WIS 00 1938 template (Wisconsin) (Road Sign) White Coffee Mug

This is a reproduction of the 1938 Wisconsin State Trunk Highway route marker, drawn in flat black and white with a bold, legible road-sign silhouette.

Visual Elements & Composition

White fills most of the design, with black used for the outline and lettering. The marker is built from a rounded-corner rectangle sitting on top of a triangular base, forming a shield-like silhouette. The upper panel carries the word WIS across the top, and the route number 00 sits below it. The layout is symmetrical and uncluttered, so the letters read clearly even at a glance.

Meaning & Symbolism

The marker belongs to Wisconsin's state highway system, and the 1938 version marks a deliberate break from the older triangular shield. The reshaped panel gave the route numbers more room, so drivers could read them faster while moving. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation oversaw the change in that era, and the design stands as an example of mid-century thinking about how signs should look and function.

Designed for the Mug

A sign is read from a distance, and a mug is read up close, turned slowly in the hand. The bold white field and crisp black lettering suit that moment: the marker stays easy to pick out as the mug turns, and the highway shape wraps neatly around the curved body.