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...
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
Utah's is pretty neat. I also like Colorado and Minnesota's shields.
I've always like the one from my home state of Pennsylvania. The Keystone is simple, yet unique.
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.
Louisiana--before monochrome. :ded:
Quote from: froggieQuotealthough 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.
I really don't like Minnesota's actually....
I really love the old Ontario one though, not the new one as much.
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 (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 (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.
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!)
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.
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
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
My favorites:
#1: Washington (1964-present)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2Fb%2Fbd%2FWA-531.svg%2F200px-WA-531.svg.png&hash=ba4131508e0c725d315dcc2085f72d0011db53d0)
#2: Washington (1937-1964)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F6%2F6a%2FWA-PSH1.svg%2F200px-WA-PSH1.svg.png&hash=043a09b7824c9f68e1c582f22379da65c374d0d7)
#3: Idaho (present)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2Fa%2Fa0%2FID-1.svg%2F200px-ID-1.svg.png&hash=c1265a6a226f91b665fa7131cb293200174c45b6)
#4: U.S. Route (old)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F5%2F53%2FWA-US99.svg%2F200px-WA-US99.svg.png&hash=2f7c9677804d6992829bd114c231c379b11c0e6b)
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
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:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2Fc%2Fca%2FRO_Roadsign_1.svg%2F100px-RO_Roadsign_1.svg.png&hash=8e5e350db7be2ce910b767cb0d1ef93c73f73ea7)
California.
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).
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.
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...
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?
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.
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.
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.
I never got the rounded rectangle on triangle that is Wisconsin's shield (even as I hail from that state.)
I'm partial to Pennsylvania's which is fitting for being the "Keystone State."
Which begs the question, why didn't Delaware go with a diamond shield since they are the "Diamond State?"
I like California's state shield the best. It just seems the most highway appropriate.
My favorites are Louisiana, North Carolina (I like the simple diamond for some reason), Virginia, Maryland, California, Oregon, and Wisconsin.
i like Wasington State, Ohio, Florida, Texas(even though it's just white), and North Dakota
BigMatt
California state route...because it is simple and historic (49er spade), and the current CA US highway shield. The one used everywhere else isn't as nice as the one CalTrans uses...I'm surprised it hasn't caught on anywhere else. My ultimate favorite would have to be the Interstate shield.
QuoteI never got the rounded rectangle on triangle that is Wisconsin's shield (even as I hail from that state.)
I wonder if Quebec provincial highway shield are inspired by Wisconsin? Their forms look a bit similar (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg401.imageshack.us%2Fimg401%2F1134%2Fprovincial.gif&hash=2d90928f133a0f4a83ac4dfdf4d01c88dd73356b) (http://img401.imageshack.us/my.php?image=provincial.gif)
QuoteI wonder if Quebec provincial highway shield are inspired by Wisconsin? Their forms look a bit similar
I think I read somewhere that Wisconsin's state highway shield was inspired by the US highway shield. As for Quebec....
^^Chris Bessert has a pretty good explanation up about it
http://wisconsinhighways.org/indepth/first.html (http://wisconsinhighways.org/indepth/first.html)
Colorado's my favorite, with Kansas a close second.
These are my favorites: Florida, Georgia, Ohio, New York, Penn, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, New Mexico, Arizona, California.
My least favorites: Michigan, any state that uses just the box and state name (In., Il., Md.,and Tx.), and any state that uses just the circle (NJ, IA.,MS.,and KY.)
I like Pennsylvania's shields the best.
My all time favorite has to be Arkansas, with Kansas a close second.
Quote from: DrZoidberg on April 27, 2009, 08:59:46 PM
QuoteI wonder if Quebec provincial highway shield are inspired by Wisconsin? Their forms look a bit similar
I think I read somewhere that Wisconsin's state highway shield was inspired by the US highway shield. As for Quebec....
nope - they used to have the simple triangle, then added the rounded rectangle as an overlay to make more room for the numbers.
most intuitive on this style:
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/WI/WI19580361t300360.jpg)
oh and my favorite shield type? can't go wrong with the Nebraska covered wagon - both old and new styles.
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/NE/NE19310032i1.jpg)
(//www.aaroads.com/shields/img/NE/NE19790805i1.jpg)
great job keeping the classic wagon design even as standards mandated larger and more legible numbers.