Here at Bourn Adventure Gear we don't just design adventure based products, we live them! What that means is, our adventures (domestic and international) act as a source of inspiration for our product design in a digital form that following production, transfers into a tangible, in hand product which is displayed everyday by our customers and friends around the world on their adventures. 

An idea for us that started almost 10 years ago is now a brand that is recognized and used globally. There is not a day that goes by that we are not grateful to our customers and friends for allowing Bourn Adventure Gear to be a part of or in some cases, inspire their adventure. Somewhere out there right now a Bourn Adventure Gear sticker, patch, and/or other product is ridding shotgun on an adventure. It might be in Arizona or it might be in Egypt, ether way, we are amazed and thankful to be a part of it.  

Long before starting Bourn Adventure Gear we had a passion and desire for adventure. From then to now we have traveled to and driven two vehicles to all lower 48 states (some several times over) and visited more than 25 counties. We have hand carried our products on all of those adventures to include some epic international destinations like: Petra, Nairobi National Park, Pyramids of Sudan, and Borobudur Temple. 

Bourn Adventure has been fortunate enough to have people all over the world read our articles, participate in our adventures, and support us through purchasing our products. 

We take great pride in the connections we have made across the globe and we look forward to making many more throughout our journeys. We are humbled by our customers and thankful for their eagerness to rock Bourn Adventure Gear on their adventures. There is a good possibility that one of our stickers, patches, hats, t-shirts, or other products are currently being used on an adventure somewhere in the world right now!

As it stands, we have shipped Bourn Adventure Gear to all 50 states and to more than 35 countries.    

The Bourn Adventure Gear introduction article explains the "why" we started designing and making stickers. This one will explain the "how". If you are not familiar with the "why" and want to read our history in terms of products, please click here: About Us: Bourn Adventure Gear 

Initially, we started our sticker design work on an Apple iPad using a variety of applications. This worked, but not all that well. Although the iPad had been out for a little over two years at this point (late 2012) it could be challenging at times to get designs the way we wanted them and even more challenging to make changes later on if needed.  

The majority of the applications we used then saved the source file as a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG or JPEG) or a Portable Network Graphic (PNG). Typically this would not allow us to make changes to the design later on since it was essentially a finished image without editable layers. If something needed correcting, we normally had to recreate the design from scratch. 

Another issue of the file type was image resolution. Both JPG and PNG are what is known as raster files, which is made up of pixels. On smaller images or products like stickers, this is not too big of a deal. On larger things the resolution can be distorted and the image can appear pixelated due to the raster graphic.  

At the time these issues were easy for us to overcome, but as we continued to grow and design more products, it was not efficient. We knew there were two directions we could go. 

1. Hire a graphics design artist to do all the work
2. Start learning graphics design and purchase the appropriate software 

The first option might be easier initially, but ultimately would be more expensive and could be challenging to convey our design ideas. The second option would be more work and require us to learn new software and develop new skills. The plus side is, I could drink coffee while doing it, so, there is that. #coffeeislife

With the help of articles, videos, and other tutorials, we transitioned to Adobe Illustrator (AI) for all of our design work. This allows us the opportunity to easily make changes or adjust the designs when needed. Another benefit to this program is it uses vector based graphics. This simply means a graphic is comprised of paths resulting in a cleaner graphic which is scalable in size without the distortion and pixelation found in a raster-based graphic.  

Adobe Illustrator gives us options for file types. We can still save a design as a JPG or PNG if we want or can save it as an SVG (Scaleable Vector Graphic), PDF (Portable Document Format) or of course, as a Adobe Illustrator (AI) file, which typically is what we do as those file formats work best for printable designs. 

To learn more about various file formats and how they are best used, please click here: 10 Types of Image File Extensions

​By no means are we experts in this field and if we needed additional support for design work we would gladly hire a professional to assist us. At the end of the day, we are just hobbyists graphic designers who continue to grow Bourn Adventure Gear through our design work and drink too much coffee in the process. #coffeeisstilllife    

What started as a cool way to display our designs and adventures has now grown into a large market filled with creative and talented makers. Although our patches were initially marketed to Toyota owners for use on their headliners, we have now expanded our design spectrum to include a wide variety of themes. 

