April 12, 2021

The Vinyl Guys’ team gets creative to help a trade customer make a big impression…

‘What makes a good vehicle livery,’ is a question that’ll meet with a variety of answers dependent upon the views of those whom you ask. ‘Who makes them’ will meet a a view too and it’ll be delivered with a lot more commitment, particularly if you’re questioning any of The Vinyl Guys’ customers.

The Vinyl Guys is run by Alex Liggett and his team from its recently occupied new HQ in Stafford. It’s a company that brings a very fresh perspective to design as it applies to signage and graphics, and it’s respected for its production and application expertise too.

The Vinyl Guys has a pretty wide-ranging repertoire in terms of the output it offers to its customers. Among its products are packages of statutory ‘stickers,’ custom designed, which are sold to the trades to help, for example, electricians, put the finishing touches to testing and inspection jobs. The Vinyl Guys recently supplied just such a pack to a ‘sparky’ who found them on Instagram. He was happy with his stickers and had a question:

‘Do you do vehicle graphics, too?’

That question met with the right answer and design ideas began the process of exchange. It turns out, the customer wanted something with wrap-like impact and coverage in terms of design and The Vinyl Guys are nothing if not resourceful when it comes to keeping customers satisfied. They didn’t just tick all of the customer’s boxes on his wish list, they did so at a price he was delighted to pay. 

The design benefits from the fact the van was already covered with its original glossy-black OEM paint finish - one of the best in terms of being a basis for contrast. To the potent brew, The Vinyl Guys added the boldest of strokes in the form of a brush-splash of generous proportions in a contrasting mid-grey. 

It only looks printed.

The swoosh is in fact all vector-based and hence cut-and-applied. ‘Cut and Applied’ is a very convenient descriptor that totally ignores weeding. Every detail in the complex swoosh had to be liberated from the surrounding material before it could be applied. The team had a very compliant partner in the shape of the Metamark M7 SignVinyl they decided to use for the job.

Once applied, the swoosh transformed the vehicle and turned it from an admittedly good looking black van into something that qualifies as a real head-turner. The customer’s ID of course forms part of the applied livery and, all said and done, DKC Electrical now has a very potent means of promoting itself.

It’s remarkable how much impact intelligent and creative design can deliver when the need and intent is understood. Modern materials, in the right hands in this case have genuinely moved the idea of what makes a good trade livery to a higher place. It’s another brilliant piece of work from The Vinyl Guys. 

Just ask the customer.