8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley, CA 91352 Open daily 7 AM to 10 PM Calls and texts: (818) 806-9006
(818) 806-9006Open daily 7 AM–10 PM Get My Free Mockup & Quote

Projecting signs for foot traffic

Blade Signs and Projecting Signs in Los Angeles

Blade signs stick out from the wall at a right angle, so people walking down the sidewalk see your name before they reach the door. We design custom blade signs, lit or non-lit, and make the faces, panels and graphics in our Sun Valley shop. You see yours on a photo of your own storefront before anything is cut.

8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley · Open daily 7 AM–10 PM

See It on My Storefront Call (818) 806-9006

Send a photo of your storefront. We place the blade on it at the proposed size and height. The first mockup and one round of changes are free for business-sign requests, per location. Extra rounds are billed.

Text a storefront photoWhat it usually costs

Illustration: round lit blade sign reading BAR on a brick building at dusk
Illustration: A round lit blade on brick at dusk. Yours is drawn on a photo of your own storefront.

What is a blade sign?

A blade sign is a two-sided sign mounted at a right angle to the building, on a bracket or hung from a canopy. Building codes call it a projecting sign. A flat wall sign reads best from across the street. A blade reads from along the sidewalk, from both directions.

That's why retail blade signs are a fixture on walkable streets like Larchmont Blvd, Abbot Kinney and Colorado Blvd in Old Pasadena. They also help when your door is around a corner, up a flight of stairs or under an arcade, where a wall sign is hard to see. Many shops pair a blade with channel letters or other storefront signs on the fascia.

Mockup first

Check your blade from the sidewalk before it's made

A blade sign has to read from two directions at a set height, so the mockup starts where people actually walk. The first mockup and one round of changes are free for business-sign requests, per location. Extra rounds are billed.

  1. Take two photos

    One straight-on photo of the storefront, and one from the sidewalk about half a block away, looking the way people walk up.

    You do this

  2. We hang your blade on them

    Your blade at a proposed size, shape and height, with the bracket, both faces and a note on the clearance your city usually asks for.

    We do this

  3. Change what you want

    Size, shape, colors, lit or non-lit, or a different bracket. One round of changes is included.

    You do this

  4. Get your quote

    An itemized quote for that exact sign. It says who does each part, from faces and bracket to permit and installation.

    We do this

See It on My Storefront

Phone photos are enough. No payment details.

How blade signs are built

Outdoor blade signs have four parts. Each one changes how the sign reads from down the block and how much weight the wall has to carry.

  • Bracket

    A steel or aluminum arm that bolts to the wall: a flat bar, a round tube or a decorative scroll. Under a canopy or arcade, the sign hangs from rods or chains instead. On brick in Pasadena, the code puts the anchors in the mortar joints.

  • Two faces

    Each side carries your name or logo: UV-printed graphics, cut vinyl, or raised letters routed from acrylic or aluminum. The two faces usually match.

  • Panel or cabinet

    A non-lit blade is a two-sided aluminum panel. A lit blade is a shallow metal cabinet with LED modules inside that light both faces.

  • Shape

    A rectangle, circle or oval, or cut on the CNC router to the outline of your logo. A strong shape reads from down the block before the words do.

Blade sign styles and options

Seven ways to build one, from a flat printed panel to a cabinet that glows. Your mockup shows the one you pick, and the included round of changes can swap in another.
Quote This Style

We'll prefill your pick. You can change it on the form, and add size or bracket ideas in “Anything else?”

Help me choose
Illustration: square lit blade sign with a coffee cup logo on a wall bracket outside a cafe at dusk
IllustrationA square lit blade on a wall bracket.

Lit blades

A lit blade is a small two-sided light box

Most lit blades are a shallow aluminum cabinet on a wall bracket, with LED modules inside and a face on each side. A square or round box is the classic shape. A box cut to the outline of your logo stands out more from down the block.

The face can glow all over, or a routed metal face can let only the name and logo light up. That second look is also how inside-lit blades meet Pasadena's opaque-face rule.