People all over the world rock Bourn Adventure Gear patches on their jackets, bags, hats, hiking equipment, photography equipment, camping gear, tactical vests, vehicle headliners, and much more. 

We have physically carried our patches with us on adventures all over the world. They have traveled to places like Petra, Zion National Park, the Dead Sea, Arches National Park, Wadi Tiwi, and Niagara Falls, to list a few.

To us and many other people, our patches are more than just designs, they are a lifestyle! ​

Although patches are our top seller now, Bourn Adventure Gear started with stickers and decals in late 2012. If you are not familiar with our beginning or why we started designing stickers, please click here: About Us, Bourn Adventure Gear  

That article goes into detail about our history with stickers and what influenced a lot of our designs. What it does not cover is how our stickers and decals are designed, made, and installed, which we will talk about here. 

You may have noticed, I separate the words sticker and decal. They are both made from vinyl, but the design work, production process, and finished product are different between the two, which is why we refer to them differently. 

For our stickers as well as other products, we use Adobe Illustrator (AI) which is a vector based software. If you are not familiar with that program, please read our design article here: Our Design Evolution. For our decals, we use Graphtec Studio, which is the native software for our Graphtec cutting plotter. 

Depending on the design and detail, the graphic might look better as a multicolor sticker or as a single color decal. Sometimes we use the same design for both a sticker and a decal like we did with the My Toyota Rocks! design.

​Most of the design work is done in-house, but we outsource sticker production to an online company which we have used for many years. Our multicolor stickers are printed on premium vinyl which allows for rich color and extensive detail. Each sticker has a permanent adhesive backing and is sealed with a protective laminate.  

Due to the production process, each sticker is extremely durable and can withstand exposure to sunlight, wind, and rain. We personally have ran our stickers on our Bourn Adventure vehicles for several years without fading, scratching, or peeling.

All of our design work and production is done in-house on our Graphtec cutting plotter. Our single color decals are made using high-quality vinyl which is designed for both indoor and outdoor use. The vinyl is extremely durable and has a life expectancy of 3-5 years depending on the environment and care. The vinyl itself has an adhesive backing which allows for placement on most surfaces. Once applied, it can withstand exposure to rain, wind, dirt, and sun.

For additional information regarding installation and maintenance of our decals, please read our article here: Vinyl Decal Information    

We personally have ran our decals on our Bourn Adventure vehicles for several years without fading, scratching, or peeling. 

Like we mentioned, our stickers and decals can be placed on just about any surface, inside or outside. For the most part, installation is as simple as:

1. Identifying a location
2. Cleaning the surface
3. Preparing the sticker or decal by removing the backing
4. Placing the sticker or decal onto the surface
5. Take pictures and share with the world!

​Additional considerations for cleaning the surface. Typically, alcohol works best (not beer, whiskey, or wine...that's for you). This helps remove any dust, dirt, grease, or other debris before placing the sticker or decal on. 

Additional considerations for installation. Typically, starting on one side of the sticker or decal and working your way to the other helps prevent air bubbles from becoming trapped underneath. If any are present after installation, using a flat object like a credit card and running it over the surface of the sticker or decal can help push the air bubbles to the edge. However, this technique could damage the product. 

​Normally the stickers and decals themselves require little to no maintenance. This refers more to the area where they are applied. When cleaning your vehicle or other surfaces on which you have placed a sticker or decal, try to avoid vigorously scrubbing on top of it. Direct contact like this could lead to portions of the sticker or decal potentially pealing up or being removed. 

This is more of a concern with decals rather than stickers as the decals tend to have smaller, exposed details. 

We love stickers and decals because of the places they go and stories they tell. They can be put on computers, tool boxes, vehicles, walls, windows, lunch boxes, small children, and just about anything else. With over 150 sticker and decal options available in our store, there isn't a situation or place one of our "stickables" can't relate to.

We want our products to outlast your adventure, which is why we continually do research and development on all Bourn Adventure Gear. We even rolled our Toyota FJ Cruiser for sticker and decal product testing and guess what? They stuck!