How to turn your logo into a neon sign

A neon version of your logo is one of the most recognizable things you can put on a wall. But a logo designed for a website or a business card was not drawn with tube in mind, so turning it into neon takes some translation. This guide explains what the sign should do, what to send, what happens to each part of your logo, what changes the price, and what to check before you approve.

Start with the job the sign does

Before fonts and colors, decide what the sign is for. The answer sets the size, the board and whether it needs the outdoor build.

• Greeting people at reception: a logo on the wall behind the desk, read from a few steps away. See our office logo wall project and the guide to a neon logo for office walls.
• Pulling people in from the street: a window sign hung on cables, sized for the sidewalk.
• A photo wall: the spot customers take pictures in front of, at a salon, cafe or studio.
• Events, trade shows and pop-ups: a sign on a clear base or on cables from a booth frame that travels with you. See neon for events and photo booths.
• A camera backdrop: a logo behind a streamer, podcaster or video creator. See our gaming and streaming project.
• Covered outdoor spots: a patio or porch, with the outdoor build.

How it works

1. Start an order on the custom logo neon sign page: pick a width from 20 to 120 in, single color or color changing, indoor or outdoor.
2. Send your logo. If you did not attach it at checkout, we email you to collect it.
3. We redraw it as tube paths and send a free mockup with the size.
4. You ask for changes as many times as you need, then approve.
5. We make it in 15 to 20 days after approval, then it takes 3 to 5 days in transit in the US.

What artwork to send

What you have	Does it work?
AI, EPS or SVG file	Best. Vector lines stay clean at any size.
PDF from your designer	Often vector, which is ideal. Some PDFs only hold a picture, and those work like a photo.
PNG or JPG of the logo	Fine to start. We redraw it.
A photo of your shop sign, a shirt or a cup	Fine to start, if the shapes are clear.
A sketch on paper	Fine to start for a new idea.

Vector files are made of lines rather than pixels, so they scale up without blurring. If you have a brand guide, send that too, with your color references and fonts.

What becomes tube and what gets printed

Your logo is redrawn part by part:

• Thin lines and thin lettering become one tube along the centre of each stroke.
• Bold letters and solid shapes are outlined in tube.
• Sharp corners are rounded to about 3/4 in (20 mm), and tube ends are round, because a tube cannot bend to a point.
• Small text and fine detail, like a tagline or a thin border, are UV printed on the board instead of tube.
• The backboard is cut to a clean shape: a round logo sits on a clear circle, text sits on a rounded rectangle, and separate parts are joined by a band, never by thin bridges.

On the mockup you will see which parts glow and which are printed before you approve.

Logos that convert easily, and ones that need help

Your logo has	What usually happens
A wordmark or a bold, simple symbol	Converts almost as it is
One to three flat colors	Each part gets its own tube color
Script lettering	One tube follows each stroke, like handwriting
Lines very close together	Merged into one line, or the sign gets wider
A badge with small text inside	Main shapes in tube, small text UV printed
Gradients, shading or a photo	Printed backboard, with neon tracing the main lines
A long tagline under the name	UV printed, or its own line in tube on a bigger sign

Most logos need a little simplifying. Keep what people recognize first: the main shape, the name and the colors. If a detail must stay, tell us before the first mockup. The bigger the sign, the more detail tube can draw, so if a 24 in version loses too much, the mockup at 36 or 48 in may keep it.

Colors

• Tube colors. Each part of the logo can have its own color, chosen from 18 tube colors. Several colors in one sign cost nothing extra.
• Matching your brand. Your brand color is matched to the closest tube color. Lit neon is light, not ink, so it will not match a printed color exactly.
• Color changing (RGB) lets the sign cycle through colors or hold one color you pick on the remote. It costs extra.
• Gradients and photos cannot be made in tube. They are what the printed backboard is for.

The printed backboard option

For a logo with many colors, gradients or lots of small text, the neon sign on a printed backboard prints the whole logo in full color on the acrylic, and the main lines are traced in LED neon on top. Because the artwork is printed, the sign shows the full logo even when it is switched off. It comes in the same widths as the custom logo sign, at the same price. Our guide to printed backboard neon signs has more examples.

If you want the logo itself to stay crisp and print-quality, with a soft glow around it rather than neon lines, a backlit printed acrylic sign may suit you better. It is a printed panel with a ring of LED tube on its back that throws a halo onto the wall. Our light box vs neon sign guide compares the options.

Sizes for logos

Width is measured across the widest part of the design.

Where it goes	Good width range
Desk, shelf, counter, booth	20 to 30 in
Behind a reception desk	About two thirds of the desk width
Feature wall in a shop, salon or office	36 to 60 in
Large wall, stage or venue	72 to 120 in

For a logo people read from across a room or from the street, use the sign maker’s rule of thumb: about 1 in of letter height for every 10 ft of viewing distance. Our size guide explains how to apply it.

What changes the price

Custom logo neon signs start at $289.99.

Raises the price	Included at no extra cost
A wider sign	Several tube colors in one sign
Color changing (RGB)	The backboard, cut to a clean shape
The outdoor build	A dimmer, in-line or remote
Rush production (Priority or Express)	The mounting kit for your installation
	The free mockup and unlimited revisions
	A printed backboard instead of a clear one

Check the proof before you approve

Production starts when you approve, so take a few minutes with the mockup:

1. Is it the current logo? Not an old file from a past campaign.
2. Is every word spelled right, including the tagline and any web address?
3. Does the size fit? Tape a sheet of paper at that width on the wall and look from where people will stand.
4. Which parts glow and which are printed? Make sure the parts you care about most are tube.
5. Are the colors right? Name your brand colors if a match looks off.
6. Is the backboard right? Shape, clear or colored, and room around the logo.
7. Is the mounting right, and is the outlet on the side where the cable leaves the board?

Our design proof process guide walks through each step.

Ordering for one location or several

For a single sign, start on the custom logo neon sign page and send your file. For several locations, a very large wall or a mix of signs and light boxes, send us the details through the trade and bulk page and we will quote it with a free mockup. Our guide to neon signs for business covers windows, outdoor spots and permits.