New lettering for my trailer

[KirbysLawn]

Been playing with my software and think I have found a nice layout. If you have any helpful suggestions feel free to share. I know, my tire is flat. :)

Ray

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=797437&a=5796254&p=32508656&Sequence=0&res=high

[bob]

Look's good. Does this mean that you are going through with the name change? How about some kind of optical illusion on the back of your trailer, like lawn stripes . Can't wait until Stone makes some changes to your photo!

[Lawnworks]

I like the lawn pics on your trailer. That is a good idea.

[Nathan]

just curious where did you find the person to do the graphics application and how much did it cost.

[jasonp]

like the slogan same one i use on my business cards

[dhicks]

The lettering is similar to the lettering we use at EGS. I like it.

[Barkleymut]

Kirby, It looks great. I love the way Management Inc. is in that super bright yellow/green. The only suggestion is make your phone #'s easier to read. If the potential customer sees your awesome design but can't see the phone number then it is all wasted. Try it a little larger and maybe block letters and bolded. By the way your tire's flat.

[thelawnguy]

How are those colors going to look after 9 months of fading in the sun? Something to think about.

[John DiMartino]

The trailer looks excellent-I love the lawn stripes-I think you do need to increase the size of the phone# and the thickness so its clearly visable from a good distance.That tire is only flat on the bottom-no big deal.

[landscaper3]

Looks real nice or will look real nice dont forget the tailgate!!!

[trimmasters]

Just a couple ideas for you:

1: I read your post on how you wish to look like a big national company. That being said I would not have two phone numbers on the trailer,as this gives it away that it is a one man show. What I would do is keep the office number and get call forwarding service from the phone company. this way there is only one number to for potential customers to remember plus you can still get the calls on the road. Also think about a toll free number to replace the local number, make it easy to remember as most viewers exposure time is a split second window on the road(ex. 1800 GO UNION)it also greatly enhances the corporate look.

2: think about replacing those pictures on the side with something splashier (don't take this offensively, your work looks outstanding!) try things like truegreen dose with the happy dog on the lawn or the smiling family on the lawn. These are designed to make people feel in a happy, at ease mood when thinking of your company.

I know how it goes trying to look like the big national CO's and let me tell you it gets you in the door for all the big jobs. we came in to two new markets this year with the big look, this is what happened: with all the marketing we did we had other companies scared that we were a big national, I even received some upset phone calls from the other CO's that we took away there top spots in the yellow pages (tuff luck, thats business) In all forms of customer relations we act like the biggest and the best. we spent thousands on ads, yellow pages, trade show displays etc. we looked like the bigest players in town, while in fact our sales for the previous year were under $75,000 grand. well it all paid off in the end, just shy of $500,000 to date. We are putting together the plan for 2 more markets for the coming season with the same ideas......go in looking like the biggest and the best and thats just how you'll come out. I would be happy to help you any way I can, feel free to give me a call.


John W Bell
President
Trim Masters, Inc.
1-888-901-TRIM

[trimmasters]

In my long winded reply I forgot to mention your tires flat :)

~John

[KirbysLawn]

First,everyone I know my tire is flat, I stated that in my first post. ;)

Nathan, I did the graphis myself, the trailer is not lettered yet, what you see is just computer editing.

Bill, the vinyl I use is a 7 year high quality vinyl. The current vinyl has been on for over a year with no fading.

John, thanks for all of your effort and time in the reply, wow. I will take your advise and consider my options.

I will increase the size of the phone number and fix the flat ASAP. :) I have edited all sides, I will post a link tomorrow.

Ray

[Grasscape Inc]

Don't put too much clutter on the trailer, it leads the eye around, and makes you important things(name ans Phone #) hard to pick out.

[KirbysLawn]

Here is a link to a photo of the back http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=797437&a=5796254&p=32573941&Sequence=0&res=high. For those of you who use a toll free number, who do you use?

[ronslawncare]

very nice it realy stands out nice job

[trimmasters]

Kirby, I must have got you thinking on the toll free idea. We use Quest communications for our toll free services. They have excellent customer service with a low rate of 6 1/2 cents per minute. You can reach them at 1-877-375-4448. The pic of the back of the trailer looks good, although I would cover up the haulmark logo as it draws attention from yours.

John W Bell
President
Trim Masters, Inc
1-888-901-TRIM

[Runner]

Hey, Ray? If you REALLY want your phone number to stand out, try offsetting it. with a shadow behind it and to one side (sort of diagonally down) like to the lower left. This ALWAYS makes it easier to read because it's more pleasing to the eye. Better definition. You MAY even want to consider that with your name! Everything else looks great!

[bondlawn]

Ray, I'm really impressed! The package looks very professional. Sure has made me start thinking about my image - John Bell's sales volume also got me to thinking. I'm going to have to make some changes around here. Thanks for the prod guys.

[KirbysLawn]

John, how would 1-866-Pro-Lawn sound?

[Skookum]

Ray,

As a trained graphic artist I have a few ideas. First your mockup looks good. It is balanced, clean, precise, stable. There is really nothing wrong with it. Do not take this wrong way, this is just another way to look at it. But, it looks like any other trailer with lettering.

Going down the road or sitting along the road as someone drives by, you only have a quick few seconds to get your message and image across. You want something that makes your reader's brain kick into auto overdrive, so that they will not only notice and read the message, but they will remember it also.