See light box signs

Lit or non-lit blade sign?

If you're open after dark, or your street is busy at night, a lit blade keeps working when the sun goes down. If you close before dark, a non-lit panel usually does the job.
FeatureNon-lit bladeLit blade
At nightReadable only under street or storefront light.The faces glow, or only the letters with push-through.
By dayPrinted or vinyl graphics, or raised letters, on a two-sided aluminum panel.Acrylic faces in a metal cabinet. Translucent colors look a little different unlit.
Depth and weightThin and light. A simple bracket usually carries it.Deeper and heavier, so the bracket and wall anchors carry more.
Power at the wallNot neededNeeded at the sign location
City of LA permitYes, for a new sign.Yes. Permits for lit signs go only to C-10 or C-45 licensed contractors.
Best forDaytime shops, offices and upstairs businessesBars, restaurants and anything open after dark

Permit notes are for the City of Los Angeles, from the LADBS Sign Manual. Glendale and Pasadena limit how a blade can be lit: see the four-city table. Information, not an approval.

See all illuminated signs

LA permit notes

Blade signs and Los Angeles permits

In the City of Los Angeles a blade sign is a projecting sign under the code, and a new one needs a permit. If you rent, your landlord's sign criteria apply too. In most commercial zones a blade has to fit these limits:

  • Frontage: the lot needs at least 50 ft of street frontage, with one projecting or pole sign per 200 ft.
  • Height: the bottom at least 8 ft above the sidewalk, and the top no higher than the top of the wall.
  • Reach: 1 ft past the property line at 8 ft of clearance, plus 6 in for each extra foot, up to 5 ft at 16 ft clear.
  • Spacing: at least 7.5 ft from interior lot lines and 15 ft from another projecting, pole or monument sign.
  • Area: 25 sq ft plus 1.5 sq ft per foot of street frontage for all projecting signs facing one direction of traffic, up to 300 sq ft.
  • Clear of hazards: at least 2 ft from the curb, and no closer to overhead power lines than 6 ft sideways or 12 ft up and down.

Permits for lit signs go only to a C-10 or C-45 licensed contractor. Our licensed sign-contractor partner files the permit, and we prepare the drawings. Your quote lists the installer's CSLB license number.

On an unreinforced masonry (URM) building, the usual exemption from stamped structural calculations doesn't apply. If your storefront is old brick, tell us.

Check My Address

In the City of LA, new, changed, removed and lit signs usually need a permit. A face change alone usually doesn't.

Los Angeles sign permits, step by step

City of Los Angeles: when a blade sign needs a permit

Usually needs a permit

  • A new blade or projecting sign
  • Changes to an existing blade Bigger, higher, moved or turned means full code compliance.
  • Lit (illuminated) blade signs The permit is issued to a C-10 or C-45 licensed contractor.
  • Removing a blade sign
  • A sign that projects into the public way It also needs Bureau of Engineering approval.

Usually doesn't

  • New faces or new copy on an existing blade, with the cabinet left in place

From the LADBS Sign Manual, P/BC 2023-078; reach from LAMC 14.4, Diagram A. C1 and C1.5 zones cap any sign at 2 ft from the wall, CR zones allow no projecting signs, and mini-shopping centers and automotive uses need a conditional use permit for projecting signs. Information, not an approval.

