The Pitfalls of AI-Designed Vehicle Wraps
Not long ago, we put out another blog post discussing the impacts of using AI for brand design and logo creation. While we noted that there were certain niche situations where AI could assist in the process, the main takeaway is that this technology is not well-equipped for building a brand, despite many people trying to use it to do so.
But what about in regard to designing vehicle wraps, specifically for commercial businesses? This is another area where we have been observing a sharp increase in the use of generative AI, and for similar reasons as brand building. It lets an owner or non-designer start generating various designs, getting instant gratification, and in theory bypasses having to hire a designer.
And trust me, I get it. Sometimes these designs actually do look “cool,” but trying to wrap your fleet with these designs actually has a number of downsides that you may not initially realize. So much so, that I believe even using them for early idea generation can be more damaging to your final product than helpful.
“Cool” Doesn’t Mean Effective
The question that might be going through your mind is, “If the design AI is giving me does look cool to me, why isn’t that enough?” The answer is that it mainly just comes down to brand. More often than not, the AI-generated wrap designs we see do not account for their company’s branding, or who their actual target audience is.
In more simple terms, these wrap designs usually look completely out of place for the brand they are for. This is because they are being generated to appeal to the prompter’s own personal aesthetic preferences, or by an AI that doesn’t know how to output a design to match the company’s existing visual identity. Yes, AI can give you a glowing, edgy, race car looking wrap (for some reason this currently seems to be a commonly outputted style), but how do any of those visuals relate to your brand or what would appeal to its target audience?
Just because AI can output something that is visually arresting doesn’t mean that the design is actually effective or optimal for the business trying to use it.
This might sound odd, but there also shouldn’t be a need for “inspiration” for a commercial wrap. If your company was professionally branded, a brand designer should have already come up with the visual language that all of your company’s branded materials should speak. That visual language just then needs to be applied to a wrap design, to ensure it looks consistent with the rest of your branding.
Installation Impossible
Unlike other graphic design mediums, vehicle wraps have additional challenges in that they are limited by what is possible to do from an installation perspective. We have to remember these aren’t static 2D mediums like a social media post. These designs have to live on complex 3D objects that people have to physically install.
Very often we see AI vehicle wraps that have the design carrying over onto sections of the vehicle that are generally unwrappable. Or sometimes the design might contort and wrap around the different sides of the vehicle in a way that can be unrealistic for an installer to reliably line up to the rear, front, etc.
Another thing to consider is that commercial vehicle wraps also need to be designed with multiple vehicle types in mind. What you put on a van needs to be able to be easily rearranged and installed on other canvases like a single-cab pickup truck, a box truck, etc. It is technically possible that you can get lucky and AI will output a design that is capable of this, but in my experience this is rare.
Not Print Ready
Just like when it comes to using generative AI for logos, the artwork that these models produce for a vehicle wrap is not in an editable, or even a print-ready, image format. This means that you will probably still have to pay a designer to recreate whatever artwork that is generated.
Oftentimes this AI artwork can be so abstract and detailed that it actually requires more time to recreate than it would to make an actual custom design from scratch. Depending on what shop you go to and how they price art, this means that you could theoretically pay more for a less effective piece of artwork than you would for a more effective one.
Getting Emotionally Invested
The reason I would warn against AI for even early design inspiration is because you run the risk of getting too emotionally attached to these designs before consulting with a designer to make sure they are realistic to execute on.
Yet again, I can empathize. I understand the appeal. Playing around with generative AI can be fun, but I think sometimes it can accidentally create a false sense of personal ownership or attachment to the designs.
This isn’t unique to graphic design though. In film, for example, it can be common for directors and editors to sometimes use placeholder “temp” music during the editing process. And if they live with it for too long, sometimes composers have reported that it can be difficult to get them to pivot when the time comes to score the movie for real.
What I’m trying to say is that this is normal, but it’s also important to just be cognizant of it so that you don’t accidentally fall into the same bad habit.
Finding a Place for AI
As you can tell, I’m a firm believer that generative AI genuinely has no place in the design process for commercial fleet wraps. When it comes to coming up with design inspiration for a personal vehicle, I do think there tends to be more wiggle room though. In this case, there aren’t any brand style guidelines that need to be adhered to, and the design probably wouldn’t need to be adapted to multiple vehicle types. I would still default to using a professional designer when possible though.
That last part is really the big takeaway I’d like to leave you with. Currently, a genuine professional is going to be so much more useful than AI at giving you an effective wrap design for your fleet. To find a partner you can trust, I would recommend that you seek out hiring a vehicle wrap company that has a strong design background. Many wrap and print shops have great expertise in production and installation, but not always design.
With so many small businesses out there making the mistake of using AI to create their branding and marketing materials, this presents an easy area of opportunity to set yourself apart and choose to zig when the competition zags.
Real Results Delivered by Real People
Great brands aren’t built with crowdsourcing, clip art, or AI prompts. If you want your own brand to possess that sense of authenticity and memorability that only comes from a human touch, we’re here to help. You can give either of our offices a call, or send us an email to start a conversation about your project.
Murrells Inlet: 843.651.6003
Charleston: 843.823.9274
Email: sales@wrapsink.com
