In the movie, Zoolander, Ben Stiller’s title character is the world’s most successful model, having honed a series of signature modeling gazes over the years, from Le Tigre to Blue Steel to his latest, Magnum. The joke is that every “look” is identical. Meanwhile, in the real-life Phoenix metro area, Blue Steel Security Services has also captured a look that local residents recognize and like. “I regularly hear, ‘Oh, I’ve seen your cars,’” said Mark Coxen, chief operations officer for Blue Steel. “I can’t think of another security company in the area with vehicles that stand out as much.” And every car in their fleet does not look alike.

在电影《超级名模》中，本·斯蒂勒(Ben Stiller)饰演的是世界上最成功的模特，从《老虎》(Le Tigre)到《蓝钢》(Blue Steel)，再到他的最新作品《万能》(Magnum)，他磨练出了一种独特的超模眼光。但也有人说，他的每一个“表情”都是一样的。与此同时，在凤凰城都市区，蓝钢车队发现当地居民非常认可和喜欢这部作品。车队的运营总监官马克•科克森(Mark Coxen)说:“我经常听到有人说，‘哦，我见过你的车子。’”“在这个地区，我想不出还有哪种风格的车辆如此引人注目。“他们每一辆车都与众不同。”

AN EYE FOR VISIBILITY

标识设计和数码打印

“I’m pretty sure there’s a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking,” if I may quote Derek Zoolander. “And I plan on finding out what that is” – or more in my case, how Blue Steel achieved their look. The shop behind the wraps is azpro (Avondale, AZ), and after passing by azpro’s shop many times, a representative of Blue Steel walked in one day. “After the first wrap we completed, they supplied us with a new logo and we created the rest of the design concept around that,” said Tom Radz, marketing specialist at azpro. “We were given free reign, as only the logo was submitted with no further instructions or directions.” The main design element features the company’s new “eye” icon overlaying what looks like polished and bolted steel on the hood of the car, with bright, electric-blue lettering underneath.

德里克·佐兰德(Derek Zoolander)说：“我非常确定，生活中好看的东西有很多。”“我打算找出那些东西。”而更为重要的是，《蓝钢》团队如何将好看的东西应用到车辆的外观上。为他们进行包装的是阿兹普罗公司，经过该公司的很多次尝试，蓝钢车队的最终产品终于制作出来，阿兹普罗公司的营销专家汤姆•拉茨(Tom Radz)表示:“在我们进行第一次设计之前，他们给我们提供了一个新的标识，我们围绕这个标识进行了其余的设计。”“在设计上面我们被给予了很大的自由，只有标识是提前规定好的。主要的设计元素是该公司的新“眼睛”图标，它覆盖在看上去像抛光和螺栓连接的汽车引擎盖上，下面是明亮的铁蓝色字体。

Blue Steel was interested in both full and partial wraps for a total of four vehicles: two Kia Souls and two Dodge Chargers. The partial wrap on one Kia Soul was done to be more cost-effective and to save the hood from the double whammy of the Southwestern sun beating down from above and the engine heating from below. In addition to printed wrap vinyl, azpro suggested adding Clear Focus window perforation film, on which they printed the eye, company name and slogan, “Always a watchful eye” to blend into the different-shaded, blue-shapes background. Using Photoshop and Illustrator, azpro’s design team produced a proof within two days. “We got the proofs, liked them and ran with it,” Coxen said. “There may have been a minor adjustment or two, but essentially [they] nailed it the first time.” For output, azpro chose 3M IJ180Cv3-10 Gloss White Vinyl and printed it on their HP Latex 3000, driven by Caldera RIP software. They added 3M Scotchcal 8520 Matte over-laminate by means of their Graphic Finishing Partners 563TH laminator.

蓝钢团队一共包装共四辆车:两量起亚和两量道奇战马。一辆起亚采取部分包装的方式，一方面更加省钱，另一方面也为了避免引擎盖受到来自西南方向的太阳的照射和发动机从下而上的加热。除了数码打印的乙烯基外，阿兹普罗公司还建议增加聚焦窗口穿孔膜，在上面印上眼睛、公司名称和口号，更好地融入背景之中。阿兹普罗公司的设计团队使用Photoshop和Illustrator这两个软件，在两天内制作了一个样片，科克森说：“我们一拿到样片，就喜欢上了它们，然后敲定这个设计。”“可能在这之后会有一两个小调整，但大体方向在第一次就确定了。”输出的时候选择了3 m IJ180Cv3-10的亮白色乙烯基，并数码打印在他们的HP乳胶3000上，还加入了3M Scotchcal 8520哑光材料。

The four vehicles were wrapped at different times, the installation lasting 1-2 days for each. This is part of azpro’s typical one-workweek turn-around. As a large, high-volume shop, azpro relies on PrintIQ workflow software. “Without it, we cannot do what we do,” Radz said. The shop honors 3M’s warranty – in Arizona they are only warrantied for a year due to the high temperatures and constant sunlight – however, with proper care, these wraps can last anywhere from 2-5 years, Radz said.

四辆车在不同的时间进行数码打印和包装，每辆车的数码打印时间为1-2天。这是阿兹普罗公司典型的一周工作制的体现。阿兹普罗公司是一个高容量的公司，它使用PrintIQ软件进行工作，拉兹说：“没有它，我们就不能做出我们所做的东西。”在亚利桑那州，由于高温和持续的阳光，3M公司在这儿的保修期仅为一年——然而，拉兹说，在适当的护理下，这些商品使用寿命可长达2-5年。

IN ON THE JOKE

标识的由来

“When we began building the Blue Steel Brand, a cornerstone of our program was having vehicles that would stand out from the other ‘security/police’ type vehicles commonly associated with security companies,” Coxon said. “Our fleet rolls 24/7 and [the wraps have] had significant impact on our growth and visibility in the market. The fully wrapped Dodge Charger gets the most attention and is complimented almost everywhere it goes.”

科克逊说:“当我们刚开始打造蓝钢这个品牌时，我们项目的优势是拥有许多特别的车辆，这些车辆与通常与其他公司的车辆型号不同。”“我们的车队每周7天、每天24小时待命，这对我们的市场增长和知名度产生了重大影响。全方位包装的道奇战马得到最多的关注，所到之处也得到许多赞扬。”

Now for the big question we’ve all been waiting for: Did Zoolander inspire the name for Blue Steel Security Services? “We didn’t actually name the company,” Coxon said. (Aww!) “The original founders from whom we bought Blue Steel named it. Had it been us, we probably would have picked something different. That being said, Michelle [at Blue Steel] is extremely talented at branding and since the Zoolander thing was out there, we embraced it and it became part of our identity. We’re firm believers that the sillier something is, the more people are likely to remember it – and thus far it’s worked.”

现在，我们面临一个大问题:《超级名模》是否是蓝钢公司灵感来源? 科克逊说: “我们并没有给这家公司起名字。” “事实上，这个名字是我们最初的创始人定下来的。如果是我们，我们可能会选择一个不同的名字。话虽如此，米歇尔在品牌塑造方面极具天赋，自从《超级名模》出现后，我们欣然接受了它，它成为了我们团队的一部分。我们坚信，越是有趣的名字，越容易被人记住——至少到目前为止，它都是有效的。”