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What's your favorite state highway shield design?

Started by DrZoidberg, April 25, 2009, 12:20:50 AM

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DrZoidberg

 My favorite state shields are in Washington, using the George Washington shilouette.  I just think it's very unique.  That being said, what's your favorite?  What states do you think are due for a revision?

I kind of think Illinois could use a Lincoln shilouette design...
"By the way...I took the liberty of fertilizing your caviar."


corco

Nebraska, with Washington a close second. I love the oxwagon.

Idaho is up there too because of the inverted  colour scheme, and I also like Colorado and Minnesota for their use of color, although  Minnesota's can be too easily confused with an interstate shield from a distance. 

Expanding into Canada, Briitsh Columbia would easily crack the top 3

WillWeaverRVA

Utah's is pretty neat. I also like Colorado and Minnesota's shields.
Will Weaver
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"But how will the oxen know where to drown if we renumber the Oregon Trail?" - NE2

mightyace

I've always like the one from my home state of Pennsylvania.  The Keystone is simple, yet unique.
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I'm out of this F***KING PLACE!

corco

I have to be honest though- I don't like the MUTCD standard circle, but I do like the simplicity of the Massachusetts/Maine/Connecticut/West Virginia type shield with no state name, just a square with a number and maybe a border.

cjk374

Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

SSOWorld

Quote from: froggie
Quotealthough Minnesota's can be too easily confused with an interstate shield from a distance.

I've only heard that complaint from one other person.  Having grown up in Minnesota, I never noticed the similarity/confusion.
I second that - Minnesota's marker has orange in it whereas the Interstate has red.
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

un1

I really don't like Minnesota's actually....
I really love the old Ontario one though, not the new one as much.
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Thunder Bay Expressway - Highway 61 and 11/17 Ontario - Thunder Bay, Ontario

Alps

Minnesota is GOLD not ORANGE!?

Good states: ND's Native American, KS's sunburst, UT's beehive, WI's cheese slice, NY's state seal, SC if only for getting rid of the square!
Bad states: OK's suicidal meatcleaver - make it like Idaho and put one number below the panhandle, 1-2 inside the state with a different color scheme.  Or at least make it like Florida and take up the entire shield.
Every circle or square as follows:
IA could just as easily use the state outline.
MS can do it if AL can do it and again use the state outline.
KY has horses and Fort Knox.  I'm sure they can think of something.
IL and IN are twins right now.  State outlines would again work here, and I especially like IL's.
VA secondaries look too much like the primary.  Since they're circles, that makes them wrong.  How about a diamond?
WV should pull a SC and dress up its square with some mountains and a little color.
DE is shaped like Idaho, so it can use an Idaho type shield.
NJ should break the mold and go with a 36 high by 24 wide sign for its routes.  I suggest one on my site - http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/nj/new.html.
CT should put the state outline on the shields like the Merritt Parkway used to do before the last old one disappears.
RI should go with a white state outline against an ocean blue (see their license plates, kind of a lighter slate blue-grey) background with black numbers.  I just mocked one up - http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ri/120.jpg.
MA, well some of you know how I feel about that state.  Let them keep their square and think they're superior.
VT should let/make towns use the same shield as the Agency of Transportation.  That way routes are signed consistently.
ME could go to a state outline or I'm sure could come up with something sea-related.  Maybe drape a lobster over the route number.


ctsignguy

The best:

Pennsylvania = That keystone looks great either as 2-di or 3-di sign.....and there is no mistaking it for anything else

Most Colorful = Colorado

Why did they Drop This Idea? = Connecticut for the unique outline markers that hung out around the Merritt Parkway

The design that looks best in 3-Di = South Dakota, whose state design looks squashed on the 2-di shields

The designs whose 3-di version makes you want to gouge your eyes out: North Dakota The Chief looks really bad....like he mutated....Thankfully Washington doesnt do that to George!

Best Tie-in to State Heritage: Nebraska with the Pioneers....runner-up goes to Utah

Even two colors can be Colorific! = A tie here with Vermont's green shields, and South Carolina's new blue shields

Too boring to think of a category: Tie with Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut among the squares....New Jersey, Kentucky, Iowa and Mississippi among the circles (Oklahoma saw their fate coming and wisely went to the Panhandle shield!)

Why did they go Away? =  Indiana and Illinois both dropped state-outline shields for boring squares (at least they kept State names!)
http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u102/ctsignguy/<br /><br />Maintaining an interest in Fine Highway Signs since 1958....

akotchi

Of the ones I can comment on, I like my homestate of Pennsylvania's keystone.  Also, Utah's beehive and New Hampshire's Old Man profile are nice.
Opinions here attributed to me are mine alone and do not reflect those of my employer or the agencies for which I am contracted to do work.

Ian

Here are the states I love:

New Hampshire- been goin there all my life and it has a nice design with the Old Man On The Mountain
Pennsylvania-I live here and the keystone is pretty kick
New York
Louisiana
Florida
Ohio
Nevada
Utah

Quote from: corcobut I do like the simplicity of the Massachusetts/Maine/Connecticut/West Virginia type shield with no state name, just a square with a number and maybe a border.

