT YOU DO
Roofing. Plumbing. Landscaping. Electrical. HVAC. Whatever it is, don't make people figure it out.

3. A MEMORABLE VISUAL
Color, typography, photography, illustration or another recognizable graphic element that helps the vehicle—and the company—stick in someone's memory.

4. HOW TO FIND YOU
A simple website, phone number or other easy-to-remember contact method.

Everything else should earn its place.

YOUR VEHICLE IS MOVING.

That sounds obvious, but it's surprisingly easy to forget when designing graphics on a computer screen.

A designer can sit six feet away from a monitor and study a vehicle rendering for several minutes. The person driving 40 mph in the lane next to your van doesn't have that luxury.

The best commercial vehicle graphics aren't necessarily the ones with the most information. They're the ones that communicate the right information fastest.

So the next time you look at your company vehicle, don't stare at it.

Give it five seconds.

Do you know who they are? Do you know what they do? Do you know how to find them?

If the answer is yes, the design is doing its job.

Article by Jason Scott | WrapJax Co-Founder