I’m Kayla. I live in a rainy place, so gutters matter a lot. This spring, I helped my neighbor Luis refresh his gutter company’s look. New logo. Yard signs. Truck wrap. Facebook ads. Even a one-page site. I used Canva Pro, Adobe Illustrator, and a Fiverr pro designer. I printed with Vistaprint and FASTSIGNS. I got wet, I got picky, and yes—I learned a few things the hard way.
Let me explain.
The Plan (and the rain)
We needed stuff that people could see fast:
- Logo you can read from a truck.
- Yard signs for corners.
- Door hangers.
- Facebook header and a simple ad set.
- A clean landing page with a big phone number.
If yard signs are on your list too, you’ll pick up even more practical pointers in 12 Tips for Yard Sign Marketing for Small Businesses.
I also wanted the design to feel steady. Dry. Honest. We went with navy, leaf green, and white. Real simple.
- Colors we used: Navy #0D2A45, Green #33AA55, White #FFFFFF
- Fonts we used: Montserrat Bold for “Gutters,” Source Sans Pro for small text
I tweaked kerning (letter spacing) so “TT” in “Gutters” didn’t look weird. A tiny -20 in Illustrator. It matters.
First Try: Canva Pro Templates (Fast, but fussy)
I mocked up five logos in about an hour. That speed felt great. The drag-and-drop was smooth. For yard signs, the “Home Repair” template gave me a head start. I could swap icons, drop in the phone number, and test colors easy. If you want a quick crash course on shaping a solid logo before you dive in, hit play on How to Make a Logo for Your Small Business with NO Experience | Create Logo Tutorial for Beginners; it breaks the basics down in 15 minutes.
But. The stock droplet icons looked, well, stock. On small prints, details got mushy. The blue printed dull because the file was RGB, and the print shop needed CMYK. The PNG exports were soft at big sizes. I had to rebuild the final logo as vector (SVG/EPS) in Illustrator, with bleed (extra edge space) for clean cuts. Not hard, but it added time. If you’ve ever wondered exactly how bleed works (and how to fix it when you mess up), I unpack the whole saga in what bleed means in graphic design.
Oh, and the layout gutters (the space between columns) were tight on the flyer. I added about a quarter inch. The words could breathe again. Big difference. For the nuts-and-bolts version of that process, check out this full gutter-graphics case study.
Then I Hired a Real Designer (Worth it)
I found a Fiverr Pro designer who works with trades. Let’s call her Maya. Her package took a week. It cost $650. She sent:
- A logo suite (full logo, stacked logo, and icon)
- Brand colors with Pantone swatches (we used Pantone 2965 C for the navy)
- Truck wrap mockup
- Google display ad set
- A one-page site in Figma with a 12-column grid and 24 px gutters
Pros? She nailed hierarchy (what you see first). The phone number was huge and clear. The icon was a leaf that turned into a downspout with a small droplet. It looked custom, not clip art. We got vector files (SVG, EPS) and print-ready PDFs with 0.125" bleed and safe area. FASTSIGNS printed the wrap crisp. No fuzz. No banding.
Cons? Only two rounds of edits were included. The first draft used a script font that felt fancy, like a wedding invite. We had to push back. One extra edit round cost $75. Also, file messages got messy in the app, and we almost missed an update. I wish that part felt calmer.
Real-World Results (the part everyone asks about)
Before the new look:
- Yard signs brought 3 calls a week, give or take.
After the new look:
- Yard signs brought 9 to 11 calls a week for four weeks straight.
- A driver flagged Luis at a red light because of the new truck wrap. That job booked next day. Gutter guards. Nice ticket.
- The Facebook ad with the new banner got more clicks. Old ad felt flat. New one felt clean. People noticed the droplet.
Local online communities can supercharge that effect. For example, Statesville forums where neighbors swap weekend plans also host homeowner Q&A threads; one surprisingly lively corner is the lifestyle meetup site Statesville Swingers where members keep a “Trusted Pros” board packed with real contractor reviews you can mine for word-of-mouth leads and referrals.
Looking for more pro-level inspiration? Browse the showcase at Moon and Back Graphics to see how tight branding turns everyday service trucks into ringing phones.
Tiny Details That Pulled Weight
- Kerning: Tightened the “TT” in “Gutters.” It looked like one word again, not “Gut ters.”
- Gutters (the layout kind): Extra white space around photos and the droplet. Less crash, more calm.
- Color: Pantone 2965 C for navy. Prints dark and rich. No sad blue.
- Paper: Door hangers on 16 pt matte. UV spot gloss on the droplet. In the rain, that little shine pops. Kids point at it.
- QR code: Bottom right, with a clean quiet zone. Scans fast.
Want to dig deeper into using negative (a.k.a. dead) space effectively? My field notes on yard signs, menus, and postcards—both the wins and the flops—live in this case study on dead space.
You know what? People remember shapes more than words. We tested three logo choices with sticky notes on my porch. The leaf-droplet won in minutes. The bolder the shape, the faster the yes. Design psychology says bold, high-contrast graphics trigger the same instant “this is strong and reliable” impression as certain biological cues. If you’re curious about the science behind that gut reaction, this research on what high testosterone does to a man breaks down how the hormone affects dominance, risk-taking, and body language—clues you can mirror in your brand visuals for extra punch.
What Bugged Me
- Canva Pro: Fast mockups, but the exports can be soft for big prints. Some templates feel same-y. Good for drafts. Not great for the final logo.
- Fiverr flow: Design was strong, but the message thread felt noisy. Also, paying for an extra edit stung a bit. But it saved me hours of fix-it work later, so I can’t stay mad.
If you ever get lost in jargon while talking with printers or designers, save yourself a headache by skimming a quick glossary for common graphic-design terms. Having the lingo in your back pocket speeds every conversation.
Simple Tips If You’re Doing Gutters Graphics
- Make the phone number giant. Can a driver read it at 30 mph? If not, bigger.
- Use one real rain photo. No super shiny roofs.
- Print a test at home. If it’s muddy there, it’ll be worse at the shop.
- Mind the layout gutter. Give columns space. Words need air.
- Ask for vector files, CMYK colors, and a one-page brand guide. Future you will cheer.
My Verdict
If you’re on a tight budget, start with Canva Pro for a week. Keep it simple. Big type. Solid color blocks. Then, when you can, hire a designer who knows trades. Get a real logo suite and clean print files. That mix worked for us.
Would I do it the same way again? Yes. I’d hire the pro for the core brand and keep using Canva for daily posts and flyers. Luis is busier now. The phones ring more. And I sleep better, not stuck nudging tiny letters at midnight.
Rain still falls. But the brand? It holds.