Look Like Your Enemy: Create signs that confuse, astound and parody!

Step 6 Print & Install

When you're done you should have a file that matches the old sign very closely. See the before and after pictures below.

Depending on what resources you have available, you have a few options to output your design.

Inkjet or Laser Printer
If you're lucky enough to have access to a 36 or 42 inch wide inkjet printer, you can pull off some amazing large scale results. But smaller printers can work as well, especially if your sign isn't too big.

Adhesive Printable Vinyl
Adhesive Printable Vinyl is like a giant printable sticker. It's available from sign supply stores and very useful. Throw a clear adhesive laminate layer over the top for a little shine and your work will look completely legit. I used this combination of materials for the graphics on Simmer Down Sprinter and on Packard Jennings and my Bus Stop Bench Project. I sorta fell in love with this stuff that year.

Vector Cut Vinyl
Sign shops can cut colored vinyl, often for reasonable prices. One color can be overlaid on another for a 2 color design. This is how we made the signs for the Puppet Street Project.

8 1/2 X 11 Sticker Paper
Available at most office supply stores. Affordable. Also, if you can tile your printing job onto multiple pages, this could work for semi-larger scale pieces.

Overhead Projector
Print your sign onto a transparency and you can project it to scale and paint your sign by hand. Low-tech, and it works!

Comments

[Palomar Jack]

From your intro:

"Look Like Your Enemy: Create signs that confuse, astound and parody!" Fine, do it on your own property, not someone else's unless authorized. But you never said this from the start, you had to be prodded. Why?

" ...to mimic government or corporate signage...", "... temporarily borrow the legitimacy of a company or organization...", Why, because you know your message is not legitimate? What legitimate company or organization will authorize this?

"...used this method on other projects like changing street signs ...", From step #1 "...will not cause any inadvertent damage or confusion...", These two statements contradict each other. Just what do you think changing street signage would do? In the least, it would cause people to drive excessive distances using more fuel and polluting the environment. Not only that, people who remove these nuisances will throw them out, further adding to pollution. Now what, smart guy?

This from Instructables Terms of Use:

We have a "be nice" comment policy. Please be positive and constructive with your comments or risk being banned from our site.

I guess this doesn't include changing large signage like street signs and billboards and causing a distraction to drivers resulting in a collision and possible deaths. This is not covered in the 1st, because this is not "...peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances".

Seeing as how you don't have a problem hijacking other peoples messages, you should not mind if I do the same, palomarjack(dot)wordpress(dot)com . Stop by any time.

Palomar Jack

[sheepguy42]

 As your quote from Instructable Terms of Use indicates, that's the "comment policy." So no, it does not cover changing street signs, as they exist in the real world and not the digital realm of Instructables' comments.

[slambert]

Jack, read up some more. Permission was given in some cases. No car crashes or deaths were caused. This is not life or death - in more ways than one.

[tmsmalley]

Didn't mean to offend, but after almost 30 years of dealing with the general public in my job, I've learned that of the tens of thousands of law abiding smart people you talk to, there are a few hundred doofuses that don't get it. I always put a disclaimer/reminder to them on my stuff that there are consequences for improper, unlawful use. Just a thought.

Thanks for the instructable. It was very entertaining and well documented!

[slambert]

I dunno... information available online can lead to willful, unaware people doing dumb things, disclaimer or not right? I figure talking about it in smart way does a better service than a disclaimer. And that way I'm not talking down to all you smart folks in the meantime.

[tmsmalley]

You forgot to add "be prepared to be arrested, charged and kicked out of school for vandalism."

[slambert]

no, that was intentionally left out. Making your own sign isn't necessarily vandalism or a crime. You can do it wrong and get arrested, sure. But, for example, I have never been arrested. The Emma Goldman sign in particular was installed with permission from the University. It took forever, but they gave me permission.

I'm respecting my readers by working with the assumption they have a level of intelligence and common sense. Because I think that's a nice, respectable place to start from.