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vehicle graphics: vital signs
Any constructive criticism welcome (or shoot it down in flames if you like). Don’t look too closely, I broke nearly every rule in the book – overlaps, grit under the vinyl, hair under the vinyl, air bubbles, not folding round door edges, sticking on rubber, wonky lines etc! Took me all day to do one side so I’ll be driving round like this for a while until I get another slow day.
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37 Replies
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Looks good mate.
Only thing I’d change is to reduce the phone numbers to give a bit more space between the word ‘signs’.
Its also against the law for signage on the front passenger/drivers window, other than that I probably would have used a really bright yellow for the text.
That said, I’d be happy to drive that around the place. Not too shabby at all really 😉
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as Shane said, the telephone numbers are too big. I’d change the font for the numbers and reduce them in size. 😀
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Gareth, Like Shane and Marcella have already said the numbers look a bit on the large side and would probably look a bit better if they were made smaller. I wouldn’t have used white either, just my own opinion but I would have used something like silver which I think looks much better but as I say that is just personal choice.
Just out of interest did you have any problems insuring it at all? I bought a renault espace a couple of months ago and when I went to get it insured the broker couldn’t decide if it should be insured as a car or a van because I would be carrying people about in it but also removing the seats to carry tools and equipment if needed.
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quote martin:couldn’t decide if it should be insured as a car or a van because I would be carrying people about in it but also removing the seats to carry tools and equipment if needed.
That’s interesting mate. Here, the insurance is for the purpose it was built for. If it is a designed to carry people, it must be registered and insured for that. If it is modified (ie seats removed) it must be certified by an engineer, and then it can be registered and insured as a van. If the seats are removed without certification, your insurance is void. If you register it as a van, and it has seats in it, the insurance can be void also.
Registration for a van is cheaper than a people carrier, so the temptation is to try and do the cheapest possible.
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Looks pretty darn good to me Warren. Same as has been said, 1st tel no smaller, otherwise personally I like it.
Well done!
Lorraine
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To be honest, all I could read upon first glance was "gns".
I thought it was for some company with initials in the titles. Then I saw the "i" and finally deduced that it said "signs".
I think you should reduce the size of that, as well as the phone number.
Love….Jill -
hi mate,
i like it loads, agree with thn number though and doit in silver, hairs under the vinyl?? laying it out on the floor at home, i know what its like!!
I have a unit now, you are more than welcome to call me if you need bench space to do the other side, or any other time, i know wre competition but theres enougth work out there…some where!
i was chatting top an old collegue of mine ade (adrian, think you might know him fromdial a sign.
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Thanks all! Food for thought.
Jonathan, yes you have been busy I see. Van, premises, cutomers, when’s the yacht and villa and Spain coming? Let me know!
I’ve only ever ‘spoken’ to Ade on here, I had no idea he worked for dial a sign.
Thanks for the offer of space, I’ll call up for a nose around one day.
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Jonathan,
If I knew where your unit was, of course!!
ps, I’m going to make the tel no. smaller, I was thinking of trying to make the car bigger but decided against it.
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Its on thornbury house rhiwbina , behind where the old monaco cimema was ill work out how to send you a private message with my numbers so you can pop over.
jof
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Shane, that was why I asked if Gareth had any problems. One of the selling points of the Espace when it came out was versatility. It is designed so the seats can be moved about and so they can be removed to give you more carrying space, they just clip in and out. I had a van before and was looking to buy another one but I can’t afford to run two vehicles so when I saw this for sale at a very cheap price I thought it would do both jobs, take the seats out to give myself space for work and then just clip them back in when needed.
All I need to do now is get someone to design some livery for me!!!!!!
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Martin,
I didn’t have any problem with insurance. I even asked if I could get commercial insurance for the people carrier and the chap on the phone said the only difference between private and commercial was that the vehicle contents would not be insured privately. I came to the conclusion that the most expensive piece of machinery I would ever be carrying regularly would be a scalpel so didn’t pursue it further. I could be wrong about all this but too much knowledge can cause problems so I’ll leave it as it is.
Cheers,
Gareth
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Gareth, I would check your policy if I were you, you may find that you are only insured for domestic and pleasure use which includes going to your place of work but not for you to use for your business itself. Not really a problem until you have an accident and all of a sudden the insurance company say your policy is not valid because you weren’t using it for the purpose it was intended. I don’t use the internet or phone round to find insurance as I prefer to use an insurance broker to ensure I am properly covered. Most of the people answering the phone at these call centres don’t really know what they are doing in my opinion and just tell you what you want to hear as its the easiest way.
I have mine insured as a business car which means I can use it for work as well as for domestic, costs a bit more but I am one of those people that doesn’t get away with anything so I make sure I keep myself right. -
Gareth I like it in general but would have made "signs" slightly smaller and less of a slant so it didn’t go so far on to the roof, like the font you’ve used, but also smaller phone numbers, the other side will be a different ball game 😀
didn’t see any grit or dog hairs nor did it seem wobbly 😀Lynn
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Gareth as a design I like it 😀 But maybe a little to big, phone numbers pissed on the slant and I have no idea what you are going to do on the other side, as this doesn’t turn over very well.
On the whole very nice :lol1:Peter
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Looks good, agree about the phone number thing.
As Martin says though, be very careful with the insurance cover as more than likely you have SDP inc commuting to your normal lace of work which won’t cover you visiting clients of carrying tools(not cover for the tools, but if carrying work tools around the insurance co would say you were using the vehicle for work purposes).
You want fun insuring, our two Land Rovers are 11 and 12 seats respectivly, most insurance companies will only cover a max of 8 seats (ie people carriers) plus both of ours are also insured for use in our business and one is also modified most insurance companies run for the hills but the NFU were great and had no problem with either of them, far cheaper than anywhere else as well.
