A lot of people have suggested that BritishV8 should sell something as a fundraiser... so we're thinking about offering a BritishV8 bumper sticker. We assume that it would be a professionally-printed, high-quality vinyl sticker... But what should it say (besides "BritishV8"), and what should it look like?
Design Questions:
(a) Should it spell out the name of this website ("www.BritishV8.org")?
(b) Should it include a "tag line" (e.g. "The Online Journal of the Modified British Sports Car")?
(c) Does it need an image (e.g. the outline of a car, a British flag, etc.)?
(d) How fancy should it be? How many colors? What colors? Metallic (chrome!)?
(e) Would you actually prefer a clear sticker, or a window decal?
(f) What size? (Would you prefer a relatively small sticker, like 2.5" by 9.25" rectangle or 4" by 6" oval?)
Use Questions:
(a) Would you put it on your hot-rods?
(b) Or would it be more for other surfaces... (e.g. your toolbox, your laptop computer, your notebook)?
(c) Or would you put it on your "other" car or your tow vehicle or your trailer.
(d) How many would you consider buying?
(e) What would you consider paying?
(f) Would you consider buying them as gifts?
Please give any and all your suggestions!
How about a mylar type top of the windshield sticker? Something like that I'd put on my car when it's done. I'd have a hard time putting a bumper sticker on a fresh rechromed bumper so if we go that route, maybe something smaller that could be put on a plate above or below the bumper. Another option would be something like the "The Last Open Road" stickers.
Something with the URL & related tag line would have the added benefit of increasing traffic on the site so is a good idea.
Color -- neutral so it'd look good on a variety of car colors. Grey/Sliver/Charcoal/etc. is probably better than a color or white.
I'd be in for a few of them.
Maybe also consider a 2nd version along the lines of 'My other car is a V8 MG" [ok, you'd probably have to do a few versions of that to cover the V6, Turbo I4, Triumph, Sunbeam...} but those could go on 2nd vehicles.
My 2c for what it's worth. Think oval GB sticker on UK cars going to the continent to get the image and size.
I'd like to see an oval that said BV8, with the V larger than the other two - monogram style.
If it gave the website in small type around the bottom, so much the better.
It would fit nicely on the back of the car...
Ask for comments and suggestions, and you'll never get anything accomplished.
Been there, done that.....
"You can please some of the people some of the time.................."
Curtis, I suggest you make what tickles your fancy and gets the word out..then make it available.
"If you print it, they will buy."
FWIW - YOMV
Curtis, great idea. I vote for an adhesive backed sticker that could either be used on a window or applied to the body. I've purchased magnetic sign material (the flexible stuff) from local sign companies and applied both bumper stickers and decals to that to make them removable, so no permanent attachments to the car to mar the bumpers or paintwork.
For text might I suggest something like " I Read the British V8 News" "www.BritishV8.org" . The artwork on the banner at the top of this page would look good with additional text other than "British V8" in a more simple font. Something like this I suppose.
sticker.JPG
Just skip right to the magnet and/or the self clinging vinyl.
BritishV8.org is enough. Drop the www. By now everyone knows what the world wide web is & most current browsers don't even require you to type that part of the url.
You might consider longer ones for back windows & bumpers, smaller (&more round ones) for vent windows, magnetic ones for car show displays (& tool boxes & refrigerators)
The oval white with black letters (i.e. OBX) are pretty popular. I don't know how you would put BritishV8 on one though.
Curtis, as to the other questions, price: I paid $10 for a magnetic sign my local MG club was selling. I bought two of those, and would probably buy at least two of the British V8 signs. Size: Around 4"X10" would be big enough for people to read from the road, anything smaller and the text would be too small to make out unless standing still. Where would I place it: I only put signs and stickers on my Midget, my daily driver never gets anything like that except for my Viet Nam ribbon sticker on Veteran's Day if I remember, normally that stays on the Midget all year. I would use a window decal on my daily driver though, just not a bumper sticker. Design: I'd say keep the design pretty simple, makes it easier to read. We don't have a commonly recognized logo, so the text has to be legible.
Here's a shot of the rear of my Midget from another car, you can see the Viet Nam ribbon which is about the size I mentioned and a British V8 sticker would be quite easy to recongnize and read if it's kept simple.
rear3.jpg
I'm being quiet... but I'm listening, sketching, and researching.
I think maybe I've settled on a printer... They happily do either clear (window) or vinyl ("bumper") stickers, but in either case they use a full-color silkscreen process with relatively thickly applied UV-stable inks, and then they apply a UV "overcoat" so that the stickers should be quite durable and fade resistant. Interestingly, they charge per square inch and don't charge anything extra for non-standard sizes. Custom die-cut profiles are surprisingly affordable. Still looking into magnets...
