Favorite state highway shields?

[KCRoadFan]

All right road fans,

I would like to know: what states do you think have the best state highway shields? I, personally, really like the following ones:

• Any state that uses the state outline as a shield (examples: AL, AZ, AR, GA, LA, MO, OH, SD)
• The sunflower of Kansas
• The "keystone" of Pennsylvania
• That diamond with a bulge on top that New York uses, whatever that's supposed to be
• The red circle that New Mexico uses - I think it looks nice.
• I really like Minnesota's - those blue signs with a gold strip bearing the state's name on the top.
• I also think Colorado's signs are really neat.

What state highway shields do you think are the best - and which ones might you believe could stand to be a little better? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[CoreySamson]

I like Arkansas's and the inverted triangle with round corners that Tennessee uses (or used).

Texas's just kinda sucks. It needs to either swap the state shield with the FM shield or make a new state shield that looks similar to the tolled state highways shields. Those look really clean.

[Rothman]

We've had polls on this before, I'm sure of it.

MN wins.

[SSOWorld]

WI loses. Rectangle over triangle?

Be more creative!

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Michigan's M shields and the California miner spade are pretty iconic too.

Most boring: all circle shielD states, MA, ME, MT, TX.

[SSOWorld]

Michigan's M shields and the California miner spade are pretty iconic too.

Most boring: all circle shielD states, MA, ME, MT, TX.

IL and IN

[Ben114]

FL and VT are really good.

Add CT and RI to that boring list.

[jmacswimmer]

I'm a fan of the new blue shields that SC is gradually phasing in.

[thspfc]

I love the Colorado shield. It really pops on a sign: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7798194,-105.1381217,3a,38.4y,258.49h,104.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sSAsMvNPLYiOZqbUAl6AM8A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
Maybe homerism here but I also love Wisconsin. Simple yet unique. The only bad part is that it doesn't have any real connection to the state or its history.
Other favorites: Minnesota, Kansas, Washington, and Arizona (I think the AZ outline better fits a shield than others).

[CNGL-Leudimin]

The circle should be only used in maps. Looking at you, DE, IA, KY, NJ, MS and WV (VA exempted as I don't count secondary routes, which I consider county roads).

[ethanhopkin14]

Mine might be Arizona because I am a sucker for state outlined shields and I also like how it is just a close approximation. 

Basically I love shields that:

1. Use the state outline
2. Are colored (Even if the numerals are black, if the directional panel and arrow are on a field other than white (or even blue), I love it)

[hbelkins]

Basically, I like anything that uses the state outline or something else iconic to the state. The Kansas sunflower, Pennsylvania keystone, Utah beehive, New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountain, and similar.

Not necessarily a fan of odd shapes (New York, Virginia, Wisconsin, Oregon, Hawaii, Michigan, North Carolina, etc.)

Definitely not a fan of generic circles or squares/rectangles, but I'll make an exception for variations on a theme such as Tennessee and South Carolina, which incorporate the state's outline.

The circle should be only used in maps. Looking at you, DE, IA, KY, NJ, MS and WV (VA exempted as I don't count secondary routes, which I consider county roads).

WV's circle routes, although technically state secondary routes, are considered to be county routes.

[formulanone]

WI loses. Rectangle over triangle?

Be more creative!

Well, it's ahead of all the states with simple squares and circles. They also get a free pass for being the first to actually sign their highways (excluding milestones).

[Ned Weasel]

Kansas's sawblade--I mean--sunflower shield is one of the few things I actually like about this state.

[oscar]

• The red circle that New Mexico uses - I think it looks nice.

The red stylized zia symbol (modified from what's on the state flag) unfortunately suffers from a lot of sun fading. Often you end up with a boring circle, or often NMDOT just starts off with a boring circle or oval and doesn't bother with the zia.

• I really like Minnesota's - those blue signs with a gold strip bearing the state's name on the top.

Not different enough from Interstate markers, viewed in haste from a distance. (Like Wisconsin's is too close to US route markers.) Colorado does colorful markers better.

It should not surprise you (look at my avatar) that I think Alaska's Big Dipper route marker is one of the best.

[StogieGuy7]

WI loses. Rectangle over triangle?

Be more creative!

Well, it's ahead of all the states with simple squares and circles. They also get a free pass for being the first to actually sign their highways (excluding milestones).

My criticism of the WI shield isn't the creativity, it's the way WisDOT carries it out.  Apparently, at some point a couple decades ago, someone decided to de-empathize the overall square over a triangle design and to reshape the shield as basically a square with slight protrusions above and below where the triangle used to be more obvious.  Especially true of BGS' on freeways, where you have to squint to tell the difference between the WI shield and the ugly square that states like IL, IN, WV, CT, MA, etc. use (I hate those even worse than circles, btw). 