Yea, I have to second that. May be kinda bland but I see them all the time when I go up to the area. And believe it or not, same goes for the circle shields.

-i
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
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DrZoidberg

Another item I'd bring up is Texas.  I always thought the FM shields looked a lot better than the state highway shields.  Maybe they should swap em.  :-P
"By the way...I took the liberty of fertilizing your caviar."

ComputerGuy

#13
My favorites:

#1: Washington (1964-present)



#2: Washington (1937-1964)



#3: Idaho (present)



#4: U.S. Route (old)



Sykotyk

#14
There's four major styles:

State outlines, profiles, plain squares/circles/triangles, and others.

Best state outline, for me is my home state of Ohio. I don't like Missouri or Nevada. Arizona's is nice (especially the Loop 101 signs).  I don't mind Idaho's since it can generally fit the number well. But, I don't like Florida or Oklahoma, because they must chop out part of the state to fit the number on the sign.

For profile, North Dakota's is the best. NH's isn't bad. I really don't like Washington's. Too small a lot of times for the actual numbers.

Kudos for Tennessee for using the state outline on a in the otherwise plain square with state name.

And, for others, my favorite is Colorado with the state flag adorning the top of the signs. Minnesota, fromvery far away, is incomprehensible. I don't like California's green spade. And Kansas' sunflower (not sunburst, it is, afterall, the Sunflower State) isn't bad. Wyoming's with the bucking bronco is nice, but otherwise makes you think it's an advisory sign due to the color.

The Navajo Nation signs in northeast AZ are nice with the arrowhead (similar to Montana). I like the New Mexico sign with the sun hieroglyph encasing the number.

And I agree with the comment about Texas. The FM signs on BGS look horrible. But the actual signage is nice with the state housing the number, and "Farm" or "Ranch" in the top right and "Road" in the bottom left working well.

Sykotyk

Chris

I like the Louisiana ones, and those from Nebraska. American Highway shields are much more inventive than most European counterparts, which are often just a rectangle with the number in it. The Romanian highway shield is like a US Highway:

Voyager

Back From The Dead | AARoads Forum Original

yanksfan6129

I loves the plain white circle.

But seriously, I really like pretty much all of the state outline ones. To me those are the most "state specific." I also like South Carolina's shield. Combines the state outline with the state name and elements of the state flag (the palmetto and the moon).

Duke87

When it comes to state highway shields, simple is better. If they get too complicated or colorful, they start to outshine Interstate shields, which doesn't seem right.
Doesn't necessarily need to be just a rectangle or circle, though. New York's... thingy (anyone have any clue where that shape came from?) is nice, yet simple. Same goes for the Pennsylvania keystone.

As for state outlines... some states' geometry lends itself to it, others' do not. Ohio is an example of a good outline. On the other hand, those old Connecticut outline markers from the Merritt Parkway were hideous and I'm glad they're gone.
The problem being that the shape of Connecticut is such that you have a crooked jagged southern coast, and a little thing sticking out at the lower left, contrasted with otherwise straight edges. So it just looks really jarring when removed from the context of the surrounding geography.
Ohio, on the other hand, has a good visual balance of gentle curves and straight lines, so it works great as an outline.
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

deathtopumpkins

QuoteVA secondaries look too much like the primary.  Since they're circles, that makes them wrong.  How about a diamond?

Well if VA Secondaries became diamond-shaped, I could see some confusion around the VA-NC border, as NC's state routes are diamonds.

Speaking of diamonds, I don't know why but I like them as highway shields. They're more exciting than circles or squares, but IMO not over-the-top like many of the ones that use state outlines, heads, etc.
California's is cool too, but a rather odd shape...
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Duke87

QuoteCalifornia's is cool too, but a rather odd shape...

Apparently it's supposed to be the spade of a miner's shovel. You know, California gold rush?
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

corco

QuoteNew York's... thingy (anyone have any clue where that shape came from?)

That would be the seal of the state of New York. Oregon does the same thing.

florida

Likes: Any state that uses an outline or a specific item about their state as a shield.

Dislikes: Circles, squares, rectangles. And the 'inflated' Florida shields found in the Pensacola area....why???

Favorites: The older Florida shields with keys on them and most original designs for other states (after looking through the shield gallery). They were simple, to-the-point, and aesthetically pleasing.
So many roads...so little time.

akotchi

Added to my list above . . .

Like:  pentagonal County shields, those that fit into a square shape

Dislike (for now):  "three-digit sized" County shields.  I know why they are showing up, but I have to grow into them.
Opinions here attributed to me are mine alone and do not reflect those of my employer or the agencies for which I am contracted to do work.

SSOWorld

I never got the rounded rectangle on triangle that is Wisconsin's shield (even as I hail from that state.)
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.



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