As for size... at least for the "first" sticker, I'm leaning towards a smaller size that would fit more comfortably on a skinny bumper or (for example) behind the rearview mirror. I figure a small bumper sticker would also be more likely to get applied to someone's notebook or notebook computer or... if we get the price down people might find all sorts of places to put the stickers.
No one has suggested a tagline yet! I should announce a tagline contest. I'd like to include something that reads quicker and more to-the-point than "The Online Journal of the Modified British Sports Car Community" - to help define and differentiate BritishV8. Something with "attitude". Something like...
"Classic British Sports Cars - Only Quicker",
"British Sports Cars for Modern Enthusiasts",
"It's Not Your Grandma's Sports Car... Anymore",
"Our Definition of Original is the Creative One",
"Modified... Because Restorations are Boring"
Please keep giving me ideas!
Variation: Not Yo Mama's British Sports Car!
Caution! Do Not Ride if Meek, Faint, Wimp, Wus, or Pregnant.
Hold on & Watch This!
Buckle Up!
Real Men Drive V8s
Uncle Sam Wants YOU to Drive a British V8!
Okay... Please give me some reactions to this first window sticker proposal.
(http://www.britishv8.org/Photos/Attitude.gif)
The sticker (above) would probably be about 3"x5" and would be printed in white on a clear background...
Clear-background stickers are available with various different adhesives and with the adhesive applied to either side, so we could conceivably offer two versions...
Example 1 - for interior glass, like this:
(http://classicmotorsports.net/media/img/store/cmssticker_.jpg)
Example 2 - for exterior painted/chrome/plastic surfaces, like this:
(http://www.britishv8.org/Triumph/TedLathrop/TedLathrop-H.jpg)
Looks nice but the British flag is upside down. Just Kidding.
What about adding the words like:
Magazine • Forum • Gallery
I have a tendency to make stuff too busy though.
-BMC.
I like it, 'cept I think it needs some red & blue. :)
Curtis,
I like it - the design is simple and still delivers the message.
I'm colour blind but I agree with Carl - black and white is boring.
Black and white is boring? Not sure I agree... but just for grins, consider this alternative:
(Try to imagine that everything that's shown "light gray" is really "transparent". I picked the gray background to display here because glass and chrome both look sort of gray depending on light...)
(http://www.britishv8.org/Photos/WindowSticker2.gif)
With this particular design, if you put the sticker on a red toolchest or a red car, the red parts of the British flag would blend into the background.
At the moment we've got "Improved British Sportscars" in white with a thin black outline around the letters - but I don't thing that's bold enough to be legible on most backgrounds.
This design is 2.84" by 5". I held it up to my car several places: It looks best on the GT hatch glass. It's a good size to put behind the rear view mirror. If I were trying to put in on my bumper, I'd trim off "Improved British Sportscars" for a better fit - otherwise it's a bit too tall. With a little creative trimming, this sticker would just barely fit on an MGB vent window...
---
Your comments?
I like it much better.
The "IMPROVED BRITISH SPORTSCARS" could be solid black. If the whole thing was trimmed into a fat European license tag oval, it would still look good. The IMPROVED BRITISH SPORTSCARS slogan may need to be relocated to just under the BRITISHV8.ORG to be retained. Or you might get by with a smaller font since it will be more noticeable in black.
I don't know... I think black and white have more of a "pirate" look. More badass.
Red and blue kinda clash with my green car. We'll keep tinkering as time permits.
Never seen a British Racing Green Union Jack. If you leave it black & white, change the diagonals into wrenches.
Curtis, the design is great....just another suggestion...
"OPTIMIZED BRITISH SPORTSCARS"
"ENHANCED BRITISH SPORTSCARS"
'KICK A** BRITISH SPORTSCARS"
"BRITISH SPORTSCARS ON VIAGRA"
I like the white version. Imagine the red & blue one on a yellow, red, or blue car... or on one of the purpleish ones like Steve Carrick's or Mikel Moor's.
One suggestion to try... flip flop the BritishV8.org & the "Improved British Sportscars". I think the text at the bottom actually stands out more even though it's smaller & that might be a way to highlight the site better.
I like the idea of changing to wrenches. I like the idea of making the words at the bottom stand out more because if i was to put this on my pickup, my wife's van, or something NOT British, I would want people to get a general idea that its got something to do with machinery.
The idea of B&W is pretty good and I could see doing that on anything except a black or white car...
If we are going to do it in RED/BLUE/CLEAR then they need to be dark... I think, but it depends on the background- my white car would be best with dark backgrounds.
-BMC.
I have another idea. Something like this:
This is one of the cars that was at British V8 '08. Sorry, don't recall who owns this one.
