In June of 2015, the owner of Ely’s Auto asked me to give his auto dealership a complete rebrand. At that time, the dealership was called “The Car Guys” and they were interested in changing the name to Ely’s Auto, to better align with their family-owned tire shop, Ely’s Tires. This rebrand would include a new logo, signage, banners, flyers and a state-of-the-art website.
I was given free rein to create as I saw fit, and since the stretch of road that this dealership was located on was already saturated with other dealerships, I decided to go BOLD. The color palette I used was bright and tropical – perfectly in line with the South Florida vibe.
Creating the logo
The first few logos used Ely’s Automotive as the name. However looking at the designs, and how the layout of the logo would need to be placed, we decided to shorten the name of the business and logo to Ely’s Auto. This is how the concepts shaped up before we shortened the name:
Once we decided to shorten the name, I went a little different direction with the logo. I went with rounded edges, a bit more of a bolder look, and integrated the vehicle mark better into the typography.
Exterior Signage and Window Treatments
To complete the bold rebrand of Ely’s Auto, I created a series of graphics for each window. The graphics were printed on perforated vinyl and adhered to the window with adhesive. The perforations allowed light to enter – although somewhat diminished – but at the same time be completely visible from the exterior of the building.
Banners & Marketing
The client wanted several banners printed to advertise on their other properties. We had several different variations printed depending on the location.
We also created several versions of flyers sent out to customers via mail and handed out at the client’s other properties.
Documentation
I also created several forms and documents for the dealership. These were handed out to each interested customer to gain a better understanding of what they were looking for, and what options they had for available financing.
Last modified: January 30, 2025
