Creating professional looking signs, or lettering on furniture and objects is simple. Follow the example below, a sign for a brewery in San Francisco, and create your own lettering for any project you undertake. 

Step 1: Know the size of your finished sign. Count the number of letters, adding a number for each space between words. Using your computer, type in the words, choose a font, and size the letters appropriately. Use your printer to produce the letters.

If your letters are large, don't worry about trying to fit the whole word onto your sheet of paper. The letters can be placed individually on the sign surface, and spaced accordingly by eye.

Step 2: Align your letters. Measure the distance from the top of your sign to the bottom of where you want your lettering to sit on. This is called your 'baseline'. Mark with a pencil or use tape. Do this on both sides of the sign.

Now that your base line points are set, use a straight edge and create the guide line that the letters will sit on.

Step 3: Position the letters with tape, the bottom of the letter sitting on the line. You can do letters individually or whole words. This insures that the words are all even and on a straight line.

Letters that are rounded, i.e. O, U, S, C, G, and Q should overlap the baseline a small amount. This is known as 'optical adjusting' and the letters will appear to be on a straight line with the other letters.

Step 4: Insert transfer paper under the letters and trace over the letters. This will leave an imprint on the sign surface.

Step 5: Artist acrylic paints can be used to paint in the letters. Use the color of your choice, and simply paint within the lines! 

For exterior use, a coat of water based varnish, such as latex varnish , can be applied over surface.