The Iowa State Fair is one of those events where everything is bigger, busier, and more colorful—and great signage plays a big role in helping businesses stand out.

This year, we had the opportunity to work with several Iowa State Fair vendors, creating everything from banners and PVC signs to vehicle graphics, wraps, A-frame signs, and building signage.

These projects are a great example of the different ways custom signage and graphics can help businesses get noticed, create a memorable customer experience, and bring their brands to life.

Here are a few of the projects we're proud to have worked on for the 2026 Iowa State Fair.

Blue Ribbon Bar: Bold Signage for a Fair Favorite

One of our favorite projects this year was continuing our relationship with Blue Ribbon Bar, a client we've been proud to work with since they opened last year.

When Blue Ribbon Bar first opened, Signarama Ankeny was brought in to help create the look and feel of the space through interior and exterior signage. The project featured a whole lot of neon and exposed faux-neon channel letters that helped give the bar its distinctive personality.

It's always rewarding to see a project we're proud of turn into an ongoing relationship with a customer. This year, we had the opportunity to create additional signage and graphics for Blue Ribbon Bar, including banners, PVC signs, freezer wraps, and door wraps.

Turning Everyday Surfaces Into Branding

The freezer and door wraps are a great example of how signage doesn't always have to be a traditional sign.

A freezer, door, wall, or other functional surface can become another opportunity to reinforce a brand. Instead of blending into the background, these surfaces become part of the overall customer experience.

For Blue Ribbon Bar, those graphics carry the same attention to detail found throughout the rest of their signage.

Wise Guys Pizza: A Golf Cart With a Lot More Personality

We also had some fun with Wise Guys Pizza this year.

For the Iowa State Fair, Signarama Ankeny wrapped their golf cart, transforming it into a mobile piece of branded advertising.

Vehicle graphics are a great way to put a business's brand in motion. Rather than relying on a stationary sign, a wrapped vehicle can attract attention wherever it goes.

And at a busy event like the Iowa State Fair, a branded golf cart is certainly going to get some looks.

Promoting This Year's Slice

We also created A-frame signs for Wise Guys Pizza featuring this year's slice.

A-frame signs are a simple, versatile way to communicate with customers in high-traffic areas. They're easy to position where people can see them and provide a great opportunity to highlight a featured product or message.

Combined with the golf cart wrap, the A-frames gave Wise Guys Pizza multiple ways to grab attention and put their product front and center.

The Bird’s Nest: Making Ice Cream Easy to Spot at the Fair

Another Iowa State Fair project we were excited to be part of was for The Bird's Nest.

We created ICE CREAM building signs to help make their location easy for fairgoers to spot.

At an event as large and busy as the Iowa State Fair, clear building signage matters. People are constantly looking for their next stop, whether it's food, drinks, entertainment, or—as in this case—ice cream.

Big, bold signage can quickly communicate what a business offers and help customers find it from across a crowded area.

For The Bird's Nest, the new ice cream building signs provide a clear visual destination for fairgoers looking to cool down with a sweet treat.

More Than Signs: Building Brands Through Visuals

While these Iowa State Fair projects included a variety of products, they all had something in common: the signage needed to work as part of the brand.

That's something we think about with every project at Signarama Ankeny.

A banner shouldn't feel disconnected from the rest of a business's visual identity. A vehicle wrap should look like it belongs to the brand. A building sign should immediately communicate what customers can expect.

When all of those elements work together, they create a stronger and more memorable customer experience.

That's especially important for restaurants, bars, and other hospitality businesses. Signarama's hospitality signage solutions are designed to help businesses stand out both outside and inside their locations, from exterior branding and interior signage to window graphics and promotional displays.

Proud to Be Part of the Iowa State Fair

We're proud that Signarama Ankeny gets to work with businesses that help make Iowa events like the State Fair so special.

This year's projects gave our team the chance to work across a wide range of applications:

Blue Ribbon Bar: America's 250th birthday banners, PVC signs, freezer wraps, and door wraps
Wise Guys Pizza: Golf cart wrap and A-frame signs featuring this year's slice
The Bird's Nest: Ice cream building signs

Together, these projects showcase just how many ways signage can help a business stand out.

We're proud of the work our team does, and we're especially grateful to the local businesses that trust us with their brands.

Have a Project in Mind?

Whether you're preparing for an event, opening a new business, refreshing an existing location, or looking for a new way to make your brand stand out, Signarama Ankeny can help.

We create banners, PVC signs, vehicle wraps and graphics, door and window graphics, interior and exterior signage, A-frame signs, and custom branded graphics for businesses throughout the area.

From a distinctive storefront to a wrapped golf cart, we're ready to help bring your next idea to life.

Stop by Signarama Ankeny and let's talk about your next signage project.