Ideas ·

How to Make Custom Street Signs

by Olivia Hill
street signs in custom colors of burgundy with orange letters

Street signs are present in every part of the United States. If you are in the city or the backroads in the country, you will have a sign to mark most streets with the road name. The signs are also visible while driving at night because they are made with reflective vinyl material.

The staff at Signature Streetscapes makes thousands of new street signs every year in many different colors and design layouts. Making these signs requires a process that we have perfected over the years. Here are the steps outlining how we make custom street signs at Signature Streetscapes.

Steps to Create Custom Street Signs

  1. Design: A Street Sign layout is created digitally by the Graphics Department 
  2. Approval: The Graphics Department needs approval from the customer before moving forward with the order.
  3. Files to Print: Set up print-ready files for the Print Department
  4. Design Printed: Print Department loads vinyl and prints the design
  5. Cut Vinyl: Vinyl is cut down to a manageable size for applying to the aluminum substrate
  6. Apply Vinyl to Base: Vinyl is aligned to the aluminum base on a light table and the vinyl is applied using a Rolls Roller to create a clean, flat sign. This is done for the front and back because all street signs are double-sided.
  7. Trim Edges: The excess vinyl is cut from the edge to create a final street sign, ready to ship to the customer.
7 step to create a custom street sign

Choosing a Design for Custom Street Signs

While driving down the streets of different communities you may notice that the design and colors may change in different areas. The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to creating a custom street sign. Some legal and regulatory limitations may apply in different states, cities, townships, and subdivisions. We recommend that all of our customers look into the approval process for their local municipality before ordering street signs for their area.

If you are looking for a street sign for personal use, to hang in your garage, or use for your private drive you have many more design options to choose from. You can customize the color, font, and text layout, and even add a logo on the street sign or add a logo paddle insert to your street sign assembly. There are several standard street sign sizes offered that you can easily order today. If you prefer a custom size and shape for your street sign, we can provide you with a custom quote.

Custom Street Name Sign Examples

Here are some of the designs that we’ve done in the past for you to review.

Street sign layout example of street name, direction and block numbers street sign examples with logo and street name street name sign example in classic vintage street sign style street sign designs with custom colors custom street sign logo paddles with street name sign in frames custom shaped street name sign

For sign post assembly options read our Designing a Neighborhood blog article on the different options for various architectural styles.



About Olivia Hill

photo of author, olivia hill, art director at Signature Streetscapes

Olivia Hill has worked in the sign manufacturing industry for over 6 years. In the early parts of her career she worked as a design engineer and transitioned to art director within the last 2 years. She attended Grand Valley State University and obtained her degree in Fine Arts/Illustration, with a certification in metal-smithing and CAD. Olivia brings a slew of talents to the table to help customers bring a wide variety of projects to life.

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