new caddy designs for our company

[Clem]

Friends!

I'd like to utilize some of your design/ layout skills, be the Daniel San to your collective Miyagi, as it were.

I've spent an hour or so getting a layout for our new caddy to this level.. then spent another hour and a half staring at the roof, boot and bonnet trying to get them to work & thinking how much i hate them. nothing i'v yet done has seemed ok. I know i haven't spent much time on it ( i have to design it while obviously getting paying jobs through.. the stop/ start isn't really conducive to an effective workflow IMO) but i'd really be keen to get some fresh ideas from design peers.
The information on each elevation is pretty well set, just positioning and graphic elements to be settled on.

Thanks for taking the time to look
- James

 

[shoresigns]

Pretty good. Not much to complain about except the unoriginal font for your logo, which I've now mentioned 3 times today

 

[Clem]

I think it looks pretty neat.

Couple of things that jump out to me (since you asked)

-The proximity of all the elements makes it look a little cluttered and busy. What if you slightly reduced the size of the logo, moved the phone number below, then moved the services down and gave them all some space to breathe?
i tired something similar with a logo version that didnt have the .com, orders from the top though..

-The blue logo gets a little lost surrounded by the the blue backround - what if you added a white outline and drop shadow to make it "jump" off the backround a bit?
I think i'll try with a white outline, it has a drop shadow already but it's pretty faint.
Thanks for the kind words & suggestions!

- James

 

[Clem]

Pretty good. Not much to complain about except the unoriginal font for your logo, which I've now mentioned 3 times today

Hahahaha, concielian Jet in full effect! Unfortunately i can't even take the credit for it, she was here waiting for me when i started the job.
Could always be worse tho right? could've been all caps old english logo type, with a dash of papyrus and bleeding cowboy for the tagline & contact info; all in green on a red background!

 

[jaylem]

caddy graphics

Awesome progress to the project. It sounds like if you are able to implement the changes based on PW's critique you should have a home run.

I know that time management is always tuff for me. You had mentioned time that you had spent on different areas of the wrap. That had made me think,"what is the value of the roof graphics?" There's a phrase that I had picked from a highly successful commercial builder years ago,"risk-reward." When I think about the roof graphics, your risk is the time spent and the reward is the value of the roof graphics. What is return on your investment using roof graphics? I understand continuing the color scheme and a wrapping the roof, but is a message going to effective on the roof.

 

[2B]

Awesome progress to the project. It sounds like if you are able to implement the changes based on PW's critique you should have a home run.

I know that time management is always tuff for me. You had mentioned time that you had spent on different areas of the wrap. That had made me think,"what is the value of the roof graphics?" There's a phrase that I had picked from a highly successful commercial builder years ago,"risk-reward." When I think about the roof graphics, your risk is the time spent and the reward is the value of the roof graphics. What is return on your investment using roof graphics? I understand continuing the color scheme and a wrapping the roof, but is a message going to effective on the roof.[/QUOTE]


+1 am wondering the same thing

 

[Bly]

Come on who doesn't use Google Earth to look for a sign company?

 

[Billct2]

I like the design, but the first impression I get is Bottled Water or Pool Service

 

[Clem]

hahaha ok, to answer jaylem, 2B & Bly:

My job is giving the client what they want.. usually;
Marketing strategies and job justification aren't boxes i have to tick every time.

Also, having it here fully wrapped is a good selling point from my office, which is second storey. Clients love that.

The other side is people coming in for aesthetic mods, no commercial purpose eg. matte/ gloss black roofs which are hugely popular over here at the moment, they can see it before they even come in and have to ask if we do them, they just ask how much and when they can book in mostly.

ALL that being said, i do agree with you personally, i cant think of once i've recommended that we add roof graphics, and seeing as they're obviously going to be one of the first components to go i don't see the point for 90% of jobs.

 

[GAC05]

I like the design, but the first impression I get is Bottled Water or Pool Service

I had a similar impression



wayne k
guam usa

 

[bob]

hahaha ok, to answer jaylem, 2B & Bly:

My job is giving the client what they want.. usually;...

Any semi-literate scissorbill with a minimally functional set of ears and primitive synthesis and typographical skills can give a client what they want. The object is to give the client what it needs and, if necessary, convince it that's what it really wants.

