A carved community entrance sign at Holly Hill Harbor in Edgewater, Maryland. The sign is fashioned from high density urethane, often called HDU, or sign foam. The background is sand carved, or sand blasted, with a wood grain finish. The large heron was carved and painted by hand to match a photograph which was provided by the customer. The letters are finished by hand with traditional 22kt gold leaf. Designs & Signs has installed many gold leaf signs throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

One carved community entrance sign for Loch Haven Waterfront Community in Edgewater, Maryland. Both the copy and inline are finished with Gold Leaf, applied by hand.  Designs & Signs has manufactured and installed many gilded community entrance signs in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.  This particular sign was sand carved with wood grain, then painted and finished with traditional 22kt gold leaf letters.  The sailboat design was tier blasted and painted by hand.  Due to high costs, exotic lumbers are rarely used in sign making these days. Instead Designs & Signs manufactures signs using high density urethane, also known as sign foam or HDU.  During carving a wood grain effect is applied to the surface of the sign foam. Once the sign is finished it looks exactly like a geniune carved wood sign, but for a fraction of the cost, and it is good for the environment.