Think that vehicle graphics are just about slapping some text on the side of your car? Think again. Here are vehicle graphics at their most eye-catching and creative.

#1) Lots of Bottles… Or One Big One?

This wrap shows how photorealistic vehicle graphics can be. It looks like Photoshop, but that’s literally a fresh vinyl wrap applied to a truck, with a little forced perspective trickery and a careful application of the graphics.

This shows what high-quality photography and careful design can do when used properly on vinyl wraps: Nobody who sees this truck ever forgets it, and it helps show how vehicle graphics turn a common business expense into a one-of-a-kind advertising opportunity.

#2) Speed Lines

Vehicle wrap graphics can be as much about artful design as advertising. We’re including this because of the sheer technical difficulty: Keeping lines looking straight on a bumpy surface requires a lot more work than you might expect. It also helps to show that vehicle wrap graphics have come a long way from the days of slapping a phone number on the side of a car: You can be far more inventive, and stylish, with today’s vehicle wrap graphics.

#3) Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?

Vehicle graphics’ printing technology has improved to such a degree that optical illusions are now possible. If you examine this photo closely, you’ll find that this ad for the Copenhagen Zoo has not changed the vehicle’s structure in any way, shape or form: No fiberglass has been applied to it and the bus is not a custom design. This is simply a masterful blend of photography and artistic design to create an illusion that catches the eye and makes people wonder “How the heck did they do that?”

And also probably terrifies people who are afraid of snakes, but they probably weren’t going to the zoo anyway.

#4) There’s No Substitute For Color

It’s worth noting that vehicle graphics are often seen as either bland or excessive, but they can be subtle and clever as well. For example, we singled out this wrap because it’s designed specifically to catch your eye in a way you may not realize, at first. If you look at a color wheel, green and red are “complimentary” colors: When paired together, they strike a contrast that draws the eye to the image. The vehicle wrap makes the vehicle pop, and it also brings out the text so that it’s easy to see… and easy for customers to call.

#5) How to Make a Rear-End Effective Advertising

If you live in a city, you’ll spend a lot of time staring at the back of buses. So Dutch authorities took advantage of this fact, and worked up a witty advertising campaign that applied vehicle graphics to just the back of their buses, making a point about littering.

We like this one because it demonstrates that if you just want to wrap one part of your vehicle, it can be every bit as effective an advertising technique as covering the entire vehicle. A smart, well-thought-out design is worth its weight in gold, if you know where to put it.

Ready to get your business vehicle on this list? Then click here to contact AP Graphics: We’ll guide you through the process of getting your wrap designed, installed, and on the road.