sign Archives - Sign Smith Sign Painting

Digital Print for Ray’s Barber Shop

This is a case where a digital print did exactly what the client wanted. The barbers wanted to be able to see thru the solid background of the logo because of it’s size and location in the middle of the two front windows.

Ray’s Barber Shop is one of the oldest barber shops in Old Towne Orange. I started going to Ray’s back when I started working at Disneyland. Roy and Ray have become friends of mine and I’ve done several signs for them.

Because they wanted two window signs that they could see through I had to research material that would work. I remembered the material they use on buses.

So, I designed the artwork in CorelDraw and had Sign mart make the prints.

After hand cutting the shape, I installed them on to the glass. Sitting in the chairs you can still see the girls from the college walking by.

Monument Sign for Placentia Lakes

One of the best ways to enhance a sign is to add gold leaf, just like on this monument sign.

I used to play piano for Kirkwood Assisted Living, here in Orange. Danielle lived at Placentia Lakes and put me in touch with the management company who needed two new entrance signs. The Management Company asked me to come up with a design and after it was approved and the deposit made i started on the signs.

A monument sign like this is done on 2” HDU board and router cut. I asked Frank Smika at Letter Perfect to route the signs and he completed the job. I had to have a local graphic designer prepare the artwork for the router.

I did the drawings for the construction of the sign and also the artwork for the new design. The sign was painted with Mann Bros. acrylics and ‘placentia’ was gold leafed with 22k gold. Both signs are double faced and this job was a real challenge but turned out well.

Monument Sign for the Placentia Unified School District

This concrete monument sign is at the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified District Headquarters. I designed the artwork based on their font and what was allowed for the monument sign. I cut the letters and mounted them to the form and contracted the concrete work to a local construction company.

It was the first job of this kind that I did and this sign still stands today and has held up really well. During this time I did a lot of work for the PYLUSD and their many schools in the area including wall signs, sandblasted wood signs and directional signs.

McFadden’s Irish Pub Custom Metal Sign

This bar & grill has a ground level custom metal sign by the entrance and is located in Tustin and was known for many years as McClures Bar & Grill. The new owners wanted a new look and of course a new name.

The logo was designed by a graphic designer and I incorporated it into the oval format of the existing sign. I designed the artwork in CorelDraw, made a transparency and then a pattern to pounce onto the surface. The background is primed and painted enamel and the lettering and logo are hand painted. All the lettering was done on site for this out door sign.

Joyce Bright Interiors Gold Leaf Sign

Joyce Bright Interiors needed a hand lettered gold leaf sign. They have been in the City of Orange for a number of years. Carol contacted me from an ad I had in the Old Towne Orange Plaza Review. She was moving to a new location at 300 Chapman Ave into a historical building that also houses the Chamber of Commerce. Carol asked me to design a hanging sign using their logo, and also working drawings so that the city could approve a permit. I did the design drawings in CorelDraw.

It took awhile but once the client and city approved the drawings I moved on with the job. The panel was cut from ¾” mdo plywood, primered and painted with enamel. After making a pattern, I did the hand lettering. I suggested a gold leaf border and they thought it would look nice and help the sign stand out. The client had the brackets made from drawings I furnished and they had a sub contractor install the sign.