White negative space (unused areas) are good, but when combined with balanced type they tend to be a slight boring and your reader's mind will read and quickly move on. Since you are lucky enough to have this available on your computer, play with it more. Try not to type a letter in a since, try moving your company name on a more scewd angle to the back, the front, etc.. Try it by maybe a few unlikely placements with your lettering. Move graphics off the trailer a bit. Your reader can get the "Sun" idea by just seeing a small protion of the same graphic.

What I see in my head is "Union Turf" in a bigger slightly heavier font (unless this is your logo you have had for a while) running from the left bottom towards the top right at about the middle, say in a 45 degree angle.

Make your "Sun" graphic about fifty times bigger and place it in the upper right corner so only about 1/3 of it is on the trailer from about the top middle to the front half way up.

"Management Inc." just about the same size it currently is in your mockup, in the same 45 degree angle as company name, placed just below it but not centered to "Uion Turf". Instead have it more to the end so it ends just below the "F" in "Turf"

Place ONE phone number level across the bottom just above the fender in a bold easy to read font so it is about say 10" tall that would run from about the middle of the trailer to the front, just put area code and number.

Your catch line "For all Your Lawncare Needs", place it just about in the middle, level and horizontal, in just a little bit bigger type, running from about the middle to the front of the trailer.

I would not have the "stripping" pictures on the trailer unless you could afford to do say, the lower half of the entire trailer as another layout idea. If you want to keep them on the trailer, put them or just one big one on the back door.

I know that to many, such off balanced layouts seem hard to read, etc... But you force your reader to look then read, they spend more brain time and power on your layout forcing them to remember it all in a matter of seconds. Try not to be ordinary! By having this on your computer, you can at least try out several different ways. If you decide to go with what you have, It looks good too!

I am always available to critique any layouts. It just helps others think in a different direction that might have slipped them by.

Good Luck!



[Edited by skookum on 11-08-2000 at 02:40 PM]

[trimmasters]

1-866-PRO-LAWN

The PRO LAWN part is grate. The problem arises with the 1-866 prefix, to be honest I have never heard of it till now. 888 & 877 are just starting to be recognized and I assume it will take a great deal of time before 866 achieves the same recognition among people. I would say go for it as once 866 becomes mainstream you will have an easily recognizable number.

On a side note

1800 pro lawn is owned by a company called, guess what, Pro Lawn (I wold be somewhat concerned that your customers would misinterpret the 866 and reach this CO instead. Also I don't know if there would be a legality with your number.

1888 pro lawn
1877 pro lawn are both disconnected but not listed as available. There is always a chance you could get in contact with the company's in possession of these numbers and offer to purchase its use from them

John W Bell
President
Trim Masters
1-888-901-TRIM

[KirbysLawn]

IS this something like you were describing?

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=797437&a=5796254&p=32781847&Sequence=0&res=high

[John DiMartino]

I liked the stripes on the rear part of the trailer-not as catchy now.BTW-you still havent fixed your flat.

[jaclawn]

My thoughts- Looks good, a few suggestions though, some have been mentioned.

-Lose the cellular number. Have it on your business cards if you want, not on the trailer.
-Personally, I don't like the pics. It is just my opinion. I have seen some on some vehicles around here, and most looked tacky. Not to say that your lawn pics don't look good.
-If you have your heart set on having the pics, don't make them square. MAybe a pic of a house with the lawn in front, and have the pic cut out to the outline of the house.

-On the 45 degree logo, make the sun half off the corner of the trailer.

-Make the Logo larger.

-Do you really need a toll free #? This has been discussed in the past. Unless you are trying to cover a large geographical area, it may not be worth the cost.

[KindGardener]

Boy, you guys are really setting the bar up there for tje rest of us!

And I just bought some paint so my trailer would match my truck... thought THAT would really do it!

I guess I need to find a graphics person to create a logo for my side panels & tailgate (my trailer is open-6x10)

Great ideas so far... having the digital image of the trailer really helps visualize the finished look.

re: the flat... Cant' you just cut-n'-paste the front tire over the rear one?

Will Johnson
The Kind Gardeners

[Skookum]

RAY,

On the right track.

It might be hard to do with your software, but If you can make your "sun" graphic huge and use like 1/4 of it like a piece of pie (mask out the other 3/4). Move it to the other end, toward the tongue, basically cover the side door and upper front corner of the trailer with the sun image.

I like the italic "Management, Inc.", that would even look good on the "Union Turf", it shows movement. The "Union Turf" should be huge also, should cover 2/3 - 3/4 of the trailer, basically everything back from the "Sun" graphic.
The type style really needs to be something heavier, bolder, bigger. ie: Revue, Rockford, Cooper Black, Futura Extra Black, any really bold letter. If you do not want to change it for logo reasons, then just try making it bigger.

For the phone number, use a type that has all the letters and numbers the same size, cover the entire bottom of the trailer from where you have it start now over to the side door. You want this to really stand out. A display font like Stadium, Colligate, Cooper, or Revue make really good phone number fonts. About the size of your slogan and web address combined as they are would be a good height for the phone number.

As for the slogan and web address just move them down to fit between the bigger logo and sun when you have them placed.

I personally do not like the photos. But that is me. I see them as a distraction and hard to see as the trailer is moving by or from a distance. On the back door where a car is following, or at a stop, would work better than on the sides.