Helmet Design Ideas: 24 Liveries to Try
24 concrete helmet livery ideas, from centre stripes and two-tones to flames, shards and splatter, with notes on colour, finish and how to build each one.
Published 6 min read
Contents
These are 24 helmet livery ideas that work on a real shell, grouped by style. Each has a note on colours and finish, and how to build it. Where there's a matching starter design, the link opens it in the editor so you can change the colours and make it yours.
A few rules apply to all of them. Keep to two or three colours. Let one graphic dominate. Check the crown and the back as carefully as the sides, because that's what cameras see most. The step-by-step design guide covers the process in detail.
Classic and heritage
01Single centre stripe
A solid base with one wide stripe from the visor, over the crown, to the nape. Red on white, white on red or yellow on navy all work. Add a thin pinstripe either side in a third colour.
Build it: Centre stripe pattern, width around a fifth of the shell.
Open the Corsa starter →02Twin stripes
Two parallel stripes over the crown, Le Mans style. Keep the gap roughly equal to the stripe width so they read as a pair rather than two separate lines.
Build it: Twin stripes pattern; widen the gap slightly for a lower, wider look.
03Sixties paddock
Cream or ivory base, navy twin stripes and a small laurel or roundel on the side. Gloss finish, no fluorescent colours, a clear or light smoke visor.
Build it: Cream base, twin stripes, a laurel shape decal on each side.
Open the Heritage starter →04Two-tone split
The top half one colour, the bottom another, divided by a line that rises towards the visor. A pinstripe along the join makes it look painted rather than taped.
Build it: Two-tone pattern with tilt raised; add the split paint shape with a pinstripe for a crisp edge.
05National colours
Your flag's colours used as broad bands rather than the flag itself: green, white and orange as three side flashes, or blue and yellow as a split. Put the actual flag small on the back.
Build it: Two or three band or side-flash layers, plus a flag decal on the back view.
06Chequered panel
A white or silver shell with chequered panels on the sides and a thin red stripe. Use the chequer on one area only; a whole chequered helmet is hard to look at.
Build it: Chequer texture inside a paint shape, then a centre stripe.
Open the Flag Fall starter →Speed and movement
07Big swoosh
One huge curved shape from the visor, over the crown and down to the nape. A gradient fill (orange to magenta, cyan to blue) gives it depth.
Build it: Swoosh paint shape with a linear gradient fill.
Open the Apex starter →08Forward shards
Angular blades fanning forwards down each side, outlined with double pinstripes. Works best on a light base with a dark shard colour.
Build it: Side shards paint shape, mirror symmetry, two strokes with a small gap.
Open the Fjord starter →09Chevron
A V over the crown pointing at the visor. Strong from overhead cameras and simple enough to read when the helmet is tiny on screen.
Build it: Chevron pattern or the chevron arrow shape; offset moves the point.
10Side flash
A tapering swoosh from the chin bar sweeping back and up each side. Classic on kart helmets and easy to pair with a number on the chin.
Build it: Side flash pattern; raise the height so it clears the chin vents.
11Speed lines
A matte black helmet with a single volt-yellow side flash and thin parallel lines trailing behind it.
Build it: Matte base, side flash in fluo, thin open paths with strokes for the lines.
Open the Night Shift starter →12Fade
A solid colour at the bottom fading to the base colour at the crown, or the other way round. Papaya to magenta, or black to deep blue, with a white chevron over the top.
Build it: Fade pattern, or a gradient fill on the cover-all shape.
Open the Sunset starter →Loud and graphic
13Hot-rod flames
Gloss black with flames licking back from the visor, outlined in a contrasting colour. Yellow to orange to red flames are the classic version; blue or green flames on silver are less obvious.
Build it: Flame tongues paint shape with a gradient fill and an outline stroke.
Open the Inferno starter →14Lightning bolts
Canary yellow shell, a black band and lightning bolts along each side. High contrast and very readable at a distance.
Build it: Band pattern, lightning paint shape in black.
Open the Volt starter →15Paint splatter
Matte black with fluorescent splats, a brush stroke and spray speckle. Looks hand-made. Limit it to two bright colours so it stays bold rather than noisy.
Build it: Paint splat, brush stroke and spray speckle shapes with fluo finish.
Open the Riot starter →16Wave bands
A wavy band running around the helmet with pinstripes on both edges. Carbon or a dark base underneath, a fluorescent band on top.
Build it: Wave band shape over a carbon texture fill.
Open the Carbon Edge starter →17Wings
Feathered wings, either one on each side sweeping back from the visor or a pair spread across the back. Silver metallic with a blue crown is one take; gold on black is another.
Build it: Wing paint shape with mirror symmetry; crown disc pattern on top.
Open the Glacier starter →18Camouflage panel
Woodland or digital camouflage inside one large side shape, with the rest of the helmet a plain matching colour. Full-helmet camo tends to hide the shape.
Build it: Camo or digital camo texture in a paint shape; plain base in one of the camo colours.
Minimal and modern
19Mono with a single accent
One colour all over, with a single thin stripe or number in the accent colour. Satin black with an orange pinstripe, or white with a single red number.
Build it: Base colour and finish only, one centre stripe set very narrow.
20Matte and gloss in one colour
A matte black base with the graphic painted in gloss black. It only shows when light catches it, which looks expensive up close.
Build it: Same colour for base and shapes; matte base, gloss finish on the shapes.
21Crown disc
A plain helmet with a large disc on the crown carrying the race number. Very clear from overhead and onboard cameras.
Build it: Crown disc pattern plus a race number decal on the top view.
22Halftone fade
A dot screen that thins out towards the crown, in a dark colour over a light base. Graphic, modern and good with a single bold name on the side.
Build it: Halftone texture inside a large paint shape; scale the texture up for bigger dots.
23Carbon with a colour edge
Carbon weave as the base and one bright edge stripe running around the bottom of the shell and the visor opening.
Build it: Cover-all shape with carbon fill, band pattern low on the shell.
24Radial pattern
One simple shape repeated around the crown, like petals or blades. Five to eight copies is usually the sweet spot.
Build it: Draw a single shape with the pen tool and set radial symmetry.
Making an idea your own
Starting from an existing idea is fine; most helmet designs are variations on a handful of shapes. What makes one yours is the details:
- Change the colours first. The same layout in different colours looks like a different helmet.
- Combine two ideas carefully. A centre stripe plus a side flash works. A centre stripe, side flash, flames and camouflage does not.
- Add one personal detail. Initials on the chin, a small flag, a number with meaning, or a pinstripe in a club colour.
- Check it small. Zoom out until the helmet is the size it would be on a TV screen and see if the idea still reads.
For colour choices, read choosing helmet colours. If you want a random starting point, the helmet design generator builds one for you, and the helmet gallery has more starter designs to remix.
Start from a blank helmetPick a shell, set a base colour and try one of these ideas.Open in the editor →Related guides
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