12 cool ways to put the background to work

In sign design, most of the attention tends to get invested in the lettering and the graphics. And the border. And the mounting. And the special effects. The background is often, well…just back there somewhere.

But plenty of sign designers use the background itself as a design element. It can really boost the appeal of the sign, giving viewers another reason to take a second look. There are many ways to do it, so here are a dozen of them to get you started—plus a couple more for good measure.