Big Picture - May 2018 - 16

extreme vinyl

I Saw the Sign
'Cars are the sculptures of our everyday lives.' -Chris Bangle, automobile designer
| by Sino Tour

BIG PICTURE

May 2018

see "signs" every single day. Seriously, I see them

everywhere. And I'm not talking about signs from the
universe or in a spiritual sense, but signs that are posted
and plastered at every corner of our physical space
- often vying for my unbridled attention. I don't actively
look for them. But there's no avoiding the wealth of vivid
messages, symbols, numbers, letters, colors, and drawings
that I'm getting - consciously or not - through many incarnations in the form of metal, wood, plastic, fabric, and our
favorite material from this raw batch: vinyl graphics. In other
words, it's a full-frontal, graphic display of information that
has been placed on a series of objects or substrates with the
intent of exposing themselves to as many viewers as possible,
whether you like it or not.
There's no need to cover up the fact that there's an
increasing demand for our wrap services - they're being
secured each day by customers in many unique fields. With
its own thriving international market, the automotive sector
has consistently provided us with a blank canvas on wheels
to transform vehicles into works of art or simply moving
billboard advertisements. I have no real interest in fixing,
restoring, or collecting cars, but I do have a vested excitement in watching them shed their painted exterior in lieu
of a new look or identity via a body wrap. With everyone
wrapping just about anything they can get their hands on
these days (check out #wrapeverything), I truly hope that
we never lose sight of one fact: that it all probably started
with a car. I believe our line of work has gained its reputation, notoriety, and popularity based on its association with
vehicle wraps.

FLEET VS. CUSTOM WRAPS
About a month into my job as a graphic installer, I had
concluded that the bulk of vinyl wraps were reserved for all
types of vehicles from the vast and lucrative fleet/commercial
community. This is why the automotive arena, including
modern modifications like electric and autonomous units, was
such a key factor in the overall success of our much-heralded
medium. Before the social media revolution, I never knew that
the custom side of the business existed nor was I even
remotely interested in executing wraps in an area where I had
no formal training or experience. I was already too busy
learning every facet - as well as the many pitfalls - of the fleet
branding side to even take notice.
Eventually, I redirected my own company's narrative, a
move that I've tried to perfect throughout a decade-plus
career, to accommodate both the ever-changing fleet and
custom markets. It's a move that would furnish us with a
steady stream of additional assignments that I never thought
to explore. These new assignments provided us with an
unexpected twist in profitability and a seat at the table among
our peers on the wrap scene. Although the fleet and custom
areas are similar in technique, style, and execution, they

SINO TOUR is co-owner and director of operations at Icon Image Graphics,
a full graphic installation company in Sante Fe Springs, California. You can
find him on Twitter @IconImageWrap and Instagram @sino_tour.

https://www.twitter.com/IconImageWrap https://www.instagram.com/sino_tour

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Big Picture - May 2018