Sign guide
Types of Signs for Business and Where Each One Works
There are about a dozen common types of signs for business, and your building usually narrows the choice before taste does. This field guide covers each type in a few lines: what it is, where it works, one rule the City of Los Angeles sets for it, and where to read more.
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Send a photo. We'll suggest options that fit your wall and your city's rules. The first mockup and one round of changes are free for business-sign requests, per location. Extra rounds are billed.
Types of signs at a glance
Twelve common types of business signs in Los Angeles: where each one goes, whether it lights up, and one rule of thumb from the City of LA sign code.
| Sign type | Where it goes | Lit? | City of LA rule of thumb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Channel letters | On the fascia over the door | Yes, from the face or from behind | All wall signs share one area limit. Channel letters get 20% more when the wall color behind them doesn't change. |
| Dimensional letters | Fascia, lobby wall or monument face | No | On an outside wall they count toward the shared wall-sign area. No wall sign may stick out more than 24 inches. |
| Light box (cabinet) | On the wall, on brackets, or on a pole or monument | Yes | Flat on the wall it's a wall sign. On a bracket at a right angle to the wall it's a projecting sign, under the blade-sign rules. |
| Blade (projecting) sign | Sticks out from the wall over the sidewalk | Either | Its bottom edge clears the sidewalk by 8 ft or more, and the lot must have at least 50 ft of street frontage. |
| LED neon | Inside the window, or on an interior wall | Yes | Within 6 ft of a window and visible from outside, it counts as a window sign. |
| Window graphics | Storefront glass and doors | No | Every window sign together, LED neon included, tops out at 10% of the window's area. |
| Monument sign | Low, at the entrance or driveway | Either | Up to 8 ft tall, at least as wide as it is tall, and 75 sq ft per direction of traffic at most. |
| Pylon (pole) sign | Tall, beside the road or lot | Usually | The lot needs 50 ft of street frontage. Height is capped at 25, 35 or 42 ft, set by the frontage. |
| Parking and property signs | Posts, fences and walls in the lot | No | Direction and instruction signs count as information signs: up to 6 ft 6 in tall and 25 sq ft. |
| Lobby, office and wayfinding | Inside: the front desk, halls and doors | Either | Inside a covered mall, a sign needs a permit and is capped at 36 in tall (a vertical one at 96 in tall and 36 in wide). |
| Wall graphics and murals | Interior and exterior walls | No | Outside, a mural with a business message is regulated as a sign. |
| Vehicle graphics | Vans, trucks and cars | No | Banned: signs on a vehicle or trailer parked on private property only to draw people in and not otherwise used in the business. |
From the LADBS Sign Manual, P/BC 2023-078, for most commercial zones (C2 and less restrictive). General information for the City of Los Angeles, not an approval. Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena have their own rules, and sign districts and landlord criteria can set different limits.
Types of storefront signs and building signs
Most types of outdoor signs for business either sit on the building or stand on their own. These eight are fixed to the wall, the fascia or the glass, and most storefront sign ideas start with one of them.
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Illustration
Lit · on the fascia Channel letters
Individual 3D letters with aluminum sides and acrylic faces, lit by LED modules inside. A common pick in LA strip centers, where landlord criteria often ask for individual letters. See channel letter signs
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Illustration
Lit · softer look Halo-lit letters
Solid letters set off the wall, with LEDs shining back onto it, so each one sits in a ring of light. They suit salons, boutiques, offices and lobbies. See halo-lit letters
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Illustration
Not lit · on the wall Dimensional letters
Solid 3D letters cut from acrylic, PVC or aluminum and mounted on studs. No power at the wall and crisp shadows by day. After dark they need a light aimed at them. See dimensional letters
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Illustration
Lit · the whole logo Light box signs
An aluminum cabinet with LEDs inside and a translucent face. It lights a full-color logo and several lines of text. Light box sign ideas: a round logo box, push-through letters, a double-sided box on brackets. See light box signs
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Illustration
Lit or not · over the sidewalk Blade signs
A two-faced sign on a bracket, set at a right angle to the wall so people walking from either direction can read it. Often paired with letters on the fascia. See blade signs
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Illustration
Lit · window or wall LED neon signs
Flexible LED tube on a cut acrylic backer, with the look of glass neon. In the window it reads from the sidewalk after dark; inside, it makes a feature wall. We make LED neon, not glass neon. See LED neon signs
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Illustration
Not lit · on the glass Window graphics
Cut vinyl lettering, printed decals and frosted privacy film. Your name, hours and services go where people look first, and they're easy to change when those do. See window graphics
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Illustration
Lit or not · any exterior wall Building signs
Letters, a logo or flat panels on an office, clinic or warehouse wall, often read from a parking lot rather than a sidewalk. Size them for the farthest spot people read from. See outdoor business signs
Sign-type photos are illustrations, not our projects.
