The most common ute signage we see is a logo on each door and a phone number on the tailgate in a font chosen because it looked tough. It’s not wrong, exactly. It’s just doing about a third of what it could.
Your vehicle works in two very different situations: moving through traffic, and parked outside a job or at the servo for twenty minutes. Good vehicle signage is designed for both, and they need different things.
Moving: two seconds, three things
In traffic, people see your vehicle for a moment, often at an angle, often while they’re driving too. The same rules apply as for any signage that has to read from the road: big, simple and high contrast.
Plan for three things at most:
- Your name or logo
- What you do, in a few words (“Electrician”, “Plumbing and gas”, “Landscape construction”)
- Maybe the area you cover (“Ballina to Byron”)
If your business name already says what you do, you’ve saved a line. “Coastal Electrical” doesn’t need “Electrician” underneath in the same size. “Coastal Group” does.
Parked: this is where the detail goes
A parked vehicle is a stationary sign that neighbours walk past and study. This is when people actually note a website or phone number, take a photo of it, or look you up. It’s also when people have time to act on it. Someone stuck behind you at the lights might remember your name. Someone whose neighbour has your ute in the driveway for three days can copy down your number.
So the parked view can carry more:
- Phone number, large enough to read from the footpath
- Website, short and spelled out exactly as people should type it
- Licence number, if you’re licensed
- A short list of services (three or four, not twelve)
- A QR code on the rear or near the side door, at a height people can reach with a phone
On the licence number: in NSW, licensed contractors generally have to show their licence number in advertising, and plenty of tradies treat the vehicle as advertising for that purpose. Our article on showing your licence number in NSW covers the detail, and NSW Fair Trading has the official rules. Treat this as general information and check what applies to your trade.
Where each thing goes on the vehicle
Every vehicle has awkward bits: door handles, fuel caps, panel gaps, ribbed tray sides, toolboxes and roof racks that cover half the cab. Design to the actual vehicle, not to a generic outline. Photograph each side square-on, measure the flat areas and give those to your designer.
A layout that works on most utes and vans:
Sides. The biggest flat area carries the name and what you do, as large as the panel allows. On a van, that’s the main side panel behind the cab. On a ute, it’s often the doors, and the canopy or tray sides if they’re flat. Keep text clear of handles and panel gaps, which break up letters.
Rear. This is the view people stare at in traffic and car parks, so it’s the best place for the phone number and website. On a ute with a canopy, the rear of the canopy is prime. On a tailgate, keep text above the bumper line, where it won’t be covered by a tow bar or dirt.
Front. Usually just the name or logo on the bonnet or above the windscreen, if at all. Reversed text for rear-view mirrors is a fun idea that rarely reads well.
Windows. Perforated window film lets you print across rear windows while still seeing out. Talk to your installer about which windows can legally be covered and how much it affects visibility at night.
Wraps, part wraps or cut decals
There’s no right answer here, only trade-offs. This is how we’d compare them.
| Cut vinyl decals | Part wrap | Full wrap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Individual letters and logos cut from coloured vinyl | Printed vinyl over part of the vehicle, often the rear half or lower panels | Printed vinyl over the whole vehicle |
| Best for | Simple, bold branding on a white or solid-colour vehicle | Strong visual impact on a budget | Fleet consistency, a striking look, or a vehicle colour you couldn’t otherwise get |
| Cost | Lowest | Middle | Highest |
| Design freedom | Limited to solid colours and shapes | Photos and colour on the wrapped areas | Anything, across every panel |
| Changing details | Easy to remove or replace parts | Moderate | Usually means reprinting panels |
| Watch out for | Can look sparse if under-designed | Where the wrap ends needs careful design | Busy designs that don’t read at distance |
A few practical notes from seeing a lot of these:
- A white ute with good decals often beats a bad full wrap. The money is in the design, not the square metres of vinyl.
- Photos rarely read on a moving vehicle. A wrap covered in images of your work can look great parked and like visual noise in traffic. Use them on the parked-view areas, not behind your name.
- Consider resale and leases. Vinyl generally removes cleanly from original factory paint, but resprayed panels can lift. If the vehicle is leased, check what the lease says before you start.
- Get a proof on a photo of your actual vehicle. Every installer should be able to show you a mock-up on your model.
Make it match everything else
Your ute, uniforms, quotes, website and Google profile should look like the same business. If the vehicle uses one colour scheme and the website another, people don’t connect them. That consistency is a big part of what makes a tradie brand stick.
If your brand needs refreshing anyway, do it before the vehicles. Signwriting a fleet and then rebranding six months later is an expensive way to learn that lesson. On brand projects like our branding for Cleaning for Good in Byron Bay, we check how the logo will sit on vehicles and uniforms before anything is signed off.
What to send your designer
To get good artwork in one or two rounds, send:
- Make, model and year of each vehicle, plus canopy or tray details
- Square-on photos of each side, the rear and the front
- Measurements of the main flat panels
- Your logo files (vector, not a JPG)
- The exact wording, phone number, website and licence number
- Which installer you’re using, so artwork can be supplied in their preferred format
If you want ute or van signage designed properly the first time, our graphic design service handles vehicle artwork and works directly with your installer. If you’ve got a new ute coming, book a time to talk it through before it goes to the installer.