Fleet Livery . . .

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    Project     
    UBC Vehicle Fleet Livery Program


    Client
    The University of British Columbia*
    UBC Building Operations


    Communication Challenge
    The UBC Fleet Livery Program was an opportunity to unify the visual landscape in the UBC public realm. Vehicles and equipment are omnipresent on the UBC main campuses and service is a key touchpoint across students, faculty, staff and the UBC Community. Building Operations and Facilities Management needed a design system for fleet graphics that would establish a strong campus presence, engender institutional pride and accommodate an expanding fleet of vehicles that ranged from electric bikes to garbage trucks. In the absence of a visually unified system, opportunities for profile, efficiency and savings were being lost. This was not a decal project, what was required was a sustainable visual identity and implementation program. 


    Solution
    Any design solution had to address communication and implementation challenges. The first challenge was to develop a visual strategy for an expandable system that would identify UBC vehicles and equipment in a visually consistent way, reflective of a tier one global institution. The second challenge was to make the process efficient. The graphics had to scale for all vehicle types. The graphics also had to be fabricated and applied in the UBC Sign Shop rather than outsourced. Because of the existing demands on this unit, the solution had to look good but be relatively easy (and consistent) to implement. The specification colour for all new fleet vehicles ordered by Building Ops is white and in this pairing of economy and design, the new graphics use only one colour: UBC Blue. Vehicle templates include a finite range of UBC Brand Unit Signatures, UBC Brand Short Signatures and short form UBC Identifiers, as well as a promotional style for special vehicles. 


    Key Communication Opportunities

    • Create campus-wide visibility for UBC service vehicles
    • Connect the fleet as a whole in relation to other branded UBC public realm projects
    • Utilize large, visible real estate on special vehicles for promotional messaging
    • Share deliberate communication messages that profile, inform and promote
    • Showcase Building Operations and Facilities Management as leaders in sustainability by highlighting initiatives
    • Engender and reflect UBC pride
    • Provide more opportunities to connect/engage with the UBC Community
    • Signal work activity and work diversity on campus
    • Share relevant information: urls/phone contacts/vehicle numbers/ID/taglines/Unit IDs
    • Provide a contemporary, fresh and distinctive design character reflective of the UBC Brand

    Key Criteria for Implementation

    • Easy fabrication and application by the UBC Sign Shop
    • A finite number of options that work for all vehicle models, shapes and sizes
    • Solutions that are scalable 
    • A design system that provides a foundational logic for new requirements and applications
    • Strong resolution in both positive and reverse applications
    • Usability standards for readability (physical/technical)
    • Consistent “family” look and feel
    • Quality design and fabrication
    • Clear, immediate and safe campus communication
    Environmental Design
    Fleet Livery
    Visual Standards
    Visual System

    * A Note from Arlene
    This project was created during my five years as Design Manager for UBC Communications and Marketing (previously Public Affairs). During that time we pioneered and developed a series of design systems (and programs) that built a solid foundation for a unified UBC Brand. This project was designed in collaboration with my colleague Ping Ki Chan, another systems thinker.

    Garbage truck photograph by Ping Ki Chan © 2018
    Design session photograph by Amanda Fetterly © 2018
    Copy for garbage truck “I’m a lot cleaner than you think…” written by Margaret Doyle

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