Your van design is pedestrian. It appears to be some sort of stock background, or combination of same, and a bit of desperately amateur typography. It's imminently forgettable.

 

[Clem]

Any semi-literate scissorbill with a minimally functional set of ears and primitive synthesis and typographical skills can give a client what they want. The object is to give the client what it needs and, if necessary, convince it that's what it really wants.

Your van design is pedestrian. It appears to be some sort of stock background, or combination of same, and a bit of desperately amateur typography. It's imminently forgettable.

I left my thesaurus at home, but bare with me..
First off, i would think that giving artistic direction to clients would go without saying.. but obviously not.
i totally agree with most of what you've said, unfortunately us scissorbills sometimes get set design briefs, or direct word from our bosses, who have no design experience and have the final say in what goes on the company vehicles. I am always open to making suggestions to clients/ bosses, but for some reason i stop short of berating them for not having the same knowledge i do.

it's not a stock background, it's just layered vector shapes with some water droplets and blend modes, the water drops were supposed to convey a clean glass surface i guess, as we do tinting, glass/ paint protection films, graphics (obv), retro van windows and also the hodrophobic glass coatings. That being said, since when are stock graphic sources the enemy? They have great solutions & inspiration for designers, in fact one of my favourite thing to do with them is to find something i dont know how to replicate and learn based off the image. Skills i wouldnt have otherwise, but maybe i'm just being open-minded..

I am sorry though, I seem to have offended you by not being as amazing as maybe you'd like me to be..
If you'd like to make any constructive suggestions now that you've got that out of your system feel free

 

[eahicks]

Main thing I see is your top view doesn't correspond to what you have on the sides. In other words, the transition of the top of your sides doesn't blend in to the top like you show there. Not sure how you plan to do that.

 

[TXFB.INS]

I had a similar impression

wayne k
guam usa

+1 a see the same thing

the name/url gets lost with it being overlaid on the logo

Main thing I see is your top view doesn't correspond to what you have on the sides. In other words, the transition of the top of your sides doesn't blend in to the top like you show there. Not sure how you plan to do that.

your aviator shows the good matches the roof, the new design does not do so.

since you are on the second floor the vehicle needs to match all sizes as it will be used as a selling point.

 

[eahicks]

your aviator shows the good matches the roof, the new design does not do so.

since you are on the second floor the vehicle needs to match all sizes as it will be used as a selling point.

Sorry. I can't gather any sense from this statement.

 

[TXFB.INS]

That comment was directed at altapac and his avatar, sorry for the misdirect

 

[Jillbeans]

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
That refers to a dog licking itself, but also water droplets and mediocre typography.

Your bizname is very vague to start with. The "stuff" you've put into that wrap, as others have said, make me think of a refreshing can of cold beer or a dip in a swimming pool. You need to make it more specific (without changing your name) or at the very least, extremely clear at a glance what it is that you do. Without cluttered text. Yes, it's not bleeding cowboys, but it's not appealing in any way.

I would change up the blue to a totally different non swimming pool color.
Put a bulleted list of services on the back only. I would make "GRAPHICS" pretty big under your logo.
Love....Jill

 

[GB2]

Without going into the small details I agree with most of what has been said already. One thing though, you have a very symetrical design but on the hood, top and back the lines are not straight nor symetrical and to me that part looks sloppy, plus the fact that it doesn't line up with the sides.

So beyond that I think you've missed the first objective of a wrap of this type and that is to convey the message. The name of your company doesn't help but the graphics don't relate. I can hear the conversation now of the people in the car next to you as they pass by:

Wow, did you see that truck? That was kinda cool.
What was it?
I dunno...a bunch of blue stuff.
Well, what did it say, what was the name of the company?
Umm....Al something. You know what, I bet they were like a grooming company for Alpacas, those things that look like Llamas. They probably come out to your house and wash down Alpacas, like give them a bath.
Wow...that's neat! I never saw anything like that before.
Yea....cool!

 

[sardocs]

I like the blue/silver color combination, but giant magnified bubbles might not be the perfect choice for a graphic film installer. I think a texture in correct scale would make a more neutral background, rather than a zoomed up image.