How to Design Your Own Warning Signs

Taking the appropriate safety precautions, be it in your home and business, is important. One way to make others aware of possible dangers around them is to create warning signs. Whether you need to create a "beware of dog" sign or a "wet paint" sign for your business, the process of designing and then having your signs printed is fairly straightforward and simple.

Instructions

• 1

  Determine the type of warning sign you need, including deciding on the phase or slogans you want to use for your sign. For example, your sign might be fairly detailed, like a sign that is placed near a pool that list the rules and regulations regarding pool usage by adults and children. On the other hand, you might want to create a simple sign that quickly gets the message across, like "Beware of Dog." If your sign will include graphics, like a diagram showing the proper and improper ways to use a diving board, you will also need to create these graphics yourself or locate graphics in the public domain that you can use.

• 2

  Create your sign's design in a program like Photoshop or Gimp. For a very basic design you can also use a program like Microsoft's Paint program, but in this article the process will involve using either Photoshop or Gimp.

  Open a new document by clicking "File," "New." Choose the dimensions for the sign and plug these numbers into the dialog box. Next, plug in your desired resolution, keeping in mind that for printing you usually want to have a resolution of at least 300 pixels. Name your document and save it as a high resolution JPEG.

• 3

  Create your sign by using layers. In the right corner of your screen you will see a series of rectangular boxes that appear stacked one on top of the other. This is the layers panel, where you can add individual elements (text, photos, or graphics) to your document. Each element, such as a photograph that you bring into the program, will be placed on a new layer automatically. When you create your own graphics and text, you will need to hover over the icons under the panel and click on "New Layer." Layers allow you to add filters and make other alterations to individual elements, including resizing and repositioning an element, within the context of the overall design without affecting other elements.

• 4

  Have your signs printed. You will need to save a copy of your design to a CD for printing purposes. Choose a professional print service to print your sign on the type of background and material you wish. You can find printing services that specialize in printing on various types of materials. Several online companies can print yard signs and beyond, Cafepress being one of these. Office supply stores, including Staples, offer a sign printing service as well as a design service.