Church Van Wrap: Vehicle Wrap Design – Showing, Not Telling

The vehicles that we wrap serve all kinds of different purposes once they leave our production facility and hit the streets. A trailer wrap for a contractor hauls heavy supplies and materials to job sites. The ice cream cart wrap serves frosty treats. A van wrap for the Animal Welfare Association will bring animals to and from shelters. The list grows with every new vehicle wrap project that we take on. We’re happy to add a new kind of vehicle wrap to that list, a church van wrap for the Gloucester County Community Church.

This church van wrap is all about simplicity. A logo, a picture of the church, and some very simple contact information on a blue sky background.  Brad, the marketing representative for the church, was delighted by how the design looked on the van. “The church is at an angle, so when you’re in front of it, it looks just like this, with sky in the background,” he told us while picking up the newly wrapped van.

Brad didn’t want his wrap van to be what he referred to as a “white sheep” – a plain white van with some simple lettering. I don’t know if he’s been reading our blog posts on the importance of graphics, or if Brad is just  particularly savvy, but he definitely had the right idea! While the church could have gotten away with simple lettering, the use of graphics, and the bright sky blue make a much bigger impact than plain lettering.

Aside from the visual impact created by the colors and shapes, there’s also the way that the images convey information about the church without making use of wordy copy. Using pictures rather than words to tell your story is a great branding strategy.

You might be asking yourself, “What story? It’s just a logo and a building,” but these two graphics actually carry a lot of information.  The logo’s use of religious imagery tells viewers something about beliefs of the church. For example, a lamb has different connotations than a chalice or a torch. Then there’s the building itself. Including and address on a vehicle wrap is important, but adding a picture of your physical location is a great way to make a more lasting impression. 

What do you think of wraps that place more emphasis on images than copy? Are you a fan, or do you prefer reading to visuals? Let's get a discussion started in the comments!