Some of the county highway departments still use an older version of the shield that shows "a bit more ankle" so to speak - Kenosha County still has the "WIS" in them".

All that said, Wisconsin's shields are still better than most of it's neighbors.  Minnesota's shields are really cool in their pure design, but the primary state shield has two big flaws: the golden part fades like crazy on shields and looks lousy over time. And, the top ribbon with the state outline and name (which looks awesome in pure form) is hard to discern, leaving a shield that looks a bit like a decapitated interstate from afar.   

In general, color shields that use insufficiently robust paint tend to fare poorly over time. New Mexico's Zia, looks great for about a year or two - eventually fading into a shield that looks like New Jersey's but with smaller font numerals.

[StogieGuy7]

I'm a fan of the new blue shields that SC is gradually phasing in.

They are nice.  I am not usually a fan of using a square shield and adding a do-dah here or there to try to make it iconic - but SC does pull it off with their new shields.  They look great on BGS' too.

[GaryV]

For the plain b&w, I like the MI diamonds.  Ok, I'm probably prejudiced.  But that's what I think.

I will agree that some of the shields with colors are more iconic.  But the ones with state outlines, I can generally take'm or leave'm.  Especially since they often suffer in execution, so the state gets stretched or squished.

[CtrlAltDel]

On the whole, I have to admit that I do not like the state outline shape shields, especially when the shape of the state gets contorted into something a bit too far from the actual geographic outline of the state. This is all but inevitable with 3-digit routes, but even the 2d shape of Alabama is just wrong.

I'm also ambivalent to the square and circle shields. Sure, they're plain, but I don't think of that as something to hate.

So, with that in mind, here's how I've evaluated all of them:

Code Select Expand


Good
California
Hawaii
Kansas
New Mexico
New York
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Okay
Alaska
Connecticut
Delaware
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Montana
New Jersey
North Carolina
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia

Bad
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Louisiana
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Tennessee
Washington


[kphoger]

Texas's just kinda sucks. It needs to either swap the state shield with the FM shield or make a new state shield that looks similar to the tolled state highways shields. Those look really clean.

I keep seeing people on the forum suggest this, but I am strongly opposed to the idea.  Why would you want a shield for a secondary highway to be more legible while driving than a shield for a primary highway?

WI loses. Rectangle over triangle?

Be more creative!

Well, it's ahead of all the states with simple squares and circles. They also get a free pass for being the first to actually sign their highways (excluding milestones).

It's all but indistinguishable from a US Route shield, therefore it's automatically a loser shield in my opinion.

[-- US 175 --]

I wish TX would snap out of the boring-square funk they are in.  The only thing they've done lately is make the border bolder.  Still boring.  IDK what TxDOT and friends would consider long-term, but I feel something could be done.  I just did this on my phone just now:

Yeah I know, but I'm not by my computer.  Either way, TX can do better than the boring squares.

[kphoger]

They should just go with the elegant shield they already use for toll highways.

[Scott5114]

On the whole, I have to admit that I do not like the state outline shape shields, especially when the shape of the state gets contorted into something a bit too far from the actual geographic outline of the state. This is all but inevitable with 3-digit routes, but even the 2d shape of Alabama is just wrong.

I'm also ambivalent to the square and circle shields. Sure, they're plain, but I don't think of that as something to hate.

So, with that in mind, here's how I've evaluated all of them:

Code Select Expand


Good
[...]

Okay
[...]

Bad
[...]
Oklahoma


No, no, no. Oklahoma is OK.

[StogieGuy7]

On the whole, I have to admit that I do not like the state outline shape shields, especially when the shape of the state gets contorted into something a bit too far from the actual geographic outline of the state. This is all but inevitable with 3-digit routes, but even the 2d shape of Alabama is just wrong.

I'm also ambivalent to the square and circle shields. Sure, they're plain, but I don't think of that as something to hate.

So, with that in mind, here's how I've evaluated all of them:

Code Select Expand


Good
[...]

Okay
[...]

Bad
[...]
Oklahoma


No, no, no. Oklahoma is OK.

Oklahoma is OK - in fact, it's better than just OK.  However, that meat cleaver badge really sucks.  I know this won't be popular here, but I liked the plain circle much better than this unimaginative, off-centered, OCD triggering mess. 

[kphoger]

I know this won't be popular here, but I liked the plain circle much better than this unimaginative, off-centered, OCD triggering mess. 

I agree.  I looks like someone's first draft of an idea.