-BMC.
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_EhOejB9NOmA/SIE8hQwH2pI/AAAAAAAAA7I/VM6w5ls-d2g/s640/HPIM1772.JPG)
Oh, something like this could probably be offered in 2-4 colors and small med, large sizes. Glass, bumper, and "other car... Make um cheap enough and then only sell them three at a time- if you buy red, you get one small, large and medium. Just an idea.
-BMC.
Brian, that's Rick Ingram's MGC. Basically the same sticker design I showed above on Ted Lathrop's TR6, except evidently a different color (on clear sticker material).
Different sticker companies price their stickers different ways, but the sticker company I've been leaning toward basically charges by the square inch regardless of how many colors are printed. (You can get the sticker any size you want, but the bigger it is, the more it costs.) Another consideration is that they sell their stickers in lots of 1000... so, I'd really prefer to start with a one-size-fits-all design and see how much of the 1000-sticker batch gets snatched-up. Printing several batches of 1000 would break my budget.
Curtis, window stickers almost have to be very small for most of us with roadsters, no place other than the vent windows or windshield corners to place them. Ok for our larger vehicles or your GT if the sticker is larger. Stickers designed to be used on the body are ok, but would have to come in at least two colors in order to be useful on either a light or dark background, so that would be a minimum of two batches.
For a clear background, outline the parts of the flag that border the clear. That way a white band on a white car will still be visible.
Jim
BMC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have another idea. Something like this:
>
> This is one of the cars that was at British V8
> '08. Sorry, don't recall who owns this one.
>
> -BMC.
That the hardtop on my MGC.
I like the black and white one best.....but then my car is black...and the GT will be black too.
I like the slogan "improved..." I think it's classy.
I like that sticker Rick. Its on our website you know. I believe its the 31st picture on the V8 pictures section. I have the same hard top but have not reinstalled it since we got the car up and running.
-BMC.
How about this in a wide rectangle
MY OTHER CAR IS A V8 BRITT
See it at BritishV8.org (logo here)
Personally I'm not putting a sticker on my mg. sorry...but my monster truck and the f 350 is fair game.
All great ideas !
Curtis, did you finalize on a design?
Cheers
Pete
The holidays came along and distracted me. Lisa (my wife, the artist) is starting to get unburied by the avalanche of design work that landed on her, and I hope that together we'll get back onto this little project very soon.
Phill wrote: "Personally I'm not putting a sticker on my mg. sorry...but my monster truck and the f 350 is fair game."
Anyone who knows my MG has probably noticed that it's not wearing any badges or stickers at all (except an MG logo on the horn button) - so I'm kinda in Phill's camp. It's gonna have to be a GREAT sticker design if it's gonna get applied to my MGB-GT - but I'll probably put one on each of our other vehicles.
Curtis
I am with you guys, the only place I would consider a sticker on my B is the vent window.
I do like the sticker though, great idea.
Joe
Curtis,
1. The sticker is a great idea (but only on my vent glass, windshield, tool box, master bath mirror, etc.)!
2. The black & white would certainly make a "subtle" statement....since we're all buc-caneers on this forum ;)
3. An oval design would stand-out more than a square or rectangle (especially along the bottom edge of vent glass) - since I'm a symmetrical kind of guy, I would have to have a sticker for each vent glass and might get carried away and put one at top of windshield in front of rear view mirror.....hummm...bot-tom edge..mid-dle of rear-window..so whentopisup all sides are covered!! - Yeahh baby!
4. I think most folks (imho) would be willing to pay a few extra bucks (can't imagine it would be a lot for stickers) to get the "proper" (b&w/small oval) sticker.
5. Maybe kick-off at 2009 BV8 Meet - include on registration form, add addendum to registration form or just have available for purchase at Meet.
My shilling, Tony
That's more than a shilling's worth of good feedback, matey.
I like the idea.
I have also attached stickers to a thin magnet material. You can purchase the magnet material at a craft store.
Has anyone thought of a small grill badge, or plate for the dash?
Marc
QuotePosted by: Doc Hopalongfoot
Date: January 12, 2009 09:35AM
Has anyone thought of a small grill badge, or plate for the dash?
Marc
Ah, Hum, Ya Know, Some of us, don't have the luxury of having a real grill on our MGB V8's.
Not even my F-150 is game for stickers. I hate rolling billboards. My MGB V8 is way off limits for them too.
I'd go for a small, window decal too, Vent Window Size and a Little bigger for my Truck Rear Window, right accross from my Harley Window Decal.
Oh, We can always go with some Tool Box Stickers too !!! I Have plenty of Scratches I could cover with some of them. Doesn't anyone else ?