Blade sign rules in LA, Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena

Blade signs for business follow different numbers in each city we serve. The biggest gaps are size and lighting. On a City of LA lot with 50 ft of frontage, projecting signs facing one way can total 100 sq ft. In much of Glendale, one blade is capped at 6 sq ft and lit only from outside.
Projecting (blade) sign rules by city: clearance and reach, size and number, and lighting
CityClearance and reachSize and numberLit blades
City of Los Angeles8 ft above the sidewalk at least. 1 ft past the property line at 8 ft clear, up to 5 ft at 16 ft.The lot needs 50 ft of street frontage. 25 sq ft plus 1.5 sq ft per foot of frontage, up to 300 sq ft.Allowed. The permit goes only to a C-10 or C-45 licensed contractor.
BurbankOver a right-of-way 20 ft or wider: 1 ft at 8 ft clear, plus 6 in per extra foot up to 5 ft in most zones. Narrower right-of-way: nothing below 14 ft.Outside Magnolia Park, no area or count cap of its own; it counts toward the parcel's total sign area. Magnolia Park: one per parcel, 5 × 5 ft or 7 × 7 ft by zone.Within 500 ft of a residential zone, the face is capped at 100 footlamberts and the light source must be hidden from it.
Glendale8 ft above the ground at least. Over the public right-of-way, 3 ft at most, with Community Development approval.One per ground-floor business: 6 sq ft and 6 in thick at most, or 12 sq ft and 12 in in the DSP, TOD, IMU-R and SFMU zones. 10 ft from another projecting sign on the building.Outside those four zones, lit only from outside, by a light aimed at the sign. Inside lighting is allowed in them.
Pasadena8 ft above pedestrian areas at least. Up to 5 ft into the right-of-way, and 2 ft back from the curb.20 sq ft and 18 in thick at most, 15 ft from another projecting or freestanding sign. Shares the two-sign limit per ground-floor business with wall and awning signs.Inside-lit blades need opaque faces so only the letters and logo glow. Lettering is routed or push-through.

From the LADBS Sign Manual, Burbank Municipal Code 10-1-1006 and 10-1-1010, Glendale Municipal Code 30.33.110 and 30.33.180 and the Pasadena Zoning Code 17.48.100 and 17.48.110. Pasadena numbers are for its commercial districts. Specific plans, sign programs and landlord criteria can be stricter. Information, not an approval. City guides: Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena.

See It on My Storefront

Send a photo and the address. We'll show it at a proposed size and note what your city's rules usually allow.

What blade signs usually cost

HomeAdvisor doesn't price blade signs as their own category. For lit signs, its national reference for outdoor lighted signs is $500 to $5,000. It puts a building permit at $400 to $2,500 and electrical wiring at $560 to $2,300 (HomeAdvisor, 2026). Those are national references, not our price. These six things move the price of a blade sign most:

  • Size and shape

    Bigger faces and outlines cut to your logo take more material and more cutting.

  • Lit or non-lit

    A lit cabinet adds LED modules, a power supply and a power run at the wall.

  • Faces and letters

    Printed or vinyl faces, or raised letters on both sides.

  • Bracket

    A stock flat-bar bracket, or a custom decorative one in steel.

  • Wall and height

    Brick, stucco or a canopy, how high the sign hangs and whether a lift is needed.

  • Permits and approvals

    City fees, any engineering, Bureau of Engineering approval over the public way, and your landlord's review.
Get My Itemized Quote

Send a photo for a real number. Any range shown is a national reference, not our price.

What a complete quote includes

What we need for a quote

Send what you have. We'll ask about anything missing.
Get My Free Mockup & Quote

Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed. No payment details. No obligation to order.

  • A straight-on photo of the storefront, with the spot for the blade in it
  • A photo from the sidewalk, looking the way people walk up
  • The address, so we know which city and zone apply
  • What the wall is made of there: brick, stucco, wood or metal
  • The height to the bottom of any canopy, awning or balcony above that spot
  • Your logo file (AI, EPS, PDF or SVG if you have one)
  • Lit or non-lit, and whether there's power near that spot
  • Your landlord's sign criteria, if you rent

Not sure of a measurement? A tape measure held up in one of the photos helps us scale the mockup.

Send photos any time

Text them to (818) 806-9006

Email hello@angelssigns.com with your business name in the subject.

Our flatbed cutter in Sun Valley with a printed panel on its bed
Our shopFrom our shop: a printed panel on the flatbed cutter, ready to cut.

