By Bob Behounek
Posted on Saturday, June 21st, 2025
When the snow finally melted in late spring, most of the local trucks had been washed clean of road grit. All of a sudden, truck signage was visible again. Once again, I tried my hand at understanding some of the business advertising on the vehicles that passed me by.
Right off the bat, I knew it was going to be a challenge. Most trucks require that I really focus my attention on them. Maybe it’s just me, but most vehicle graphics seem to be more cluttered today. Maybe it’s my age. It just seems more difficult to quickly get the primary message of most vehicle ads.
Most of the trucks I saw had too much text, text that was too small, colorful backgrounds that overwhelmed the text or just poorly thought-out designs and colors. I know that in every case, of course, the sign person had certain criteria that affected the final outcome of the design. The client’s desires and demands often have a negative effect on a layout.
But we can still use our design skills and common sense to take control of the design to help insure that the client gets the advertising they need. Some of the trucks I saw could have done with a “soft sell” approach—one that didn’t make waves or a major graphic statement. Others could have been designed to make a powerful statement—you know, everything big, with strong contrasts of size and color.
I did some before-and-after quick sketches (with the names altered, of course) to show you what I’m talking about. I’ll never know the whys and hows that influenced how these truck doors were first created. I do know, though, that I had a very difficult time understanding the who and what that these businesses were about!
The Charcole Warehouse truck was in a gas station as I drove by. I noticed a “fancy” word: “WAREHOUSE,” which was a bit hard to read with all its swashy nuances. As traffic came to a stop, I was able to look again and read the word “Charcole” and notice the smaller text in each corner of the door, along with the phone number.
Adding a simple fire graphic and enlarging “Charcole” and “Free Delivery” let me say that they were selling charcoal (not a warehouse). Placing “Warehouse” in a reverse panel with double spaces between each letter helps it be read after your eye sees “Free Delivery.” Everything else on this door was secondary and doesn’t need to be read in a quick glance.
The AtoZ Appliance ad was big enough to read from any speed or distance, but it was all the same type and weight. At first glance, it seemed to resemble neatly stacked Lincoln Logs. (Remember them? Younger readers will have to Google that.)
I broke up the message with two different type styles and sizes. “AtoZ” and “Repair” are the same so that they will be read together. A casual italic in the word “Appliance” separates it in contrast and design. If nothing else, one would quickly know that “AtoZ” is a company that repairs appliances.
Almost every time we stopped at the corner convenience store, we saw the Juan Mendez truck. My wife and I would just look at each other and smile. There’s no doubt this truck door was a low-budget, do-it-yourself ad, done with hardware-store stick-on letters and some Rustoleum painted smaller text.
I know Juan did his best, but at any speed, this truck door has absolutely no chance of being read. Who knows how much more business he would get if his truck just got his message across? The next time I see his truck there, I may bring some Stabilo pencils and show him my idea.
The word “Mendez” has some great letters for a big script, and a few simple tree/bush graphics will help get the message across. “Landscaping” needs to be clear and clean so that it accents the loose writing above it.
The Northwoods truck was a nice look—one of those soft-sell layouts I mentioned earlier. From a distance, though, and at speed, it is a stretch to read and comprehend. This layout reminds me of a business card that the client gave to the sign person to letter on his truck doors.
For the sake of readability, I would remove the home/tree graphic and balance the company name with a heavier, rough-chopped “Northwoods” in contrast to a larger, lighter-weight upper- and lowercase “Remodeling.”
Remember, at the very least, we want the casual reader to know what this business is all about.
Our final makeover, Antique Restoration, flashed by one day as I was standing near the road in front of my home. I spotted the arched script line. Reading script on an arch is a challenge when the sign is standing still, much less on the move.
I had to over-tax my concentration to read the rest before the truck was out of sight. You see, if we sign people have to try extra hard to understand a moving ad like this, most viewers will not even give it a try.
I liked the old-time rocking chair look—it gives the impression of something old. Moving it to the very left and encompassing in with an oval panel keeps it contained. It could be a logo, per se. “Restoration” was a big word. Using a somewhat bold upper- and lowercase sans serif letter helps readability here. It opens up some areas, giving holes and pockets to fill. Placing a loose chipped script “Antique” into this space and overlapping it over our oval panel links the whole composition. It becomes a complete design, with all the elements touching and holding this ad together.
As you can see, I made some radical changes to the original designs with readability as my main objective. The many possible criteria a client can impose may have left the original sign artists with their hands tied on these layouts. Maybe the clients rejected the idea of any changes—which we all know can happen.
These design modifications were rendered to fit into my “perfect sign world.” As you well know, some things have to be what they are. But you still have to ask, “If you can’t read the ad on a truck door, what’s the point?”
This article appeared in the July/August 2013 issue of SignCraft.
Bob Behounek has spent over 40 years as a sign artist and pinstriper in the Chicago, Illinois, area.
