About Us

Color-Ad was founded in 1962 by David Velke and incorporated in the state of Virginia in 1965. In the many years since our inception, our company has grown to employ over 50 full time craftsmen, project managers, and front office personnel. We’ve expanded our original facilities to a total combined 56,675 square feet of production and office space tailored specifically for the design, management, and production of large and complex sign and exhibit projects.

In 1996, Mr. Velke passed the management torch on to the second generation and in 2010, the third generation started their careers in the family business. We have developed a special atmosphere here at Color-Ad where it’s not the number of relatives we employ here that makes us a family business but the fact that our average employee has been with us for over ten years and together we’ve had high fives, arguments, tense moments, enlightening moments, challenges, and victories. In short, we’ve grown alongside each other.

Let’s be honest; We know the success of our company has little to do with how long we’ve been in business or how many combined years of experience our staff has. What truly makes Color-Ad thrive is the drive, commitment, and enthusiasm of every member on the team and our ability to work together for a bigger picture.

Here at Color-Ad, we feel that cultivating an environment where talented individuals are encouraged to share their expertise wherever it is needed is what makes our “whole” greater than the sum of our parts. We understand that excellence doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It requires collaboration between invested team members across multiple departments who have an understanding of how it all comes together. More than that, we know that since each of us is given the freedom to explore creative solutions to the most challenging issues, our performance is held to a high set of standards and we must hold ourselves accountable. The bottom line is this: we trust each other, we’re motivated by each other, and we learn from each other every day.

We enjoy working hard, exploring our limits, accomplishing meaningful tasks, having fun, and occasionally bragging about the cool stuff we produce.  We truly believe that those who enjoy what they do, do it better… and we love what we do!

Signs and exhibits connect people to place and enhance the human experience. Color-Ad builds environments that communicate important messages with people whether it’s a wayfinding system or a natural history exhibit. We take pride in our role of helping people and spreading knowledge.

Our team specializes in project management, fabrication, and installation of projects that include: