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Changelog

Changelog

Documenting our journey of creating a custom sign builder.

Filtered by:acrylic(9 updates)

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See the real size of a sign next to a person

The sign preview in Sign Customiser has a new Real size view. The view shows the customer’s sign next to a person who is 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) tall. The sign and the person have the same scale. Customers can see how big the sign is before they order it.

Real size view on desktop with a neon cut-to-letter sign next to a person silhouette and a height railReal size view on a phone with a neon cut-to-letter sign next to a person silhouette and a height rail

What’s Changed

  • Design | Real size switchThe switch is at the top left of the preview. The view opens only when a customer selects “Real size”. When the customer selects “Design”, the preview shows the design and the background again, with the sign in the centre.
  • One scaleThe Real size view uses the final width and height of the sign. This is the same size that the measurements on the preview show. The sign is on a wall next to the person, with a floor line and a height rail.
  • All sign shapesSquare, wide, tall and small signs fit in the preview on desktop and on phones. If the preview is too small, the “Real size” option shows a message.
  • Text signs and AI designsThe Real size view works for text signs and for designs from the AI sign designer.
  • Tools hiddenIn the Real size view, the preview does not show the tool buttons, “Share my design”, “Upload Background” or the backgrounds. The sidebar stays available. When the customer changes the size, the view shows the change.
  • Your measurement settingsThe size label of the sign follows your “Show/hide Measurements” setting. The height of the person and the size of the sign use your “Measurement Unit” setting.
  • On for new customisersNew customisers show the switch, except lightbox customisers. Customisers that you already have do not show it until you select the option. A duplicate customiser keeps the setting of the original customiser.
  • Where to find the optionOpen your customiser. Go to “Features → Scene Editor - Background Images”. In the “Visualiser Scaling” section, select “Show Real size view”. Click “Save”. You can use this option on every plan and with “Drag, Scale, Rotate”.
  • Your own wordsYou can change and translate the switch labels, the caption and the messages. They are in the “Visualiser” section of each language, in “Settings → Languages” of your customiser.
  • Not for lightbox signsThe Real size view is not available for lightbox signs.
  • Live preview onlyProduct images, the cart and shared design links show only the sign. They do not show the person.

For the full steps, read the Real size view article.

Colour cards in the customiser sidebar

The customiser sidebar has a new layout for signs with more than one colour choice for their parts. Before, each choice was a small icon tile in a row. The name showed only in a tooltip and above the swatches of the selected choice.

Now each colour choice has its own card. Most cards are for one part of the sign, such as the tube or the face. On a lightbox, the Face and Border parts can share one card when they have the same colour options. The card shows the name, an icon and an arrow. On neon and letter signs, the icon shows the current colour.

Only one card is open at a time. The open card contains the colour swatches for that choice. Customisers with only one colour choice for their parts keep the same colour section layout. Other colour sections, such as the backboard colour, also keep the same layout.

Neon customiser sidebar with the heading "Choose your colours", the Tube Colour card open to show its colour swatches, and the UV Print Colour card closed below it

Neon signs have new icons for the tube colour and UV print parts. The tube icon is a neon tube on a backboard outline. The UV print icon is the same backboard shape, filled with colour. Both icons change to the selected colour, including multi-colour options.

Icons in white and other very light colours have a thin grey outline. This outline keeps the icon visible on a white background. The Face, Side, Trim and Halo icons for letter signs also have this outline.

Neon customiser sidebar with the heading "Choose your colours", the UV Print Colour card open and Yellow selected, and a white tube icon with a thin grey outline on the closed Tube Colour card

When a part uses more than one colour, the card shows a badge with the number of colours.

For designs from the AI sign designer, the Restore original colours swatch now shows a palette with a reset arrow. Its three paint spots show colours from the original design. When a part uses its original colours, the swatch is selected and the colour name is “Original Colours”. This applies to the tube, UV print, face, trim and halo parts.

Neon customiser sidebar for an AI sign designer design with the Restore original colours swatch selected, the colour name "Original Colours", and a badge with the number 4 on the Tube Colour and UV Print Colour cards

The cards are available on neon, letter and lightbox signs with more than one colour choice for their parts. In our demo customisers, acrylic channel letters have Face Colour, Side Colour, Trim Colour and Halo Light cards. Metal signs have Face / Front Lit and Back Lit cards. Lightboxes have Face, Border and Internal Light cards.

Most cards use the title and description you set for that colour part. If you do not set a title, the card uses a default part name. A shared Face and Border card shows the Face description.

Above the cards, the sidebar shows a heading with a title and a description. We added default text for neon, letter and lightbox signs. For example, neon signs show “Choose your colours”, letter signs show “Choose your letter colours” and lightboxes show “Choose your lightbox colours”. When the customiser shows step numbers, the heading has one step number for all the cards. If you set a title or a description before this update, we did not change it.

To change the heading, open the colour page of a sign part, for example Tube Colors or UV Colors. Then edit the Colour heading title and Colour heading description fields. All colour parts of a customiser use the same heading. On letter signs, you can also edit the heading on the Letter Types page. On lightboxes, you can also edit it on the Lightbox Types page. If you delete the text in both fields, the heading does not show.

Channel letter customiser sidebar with the heading "Choose your letter colours", Face Colour, Side Colour, Trim Colour and Halo Light cards, and the Face Colour card openLightbox customiser sidebar with the heading "Choose your lightbox colours", Face, Border and Internal Light cards, and the Face card open with colour swatches and an image upload area

On phones, the cards use the same layout. On phones and tablets, we also removed extra space above the first sidebar section. This space showed when a section above it was empty.

Neon customiser on a phone-width screen with the Tube Colour card open and the UV Print Colour card below it

What’s Changed

  • One card for each colour choiceEach colour choice for a sign part has a card with a name and an icon. On neon and letter signs, the icon shows the current colour. On a lightbox, the Face and Border parts can share one card.
  • One open card at a timeCustomers open a card to see its swatches. The other cards stay closed.
  • Colour headingA heading with a title and a description shows above the cards. Neon, letter and lightbox signs have default text. You can change or delete this text on the colour page of each sign part.
  • Your titles and descriptionsMost cards show the title and description that you set for each colour part.
  • New neon iconsThe tube colour and UV print parts have new neon icons that change to the selected colour.
  • Outline for light coloursNeon and letter sign icons in white and other very light colours have a thin grey outline.
  • Colour count badgeA card shows the number of colours when its part uses more than one colour.
  • Restore original colours swatchFor AI sign designer designs, the swatch shows colours from the original design. When a tube, UV print, face, trim or halo part uses its original colours, the swatch is selected and the name is “Original Colours”.
  • Single colour choiceA customiser with only one colour choice for its parts keeps the same colour section layout.
  • Phone and tablet spacingWe removed extra space above the first sidebar section when a section above it was empty.

Default scene background sizing and product image fixes

Sign Customiser keeps the built-in blue/grey background consistent for compatible sign customisers. Select it and enable “Use the selected background in the product image” to carry it into cart and order product images. Enter a positive real width to scale the visualiser and Review screen, then use the same option to scale the cart and order image. Without saved dimensions, the sign keeps its usual fit, while an enabled product-image option still uses the selected built-in colour.

Scene Editor showing default background size fields and visualiser scaling

What’s Changed

  • Set the default background size. In the Scene Editor, enter a positive width under “Display default blue/gray background image”. You can also save a height, but the width drives proportional scaling. The fields show when preview or Review images and the default background are enabled. “Scale visualisation with size” must be on, and Drag, Scale and Rotate must be off. They start blank, with 300 cm as a recommended placeholder.
  • Scale every preview consistently. With “Scale visualisation with size” on and a positive default background width, the visualiser and Review screen scale the sign against the built-in background. Enable “Use the selected background in the product image” for compatible customisers to scale cart and order product images too. Leave the fields blank to keep the usual fit.
  • Keep product images on the chosen backdrop. With “Use the selected background in the product image” enabled, supported non-Lightbox Konva customisers show the selected built-in background as a flat colour in product images. This includes Neon, Channel, cut-out, stencil and wooden sign types. This replaces the previous fallback image, including the demonstration photo when no Main Product Image is configured.
  • Keep Material Length sizes in order. Advanced Letter (Material Length) customisers with an unset size limit no longer show Medium or Large smaller than Small on backgrounds without dimensions. The Small preview stays the same.

Sign board previews now match every size

Sign Customiser now shows each rectangular sign board in the shape your customer selected. A square board stays square, while portrait and landscape formats look visibly different before the customer orders.

Three sign board previews showing landscape, square and portrait size proportions

What’s Changed

  • True-to-size previews. Square, portrait and landscape boards keep the width-to-height ratio the customer selects.
  • Accurate boxes and stands. Rectangular boxes and stands use the same proportions as the chosen sign size.
  • Matching product images. Newly generated product images keep the board shape customers saw while designing their sign.
  • Clearer measurements. Width and height guides line up with the board itself, making each format easier to compare.
  • No setup needed. Eligible customisers update automatically, and pricing stays the same.

Categorised Shopify product types for generated signs

Sign Customiser now gives each newly generated Shopify product a product type that matches its sign category. This makes it easier to build collections, shipping rules and other Shopify automations for different kinds of signs.

What’s Changed

  • Product types now match the signNew acrylic, metal, stencil, wooden, aluminium, braille, wood-frame and lightbox products receive their own clear product type.
  • Neon remains familiarNew neon products keep the existing Custom Neon product type, so established neon workflows continue to work.
  • Existing products stay unchangedThe new product types apply when Sign Customiser creates a product. Products already in Shopify are not renamed.

May 4, 2026

2026.5

Vertical writing for Chinese-Japanese-Korean signs

Sign Customiser now supports proper top-down vertical writing for multilingual signs. Merchants can configure whether vertical columns read right to left or left to right, so customers can type natural multi-line text while the preview and manufacturing output keep the intended layout.

Customiser preview showing Korean text rendered in two top-down right-to-left columns beside the Vertical orientation controls

What’s Changed

  • Multi-column vertical textEach typed line becomes its own top-down column, making vertical Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and traditional Mongolian layouts practical for customer-facing customisers
  • Merchant-controlled column directionChoose right-to-left columns for Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean signs, or left-to-right columns for traditional Mongolian signs
  • Natural order detailsCart details, order data, and exports keep the customer’s original typed text instead of replacing it with a generated column representation
  • Pricing stays logicalBase line pricing follows the typed input lines while letter charges still apply to each visible character
  • Font guidance in settingsThe admin settings now remind merchants to upload fonts with the glyph coverage needed for their target language

May 3, 2026

2026.5

Address sign numbers with vertical stacked text

Sign Customiser now supports vertical stacked text and ships with a ready-made Address Sign Numbers customiser that uses it by default. Customers can stack each digit or letter on its own line for door numbers, house plaques, and any signage where characters need to read top to bottom rather than left to right.

Customiser preview showing the digits "1234" stacked vertically with the new Horizontal and Vertical orientation toggle next to the text input

What’s Changed

  • New Address Sign Numbers product typePick “Address Sign Numbers” in the customiser create flow to spin up a new acrylic-backed customiser tuned for door and house numbers, with the orientation toggle already enabled
  • Vertical stacked text orientationA new orientation control lets each character drop onto its own line, with positions, sizing, and pricing all calculated from the stacked layout rather than a horizontal row
  • Three orientation modes per customiserLock the customiser to horizontal only, lock it to vertical stacked only, or let customers switch between the two from a Horizontal / Vertical toggle next to the text input
  • Configurable default orientationChoose whether the customiser opens with horizontal or vertical selected when both options are available, so the most common choice is just one click
  • Customisable orientation labelsOverride the “Horizontal” and “Vertical” labels from the Labels page to match your store’s voice or translate them into another language

Mar 31, 2026

2026.3

RGB Colour Options for Channel Letter Signs

Sign Customiser now brings the popular RGB colour effect to channel letter signs. Your customers can select RGB as a face or halo colour option and see a smooth, animated colour transition directly in the live preview — helping them visualise exactly how their sign will look with colour-changing LEDs before they buy.

RGB colour option animating across a channel letter sign preview

What’s Changed

  • RGB colour option for channel lettersCustomers can now choose an RGB multi-colour option for both the face and halo colours on channel letter signs, complete with an animated preview that cycles through the full colour palette
  • Animated colour transitionsThe live sign preview smoothly blends between colours in real time, giving customers a realistic sense of how RGB LED lighting will look on their finished sign
  • Colour preview swatches for all product typesThe rainbow gradient colour swatch that previews multi-colour options is now available across all product types, not just neon signs
  • Built-in demo dataNew channel letter customisers come pre-loaded with an RGB option on both face and halo colour palettes, priced at a 10% uplift by default so you can start selling immediately

AI Sign Designer enhanced logo and image editing capabilities

Sign Customiser’s AI Sign Designer now features powerful image editing capabilities with significant performance improvements and enhanced functionality.

Key Enhancements

Transparency Support Fixed

Critical issues with generating images containing transparency have been resolved. Logos with transparent backgrounds are now handled correctly, maintaining their intended visual appearance across all sign materials including neon and acrylic.

Improved Shape Interpretation for Complex Images

Enhanced shape detection algorithms now provide superior interpretation of busy and complex images. The AI Sign Designer can better distinguish between overlapping elements, handle intricate patterns, and accurately identify shapes in visually dense designs. This improvement ensures that even the most detailed logos and graphics are converted with precision, maintaining the integrity of complex brand elements.

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