How to Design Your Own Magnetic Car Sign

Designing a magnetic business sign for your car, van or other kind of vehicle means you can advertise your business on the go – quick and easy to apply with minimal effort required! The right magnetic vehicle graphic stands out as you’re driving around and makes people want to find out more – transforming a regular vehicle into a professional-looking advertisement. Here are our top tips on how to design your own car sign magnet.

1. Contrast the Colours

   The key to any kind of advert design is to grab attention – and the easiest way to do that is to use contrasting colours. You won’t always be stuck in traffic, which means passers-by or other drivers may only have a few seconds to see your message. Contrasting the background colour of your design with the font colour is the most effective way to make your magnetic sign easy to read.
   
   Examples of good contrasting colours for your design’s colour palette include black and white, blue and orange, purple and yellow, and pink and grey. 
   
   Not only should the colours of your design contrast against each other, they should also contrast with the colour of your vehicle. A common design flaw for magnetic signs is using a colour that’s too similar to your car paint. We’re not saying you have to clash, but using a colour that stands out from the background that is your car is a great way to grab attention on the go.
   
    

2. Choose Large Fonts

   Whether it’s your company name and phone number or you add your slogan to your design, you need to make sure your important details can be seen from a distance. If you can, prioritise your business name and contact details over any other text – this will be the most useful to potential customers because it will show them who you are and how to find out more.
   
   Examples of fonts that are bold and easy to read include Futura, Franklin Gothic, Trajan and Helvetica.
   
    

3. Add Your Logo

   Your logo is one of the most recognisable parts of your brand, which is why it’s so important to include it on any type of advert – and especially so on your magnetic sign which will be used outside of your place of business. 
   
   If the goal of printing your own magnetic car sign is brand awareness, and if your logo includes the name of your business, that could be all your design needs! Print it as large as you can on your sign and let your logo do the talking.
   
    

4. Prioritise Quality

   There’s nothing worse than spending money on advertising signs for your business and the quality being so low that it actually makes you look untrustworthy and kind of cheap. By choosing a trusted printer, like instantprint, that’s one step to creating high quality print that shows your business at its best.
   
   The next step is to only use high resolution images. Check your image properties on your computer before adding it to your design and make sure the resolution is at least 300dpi, which is what we recommend for high quality printing.
   
    

5. Inject Some Humour

   There’s nothing people love more than a good pun. If it suits your brand, adding a joke or pun to your sign. For example, a chimney sweep’s hilarious van sign caught attention in the media and on Facebook for offering apprentices under the age of 6 gruel and the chance to meet Dick Van Dyke.
   
    

6. Position Your Sign

   The final step is to choose whereabouts on your vehicle you want your sign to go. For cars, we recommend adding your magnetic sign to the driver or passenger door – this is a great way to brand your vehicle to the general public. 
   
   With a van, there’s a bigger surface area, meaning more choice. Either place the sign on the side of the van, or on the back. The benefit of adding your sign to the back of your van is that, when you’re stuck in traffic, the vehicle behind you are guaranteed to see it!
   
    

7. Design Your Own Magnetic Car Sign Online

   Now you’ve got an idea of what to include on your sign, it’s time to be creative! You can use our free online design tool to customise magnetic signs online. To do this, choose a template or click ‘Create Your Own’. Use the tools to add text, images and shapes, and change the colours. You can upload your own images, such as your logo for a personalised finish that suits your brand. 
   
    

We’d love to see your finished designs! Take a picture of your magnetic sign on your car or van and tag us on Twitter or Instagram @instantprintuk for a chance to be featured on our channel.