Design Trends in Police Graphics for Vehicles

Police departments are undergoing an image transformation as they modernize their vehicles, and vehicle police graphics are one of the most apparent changes. Vehicle design helps instill power, improve safety, and build community relationships. 

Police Graphics: Top Trends

Let’s look at the trends in police vehicle graphics changing how departments present themselves and inform the public.

Prioritizing Visibility for Safety and Recognition

Police vehicles are strategically designed to be easily spotted in an emergency or on a routine matter. Therefore, many police cars combine contrasting exterior colors, such as blue or black, with white or yellow.

Visibility striping, made of reflective material, is the most common way to add conspicuity, especially when it is dark or a vehicle operates in low-light conditions. 

Stripes should be placed on the vehicle’s edges (along the sides and rear), doors, hood, and trunk because they outline the vehicle’s form from all viewing directions. 

This increases the probability of a vehicle being noticed and assists in keeping it visible in traffic. This is especially important in high-speed or emergency traffic.

Sleek and Minimalist Designs

Minimalism has also become a popular aesthetic in the design of police vehicle graphics. 

For example, clean lines are used rather than intricate decorations, a limited number of colors rather than a wide range of hues, and only essential text is included rather than lengthy explanations or requests. 

The department name and badge or logo are featured prominently, and there is little or no extra text or graphics that could detract from the main message.

Simplicity allows us to promote a police vehicle’s fundamental function: its appearance can convey the message it’s a serious and professional operation. 

Sleek, low‑key lines enable the car’s essential functions to dominate instead of obfuscating them. They make them easy to recognize – without all the ‘noise.’ 

Bold Typography for Quick Identification

Elements such as typeface are important in police vehicle graphics since they announce the department’s name, jurisdiction, and other significant information. 

Fonts used by police departments in the US are generally very large, bold, and sans-serif, so they’re readable from a distance and while the vehicle is moving.

Text placed on the vehicle’s flanks and rear is more likely to be visible to drivers, pedestrians, and passersby while still being visible from onboard. 

Some departments use larger fonts for the word ‘POLICE’ than the secondary text, such as department location. This typographic hierarchy of scale emphasizes the vehicle’s purpose at a glance.

Reflective Striping for Enhanced Safety

Another powerful trend in police car graphics is reflective striping, which improves visibility by making the vehicle stand out at night or in low-visibility conditions. 

Once the domain of police cruisers, reflective stripes have spread to SUVs and other police vehicles. 

They can be applied along a vehicle’s edges or contours and serve as an outline visual cue for drivers and pedestrians.

This feature is most important for roadside stops and emergency vehicles where visibility is critical. 

Reflective striping can enhance the safety of officers, help the public identify a vehicle’s presence, and avoid further accidents in high-risk settings.

Unique Color Schemes for Department Branding

Although blue, black, and white are still the most popular classic police colors, some departments experiment with color schemes that reinforce brand identity. 

A specific shade routinely associated with the department helps create consistency and can make vehicles more distinctive in the community.

For example, some departments incorporate accent colors—gold or silver—to give the vehicle a unique feel without compromising its sense of authority. 

This helps, especially in communities where they could work alongside other law enforcement agencies, such as city, county, and state police departments.

Emphasizing Branding Through Logos and Symbols

Police departments also use their official logo, badge, or other identifying symbols in vehicle graphics. 

These graphics can be placed on vehicle doors, hoods, and trunk areas to enhance the department’s brand recognition and visibility.

Stars or shields carry symbols of authority that help reinforce law enforcement. 

Badges and seals can also help unify the look of all department vehicles, building a sense of presence and establishing a department’s identity within the community.

Digital and Eco-Friendly Design Techniques

In an effort to acknowledge the environmental issues of some of these decisions, some departments are moving towards eco-design with vinyl wraps rather than paint.

Vinyl’s advantages include reducing waste, being more easily changed and updated, and offering an often-required detailed design. Unlike many paint products, vinyl doesn’t contain harmful chemicals or VOCs. 

Digital printing techniques also offer high-quality graphics that are durable, reproducible across multiple vehicles on a large scale, and resistant to fading and weathering. 

This approach not only helps the department be green but can also help it maintain a classy look with minimal environmental impact.

Consistency Across the Vehicle Fleet

Consistency of graphics is important for police departments that own a fleet of vehicles. 

A consistent vehicle appearance helps the public recognize the brand and can help them feel confident the department owns and operates a professional and organized fleet. 

When the colors, typefaces, logos, and striping of all vehicles are consistent, it helps reinforce the idea that every vehicle is part of the same unit.

Consistency across a fleet also helps foster an authoritative image for the department, as the public can almost instantly recognize them as sources of assistance and authority. 

Standardization also makes vehicle maintenance easier, as decals and graphics can be added once, and future updates take less time and money.

Conclusion: Building Trust and Authority Through Effective Design

This journey through police graphics shows how vehicle graphics can be used to build trust and convey legitimacy. 

They present a unified image through judicious use of reflective striping, bold typography, and more subtle choices, such as eco-friendly materials and consistent branding.

By emphasizing visibility, simplification, and branding, the police can produce cars that stand out and project an image of safety and service. 

As these trends continue to develop, police departments can look forward to creating even stronger relationships with their communities by using graphics and design to their advantage.

Contact Graphic Designs International to get expert help with police graphics for vehicles that represent your department effectively.