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I guess I’d better phone my insurance company…..
The other side sort of just about works (gulp). I’ll post a pic when it’s done.
The tel no. is going to be smaller.
Nearly everyone thinks it’s too big, it probably is, but I’m going to leave it because I like that ‘too big for its space’ kind of thing.
Thanks all!
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Its worth checking Gareth because you could have an accident that is 100% someone else’s fault and their insurance company will not pay out because your vehicle shouldn’t have been on the road because it wasn’t insured properly.
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Martin,
My insurers tell me that I need to change to ‘Class 1 business use’ at no extra cost as I am the sole user of the vehicle for business. Does this sound ok? If there were staff etc I would have to upgrade to ‘extended business use’ which would involve a higher cost.
Gareth
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Gareth, if you have spoken to them and told them what you use the van for then I would imagine that you should be OK now. Like I said before when you speak to someone at the call centres they normally haven’t got a clue with something like this.
Good thing is now you are covered properly and won’t get a nasty shock if you need to make a claim at all.
I will have a look at my policy and see if it says class one business, I am the only one that drives it and I am a sole trader so theoretically it should be the same !!!
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Hi Gareth
Think it looks great…
yeah phone number is big but hey it will get seen!!!
think i saw you few weeks back in amari llanishen..
either that or you have a twin mate!?!
vehicle rings a bell but had no graphics oncheers
Ade -
hi Ade
Who does your embroidery? someone local? (mod-edit) so if you have a contact number let me know
cheers
jof
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Ade,
Aha! I thought it was you! Didn’t want to say though because I wasn’t totally sure. Jonathan tells me you work for (or used to) Dial a sign. Is this right? Did you go and work for Semaphore when they bought dial a sign? I know a couple of chaps who work there.
The tel no. is now smaller, I’ve only done the one side, it took bl**dy ages!
Cheers for now, if I see someone who I think looks a bit like you again I’ll say hello and see what happens….
Gareth.
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[quote="Jonathan McGovern"]hi Ade
Hi mate…
Hows things??
had my polo’s and jackets done by john evans clothing..
http://www.johnevansclothing.com 029 20497780
They do quality gear, price is not bad.. give them a ring..cheers
Ade -
[quote="Gareth Lewis"]Ade,
Hiya Gareth…
Yes it was you..ha thought so…
your the spitting image of yourself!!! ha
yeah started at Dial a sign in 1989, then semaphore bought the company out in april 2003 and i stayed till december 2005..
17 years in total…temporary job!! ha
Worked for a company in merthyr for few months then started up my own venture..Who do you know in Semaphore??
Ade
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Bob!
Robert Lloyd, who I worked with for some years before he went to Semaphore. Nice bloke.
Ben Jenkins, young ‘un with loads of vim ‘n’ vigour who I worked with for some months before he went to Semaphore.
Hang on, there’s a pattern forming here….
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hi Gareth
Yeah worked with Ben..
Were you the sign place next unit down to semaphore???
ben joined us from there!
Nice Lad, doing ok there i hear..
came into the vinyl room then went into another department doing just dry mounting..
think he is back in the vinyl room..
They do like to chop and change in semaphore!
I worked with Robert(bob)yep small world hey!!
Ade
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Ade,
Very, very small.
Yep that was me, if Ben ever said anything about a ‘very highly strung madman’ or (just a t i t) that he worked with that was me!
So what you calling yourself (sign company-wise I mean)?
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quote Gareth Lewis:I broke nearly every rule in the book – overlaps, grit under the vinyl, hair under the vinyl, air bubbles, not folding round door edges, sticking on rubber, wonky lines etc!You’re starting to worry me Gareth. 😀
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No need at all to worry John, I use only the best quality hair and grit, stays under there for between 5 and 7 years. The bubbles, I charge extra for.
No, seriously, I was stood there on the corner of my street in a high wind, holding a piece of shaped vinyl about 10 foot by 3 foot, trying to get it to stay on the car (wet) while I lined it up. I’m a stubborn b*st*rd, I could have asked any one of about ten neighbours, who were watching (laughing) from their windows, for help but I thought I could do it on my own. Silly me.
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Gareth, don’t take this the wrong way as I am only here to try and help where I can but it was really quite silly, Like it or not people will judge your work by your own vehicle and if that is not 100% then they will have doubts about using you. It’s not so bad with existing customers as they will already know the quality of your work but a new customer who is looking to use you for the first time could very easily be put off.
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quote Gareth Lewis:I thought I could do it on my own.
You’ll have to get the little fella to help you on Friday. 😀
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Martin,
It looks really great, honest! I know what you mean though.
John,
He was in the window giggling too! He’s 4 years old now, so not long and he can help all he wants. I wonder what the child labour laws are like these days, I was thinking of starting him on £1 an hour when he got to 6.
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Gareth, glad to hear that, I know some people not in sign industry that think to themselves as it is for them it won’t matter. Not just signage but things to do with their own industry. Rightly or wrongly you are judged by what people see and if someone sees a job that you have done for yourself thats not !00% then it puts doubts in their minds before you have the chance to show them how good you really are. As I say it applies to any industry not just this one.
As for child labour laws I am not sure they apply to family so you could start him now and just feed him a bowl of rice a week if you want :lol1:
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A small bowl though, surely!
Sensible words again Martin, thankyou
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Hi Gareth..
Yeah ben said good things mate..said you were mad!!! :lol1: 😛
the company is called Dragon Graphics..cheers
Ade
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i quite like it dude ! i might have made it a little smaller (‘signs’) just so as to not lose the S so much, but otherwise it’s good, never easy putting large floods (or decals / whatever) across a vehicle with lots of different directions to follow,
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