An awning sign is lettering or graphics on an awning. A projecting sign sticks out from the building wall; a blade sign is the common version, hung at a right angle to the wall like an old shop sign over a sidewalk. Codes size and place the two differently, so settle which one you are building first.
How one real code handles it
San Luis Obispo, California handles both in section 15.40.470, and uses a different kind of rule for each:
“Signs on awnings shall not cover more than twenty-five percent of the main area of the awning, or exceed twenty-five square feet in size, whichever is smaller.”
“Projecting signs must be attached to building facades that have a public entrance and must maintain minimum vertical and horizontal clearance requirements of Section 15.40.440.”
The awning rule is arithmetic. On a made-up awning whose main area is 80 square feet, 25 percent is 20 square feet, which is under the 25-square-foot cap, so 20 governs. On a 120-square-foot awning, 25 percent is 30, and the cap cuts it to 25. The projecting-sign rule is about placement: it has to hang on a wall with a public entrance, and its clearances live in a different section you have to open separately. (Section history: Ord. 1667, 2019. We read it on September 28, 2026. The awning sizes are invented.)
Four separate questions
- Clearance: how high is the lowest part above the surface the code names?
- Projection: how far does it stick out, and measured from where?
- Area: does the code count just the copy, a box around it, or the whole awning face?
- Permission: does it hang over a public sidewalk that needs its own approval?
Put projection and clearance on one section drawing, including brackets and the awning valance. The ISA glossary describes projecting signs as building-mounted forms. For the application workflow, see awning clearance and projection.