Freestanding signs: monument, pylon and lot signs
When the building sits back behind parking, or several businesses share a lot, a sign near the street does the work. In the City of LA, freestanding signs are sized by street frontage, kept back from interior lot lines, and not allowed at all in C1 and C1.5 zones.
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Illustration
Low · at the entrance Monument signs
A low sign on a solid base at your driveway, at eye level for drivers slowing to turn in. Office parks, clinics and churches use one where the building sits too far back for a wall sign to read. See monument signs
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Illustration
Tall · by the road Pylon signs
A tall sign on one or two poles, with a cabinet on top and tenant panels below. Drivers see it before they see the building. An existing pylon often just needs new panels or faces. See pylon signs
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Illustration
Not lit · posts and fences Parking and property signs
Reserved spaces, customer parking, tow-away notices, arrows and lot rules, printed on aluminum. Short, high-contrast copy, placed where drivers look as they pull in. See parking signs
Sign-type photos are illustrations, not our projects.
Vehicle graphics
Signs that travel: vans, trucks and fleets
A work van parked at a job or stopped at a light is a sign too, and it moves around LA with you. Coverage runs from cut-vinyl lettering on the doors, to a partial wrap on the cargo sides, to a full wrap over every painted panel. The design is shown on photos of your own vehicle first.
Cargo vans have the biggest flat sides, so van wraps carry the most message. Running several trucks and vans? Fleet graphics fit one layout to each make and model, so a pickup and a high-roof van read as the same company. Pricing one? See what vehicle wraps cost.
Signs inside the building
Interior signs greet visitors and get them to the right door. People read them from a few feet away, so finish and material matter more than size. One matching set from the lobby to the last door looks planned.
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Illustration
Behind the front desk Lobby signs
Your logo on the wall visitors face as they walk in: dimensional letters, a clear or printed acrylic panel, or halo-lit letters for a glow. See lobby signs
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Illustration
Doors and suites Office signs
Suite numbers, door plaques, name plates and glass lettering, made as one family so every floor matches. See office signs
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Illustration
Directories and arrows Wayfinding signs
A directory at the elevator, arrows at each turn and room signs at the end. Planned from a floor plan, so first-time visitors find their way without asking. See wayfinding signs
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Our shop
Printed walls and murals Wall graphics
Printed wall vinyl, wallpaper, cut lettering and raised UV panels for offices, gyms and dining rooms. The mural in this photo was printed in our Sun Valley shop. See wall graphics
The wall-graphics photo is our own work. The other sign-type photos are illustrations, not our projects.
Types of signage by material
The same type of sign can be built from different materials. The material decides how it looks up close, how it holds up in LA sun and how much it weighs on the wall.
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Aluminum and ACM
Solid sheet or aluminum composite panels: flat, light and rust-free. Parking and property signs, building panels, tenant panels.Aluminum signs -
Acrylic
Clear, frosted or colored sheet, laser-cut or UV-printed. Lobby panels, door plaques, cut letters, and the faces of most lit signs.Acrylic signs -
PVC and foam
Light, easy to cut and paint. Dimensional letters for interior walls and for sheltered spots outside.What we cut in-house -
Vinyl
Cut lettering and printed film for glass, walls and vehicles. The easiest material to swap when your hours, menu or phone number change.Vinyl window graphics
How to choose the right type of sign
Looking for outdoor business sign ideas? Start from your building, not from a photo of someone else's. Three questions narrow it fast: lit or not, on the wall or freestanding, outside or inside.