Made in Sun Valley

Faces, panels and letters for your blade, cut on Lankershim

The faces, two-sided aluminum panels, routed shapes and raised letters for blade signs are cut at Angels Print, 8511 Lankershim Blvd in Sun Valley, on our CNC router, laser and flatbed cutter. Graphics are UV-printed or cut from vinyl in the same building, and for a lit blade we lay out the LED modules.

Your quote says who makes the bracket and the lit cabinet, and installation is done by a licensed sign-contractor partner. Come compare material samples in person. We're open daily, 7 AM to 10 PM.

Get DirectionsHow our sign fabrication works

Keep reading

Blade sign questions

Still deciding? Call (818) 806-9006 or text a photo and ask.

What are blade signs?
Blade signs are two-sided signs that stick out from a building at a right angle, on a bracket or hung from a canopy, so people walking along the sidewalk can read them from both directions. Building codes call them projecting signs. They can be lit or non-lit.
Does a blade sign need a permit in Los Angeles?
Usually, yes. In the City of LA a new projecting sign needs a permit, the lot needs at least 50 ft of street frontage, and the bottom of the sign has to be at least 8 ft above the sidewalk. Permits for lit blades go only to C-10 or C-45 licensed contractors. Our licensed sign-contractor partner files the permit, and we prepare the drawings. Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena use their own numbers: see the four-city table. Information, not an approval.
What if my lot has less than 50 ft of street frontage?
Then the general City of LA rules don't allow a projecting sign on it. The rule counts the lot's street frontage, not the width of your unit, so a small shop in a larger building may still qualify. Glendale and Pasadena count blade signs per ground-floor business instead. If a blade is out, a wall sign or window graphics are the usual fallback. Send the address and we'll tell you which rules apply.
How big should a blade sign be?
Big enough to read from down the block, and within your city's cap. The City of LA allows 25 sq ft plus 1.5 sq ft per foot of street frontage, up to 300 sq ft, shared by all projecting signs facing one way. Pasadena caps a blade at 20 sq ft in its commercial districts. Much of Glendale caps it at 6 sq ft, or 12 sq ft in four zones. Your mockup shows the proposed size on a photo of your own storefront.
How far can a blade sign stick out in Los Angeles?
It depends on the clear height under the sign. In the City of LA a blade may reach 1 ft past the property line at 8 ft of clearance, 1 ft 6 in at 9 ft, 2 ft at 10 ft, 3 ft at 12 ft, 4 ft at 14 ft and 5 ft at 16 ft or more. Above 16 ft, on a lot with more than 50 ft of street frontage, the limit grows from 5 ft at 50 ft of frontage to 8 ft at 100 ft. C1 and C1.5 zones cap any sign at 2 ft from the wall, and CR zones allow no projecting signs. Source: LAMC 14.4, Diagram A, as printed in the LADBS Sign Manual. Information, not an approval.
Can a hanging blade sign go under a canopy or arcade?
Yes. Under a canopy or arcade, hanging blade signs usually hang from the ceiling on rods or chains. The bottom still needs at least 8 ft of clearance in the City of LA, Glendale and Pasadena, so a low canopy may not leave room. Send a photo of the canopy and its height, and we'll draw the sign to fit.
Who installs a blade sign?
A licensed sign-contractor partner. Your quote lists the installer's CSLB license number. A lit blade also needs power at the wall; if there's none near the spot, the quote says so. On older brick buildings, ask early: the City of LA doesn't require stamped calculations for code-compliant projecting signs, except on unreinforced masonry buildings. More on sign installation.

See your blade sign on your storefront

Send a storefront photo and one from down the sidewalk. We draw the blade on your building and send it back with a quote.
Get My Free Mockup & Quote Call (818) 806-9006 Text a storefront photo

Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed. Or bring your logo to the shop, open daily 7 AM–10 PM.

What to send

  1. A photo of the storefront with the blade spot in it.
  2. A photo from the sidewalk, the way people walk up.
  3. The address and your logo file, if you have one.

For a lit blade, a night photo helps too.

8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley, CA 91352Open daily 7 AM to 10 PMGet directions