You don’t have to be outdoorsy to know what an RV looks like. All you need is experience on an Interstate highway, and we’re almost positive you’ve seen an RV before.  

 Ok. Now, close your eyes and imagine one.  

We’re going to take one guess that the RV you’re picturing has those swoop designs on it and is some very basic color like taupe or brown.  

So, how’d we know what was in your head? Part of it is our natural psychic abilities, but the other part of it is that these swoop designs have consistently been the print design on RV campers for the past 20-30 years.  

Titans of the RV industry surmise that this design pattern originated in order to distinguish RVs from other similarly shaped vehicles (semis and buses) at a distance on the road. But none have really offered an explanation as to why outward RV appearance hasn’t changed in tandem with our visual culture and trends of the past 20-30 years. We’re at a design stalemate and RVs need to wake up! 

 Right now, there’s a whole ‘vanlife’ subculture brewing and RV companies are missing out on the new young, hip audience. On Instagram, the hashtag #vanlife has 5.7 million posts and Millennials, who certainly have different design preferences than the 20 somethings of the ‘80s and ‘90s, currently make up the largest market of campers in the US. They’re taking their vans, customizing them with bright colors, comfy seats, and privately installed cabinets Architectural Digest would drool over and hitting the open road. Furthermore, we’re seeing this become a more permanent living situation with the advent of remote work.  However, even with this bohemian lifestyle seeping to the outer rims of mainstream culture, we don’t really see RVs in the mix. Therefore, there’s a perfect opportunity for RV companies to get in there, and offer more customizable eye-catching graphic design in order to increase brand awareness through social media as well as garner a part of this very large consumer base. 

Design matters folks, hop in the van and let’s get this rolling!