Coloring the Utah Beehive

[Rover_0]

I've mentioned to UDOT the concept of using color on the Utah state highway shield, wherein my message has been sent to the appropriate UDOT employee on what the deal is. I mentioned South Carolina and how they went from a black-and-white shield to a blue-and-white one, as well as Colorado's, Vermont's, and some others (Washington and their occasional non-BGS green-background signs were mentioned by them). I also stated that these signs would be put up as the old black-and-white ones are taken down, and I should've mentioned that these signs could also help unify a single beehive design.

I also sent them some sample pictures to give them an idea on what the shield would look like, and I left out red, black/yellow, and orange in order to avoid confusion with common caution/warning/construction signs. Here are some example mockups (colors are approximate):

Light Blue on Black Background


Blue BG


Brown BG


Light Blue BG


Green BG


Purple BG


What looks best to each of you? Would any of you give any of these a chance?

[US71]

Brown for Scenic Byways would be good

Light Blue on Black gives me eyestrain

Maybe the blue background.

[roadman65]

The light blue backround looks the best!  I do not think the FHWTA has guidelines for state shields.  If so, what can a state get for violating the rule?  State shields are not funded federally.  The Feds cannot cut that out.

[corco]

The problem with the backgrounds is that you'd either have to put on a colored label, which is more maintenance, or use different color sheeting, which is a lot more expensive. That's why Idaho is doing away with the brown shields- it's not cost effective to have so much of the sign in color.

Green might be cheaper since it's widely used- I'm not sure

[Takumi]

My favorite is the light blue background one.

[xonhulu]

The green and brown backgrounds looked best to me.  Great idea, by the way.

[Milepost61]

Blue and brown look the best to me. I like the idea of the brown for scenic and/or historic routes.

[J N Winkler]

I am not real keen on any of the options above.  All of them, with the exception of the two that use light blue, fail to follow the rule of tincture, and I would reject them on that basis.  I do not think light blue is a MUTCD-approved color.  The design with the light-blue beehive suffers from lack of contrast; the design with the beehive against a light blue field seems visually busy.

One approach that could be tried is to substitute some other color for the black areas in the existing design.  If the substitute color is dark, then the resulting design will comply with the rule of tincture.  Different colors could then be tried for the digits (or they could be left black, to imitate the visual appearance of South Dakota's state route markers).

[papaT10932]

I think Utah's current shield is unique already. If you are interested in redesigning state highway shields, I think more attention needs to be focused on states that use default circles and boring squares.

[Alps]

I would make the beehive yellow, like the Kansas sunburst. Black is cheap, and bees are yellow.

[Quillz]

I'm biased, but I'd like to see more states follow California's lead and go for white-on-green shields. I think standardizing green as the de facto state route color might be useful, kind of like how blue and red are associated as the Interstate colors.

[kkt]

Visually, I like the light blue, brown, or dark blue backgrounds.  The green is attractive but would make it look too much like an exit sign when seen under poor conditions.

Utah apparently has not adopted official state colors, though Wikipedia says they are yellow and black.  Maybe that would be a good scheme, if shades could be found that didn't make it look like a warning sign.

[Alps]

Utah apparently has not adopted official state colors, though Wikipedia says they are yellow and black.  Maybe that would be a good scheme, if shades could be found that didn't make it look like a warning sign.

Again - if Kansas can do it, why not Utah?

[kkt]

Again - if Kansas can do it, why not Utah?

Yes, I like Kansas'.

[national highway 1]

Again - if Kansas can do it, why not Utah?

Yes, I like Kansas'.

Also Wyoming has yellow state highway shields, so why not ditto that with Utah?

[kkt]

I do like the state route shields to have the state name or "State Route" on them.  Not because people don't know what state they're in, but because it keeps them from being mistaken a speed limit or mileage sign.  Especially in states where the state route shield is a generic rectangle or circle.

[kphoger]

I do like the state route shields to have the state name or "State Route" on them.  Not because people don't know what state they're in, but because it keeps them from being mistaken a speed limit or mileage sign.  Especially in states where the state route shield is a generic rectangle or circle.

Even with the state name inside, a route marker can still be mistaken for a speed limit sign.  Take, for example, this sign assembly in Galatia, Illinois.  Speed Limit 30, stacked on top of an Illinois 34 sign.  I used to drive past it nearly every day for work, and still had trouble telling which one was the speed limit on first glance.
http://g.co/maps/mmqn4

[kkt]

I do like the state route shields to have the state name or "State Route" on them.  Not because people don't know what state they're in, but because it keeps them from being mistaken a speed limit or mileage sign.  Especially in states where the state route shield is a generic rectangle or circle.

Even with the state name inside, a route marker can still be mistaken for a speed limit sign.  Take, for example, this sign assembly in Galatia, Illinois.  Speed Limit 30, stacked on top of an Illinois 34 sign.  I used to drive past it nearly every day for work, and still had trouble telling which one was the speed limit on first glance.
http://g.co/maps/mmqn4

Great example.

[roadfro]

Even with the state name inside, a route marker can still be mistaken for a speed limit sign.  Take, for example, this sign assembly in Galatia, Illinois.  Speed Limit 30, stacked on top of an Illinois 34 sign.  I used to drive past it nearly every day for work, and still had trouble telling which one was the speed limit on first glance.
http://g.co/maps/mmqn4

The trouble would be mitigated greatly by following MUTCD recommendations...regulatory signage should not be on the same post as guide signs (which route markers/shields are classified as).

[apeman33]

I do like the state route shields to have the state name or "State Route" on them.  Not because people don't know what state they're in, but because it keeps them from being mistaken a speed limit or mileage sign.  Especially in states where the state route shield is a generic rectangle or circle.

Even with the state name inside, a route marker can still be mistaken for a speed limit sign.  Take, for example, this sign assembly in Galatia, Illinois.  Speed Limit 30, stacked on top of an Illinois 34 sign.  I used to drive past it nearly every day for work, and still had trouble telling which one was the speed limit on first glance.
http://g.co/maps/mmqn4

Great example.

On a trip to the Chicago area once, my friend looked down a side road and said, "That's a weird speed limit. 56 MPH." Turned out it was Route 56.

[kphoger]

Butterfield Road, a 'side road'.   

It actually does (used to? I haven't lived there in quite some time) carry a 55 mph limit along some of its portions in the far western suburbs and rural extremities.  However, I don't know of a 55 mph / Illinois 56 stacked assembly.  Now that would be weird.

[Rover_0]

A thought occurred to me lately, but what about that fluorescent yellow-green color used for crosswalks? Hasn't that color been taken out by now, or does it still see some kind of limited use?

[national highway 1]

How about 'coral'? It is an official FHWA color, but it hasn't been used. Might work well with Utah's desert landscape.

[The High Plains Traveler]

How about 'coral'? It is an official FHWA color, but it hasn't been used. Might work well with Utah's desert landscape.

I think we in the southwest would call that "adobe". It's a color used extensively on the structural members of bridges in New Mexico, often with turquoise trim.

[Rover_0]

How about 'coral'? It is an official FHWA color, but it hasn't been used. Might work well with Utah's desert landscape.

I think we in the southwest would call that "adobe". It's a color used extensively on the structural members of bridges in New Mexico, often with turquoise trim.

I'm confused, though; I thought coral was this pinkish color (not unlike fluorescent pink), but according to the Traffic Sign website, it's more of a brick red. Not a bad color choice, and it could fit Utah nicely.