| Your situation | Sign types that usually fit | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Open after dark, or a busy street at night | Lit channel letters, a light box, LED neon or a lit blade sign. See illuminated signs. | Power has to reach the sign. City of LA permits for lit signs are issued only to C-10 or C-45 licensed contractors. |
| Daytime hours, or no power at the wall | Dimensional letters, aluminum or acrylic panels, window graphics | They go dark at sunset unless a fixture lights them. |
| Storefront right on the sidewalk | Letters on the fascia, plus a blade sign or window graphics for people walking by | A blade sign needs 8 ft of clearance below it and a lot with 50 ft of street frontage. |
| Building set back behind parking | A monument at the driveway or a pylon by the road | C1 and C1.5 zones allow only signs attached to the building. Monuments stay 7.5 ft and pole signs 10 ft (5 ft on a corner lot) from interior lot lines. |
| Several tenants on one property | A pylon or monument with tenant panels, plus a directory inside | Panel sizes and colors come from the landlord's sign criteria. At a mini-shopping center, a pole sign needs a conditional use permit from City Planning before the sign permit. |
| You want to change the message later | A light box, or a monument or pylon with replaceable faces | A face-only swap is usually exempt from a sign permit. If the cabinet comes down, the new sign needs a permit and must meet current code. |
| Visitors arrive inside | A lobby sign, suite and door signs, and wayfinding | Ask the building for its sign standard before you pick finishes, so your signs match the rest of the floor. |
| Your vans are on the road all day | Door lettering, a partial wrap or a full wrap, matched across the fleet | Design on photos of each make and model, so the logo lands clear of handles, seams and windows. |
City of LA rules from the LADBS Sign Manual (P/BC 2023-078). General information, not an approval. Rules change; we confirm them for your address.
Help Me Choose
Send a photo. We'll suggest options that fit your wall and your city's rules.
Questions about sign types
Still deciding? Call (818) 806-9006 or text a photo and ask.
What are the main types of business signs?
Four families: signs on the building (channel letters, dimensional letters, light boxes, blade signs, window graphics), freestanding signs (monument, pylon, parking and property signs), interior signs (lobby, office and wayfinding signs, wall graphics) and vehicle graphics. Most businesses use two or three of them together.
What are monument signs?
A monument sign is a low, freestanding sign on a solid base. In the City of LA, a sign counts as a monument if it sits on the ground or no more than 12 inches above it and is at least as wide as it is tall. It can be up to 8 ft high. The main types of monument signs: a lit aluminum cabinet, routed faces with push-through letters, letters on a stone or stucco base, and a multi-tenant panel cabinet. More on monument signs.
Which type of sign works for a small storefront?
Usually letters or a light box on the fascia, plus window graphics for hours and services. A blade sign helps on a walking street, but in the City of LA the lot needs 50 ft of street frontage for one. If you rent, your landlord's sign criteria may decide between letters and a cabinet.
Do all types of signs need a permit in Los Angeles?
Most outdoor ones do. In the City of LA, a new sign, a changed sign, a removed sign and a sign inside a mall all need a permit. Window signs aren't on the exempt list; one application can cover every window sign on a building. Two common exceptions: a new face in an existing cabinet, and a small unlit ground sign (20 sq ft or less, no taller than 6 ft 6 in). Lit-sign permits are issued only to a C-10 or C-45 licensed contractor, so our licensed sign-contractor partner files them and we prepare the drawings. Your quote lists the installer's CSLB license number. Information, not an approval; see the LA sign permit guide.
Can I have more than one type of sign?
Yes, and most storefronts do. Letters on the fascia, a blade sign and window graphics is a common mix. In the City of LA, wall, window, projecting, monument and pole signs on one lot share a combined cap of 4 sq ft per foot of street frontage, and a lot gets one pole or projecting sign for each 200 ft of frontage or part of it. Your mockup can show the whole set on your building.
Which types of signs can I update later without starting over?
Light boxes, and monument or pylon cabinets with faces or tenant panels: a new face goes into the cabinet you have, and in the City of LA that usually needs no sign permit while the cabinet stays. Window graphics and wall vinyl come off and go back on with new copy. Letters are the hardest to change, since each one is its own piece.
Not sure which type fits? Send a photo.
Send one photo of the wall or the lot entrance. We suggest the sign types that fit your building and your city's rules, then show one on your photo.
Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed. No payment details.
What to send
- A straight-on photo of the wall or the lot entrance, from across the street.
- The address, so we know which city reviews the sign.
- Whether you're open after dark.
Rather see samples first? Letter and material samples are at our Sun Valley shop, open daily 7 AM–10 PM. Call ahead if you're coming to talk about a sign.
8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley, CA 91352Open daily 7 AM to 10 PMGet directions