Signage Guides
Practical reference guides on how signs are made, lit, fixed, maintained and specified — written by a signmaker producing commercial signage since 1982.
Looking for prices and lead times instead? Those sit in our buyer guides.
Choosing a Supplier
How to Choose a Sign Maker: A Buyer's Checklist
The questions that separate a signmaker who will still be answering the phone in five years from one who subcontracts everything and disappears.
8 min readRead guideNational vs Local Sign Companies: Which Suits You
Where a local supplier wins, where a national manufacturer wins, and how to get both advantages on the same project.
7 min readRead guideInstallation
Sign Installation Explained: What Happens on Fitting Day
A step-by-step account of a commercial sign installation, so you know what will be in front of your premises and for how long.
8 min readRead guideWindow Graphics: Installation, Removal and Care
What happens on fitting day, how long a graphic needs before it is cleaned, and how to remove vinyl without leaving a mess on the glass.
7 min readRead guideAftercare
Sign Maintenance and Cleaning: Keeping Signage Sharp
Simple upkeep that adds years to a sign, the cleaning mistakes that ruin acrylic and vinyl, and the early faults worth acting on.
7 min readRead guideSign Removal and Shopfront Reinstatement
Taking a sign down properly — the making good, the electrical disconnection and the lease obligations that catch tenants at the end of a term.
7 min readRead guideTechnical
LED Signs Explained: Modules, Brightness and Lifespan
What is actually inside an LED sign, why two lit signs at the same price can look completely different, and the specs worth asking about.
8 min readRead guideSign Fixings and Substrates Explained
The unglamorous half of signage: what the sign is fixed to, which anchors suit it, and why the detailing decides whether it stains or lasts.
8 min readRead guideDigital Signage
LED Screens vs Printed Signage: Which to Invest In
A digital display earns its cost only under certain conditions. Here is how to work out whether yours are among them.
8 min readRead guideDigital Signage Content: Getting It Read
A screen is only as good as what is on it. Practical rules for slide length, legibility, rotation and keeping content from going stale.
7 min readRead guideMaterials
Acrylic vs Aluminium Signs: How to Choose
Two of the most-used signage materials, side by side — what each does best indoors and out, and where people pick the wrong one.
7 min readRead guideAnti-Vandal and Anti-Graffiti Signage
Practical ways to make signage survive graffiti, stickers and knocks — laminates, materials, fixings and siting decisions that cut replacement costs.
7 min readRead guideGRP and Moulded Signs: What They Are and Why Use Them
Moulded signs can look like carved stone, cast metal or gilded timber at a fraction of the weight. Here is how GRP works.
7 min readRead guidePutting a Sign on Glass: Vinyl, Print, Frosting or Stand-Offs
There are five common ways to put a sign on glass. Which one suits you depends on whether the sign faces in or out, and how long it has to last.
6 min readRead guideBusiness Nameplates: Materials, Wording and Fixing
A nameplate is small but it is the sign visitors stand beside while they wait for the door. Here is how to choose the material, wording and fixing.
6 min readRead guideSustainable Signage: Practical Ways to Reduce a Sign's Impact
The most sustainable sign is one you only buy once. Durability, LED lighting and designs you can update without replacing do most of the work.
6 min readRead guideSign Types
Totem and Monolith Signs Explained
The freestanding sign that pulls traffic off a road — how they are constructed, what the groundwork involves and what consent they need.
8 min readRead guideShopfront Fascia Construction Explained
What is behind the flat board above your window — the four main constructions, how each is fixed, and why the detailing decides how long it lasts.
8 min readRead guideHoarding and Construction Site Signage Guide
How site hoarding graphics are specified and fitted, what has to appear alongside them, and how to get a scheme that survives the build.
8 min readRead guideSafety & Compliance
Workplace Safety Signage: What the Rules Ask For
How safety sign categories work, what each shape and colour means, and the practical checks behind a compliant, readable scheme.
8 min readRead guideFire Exit Signs Explained: Routes, Symbols and Siting
General guidance on escape signage: what the symbols mean, how far apart signs should be, and the siting mistakes that break a route.
7 min readRead guideSectors
Signage for Schools and Colleges: What to Plan
How education sites use signage to control visitor routes, identify buildings and support safeguarding, and what tends to be missing.
8 min readRead guideOffice and Reception Signage: What to Include
The signage an office actually needs, from the reception wall to the meeting room doors, and how to keep it right when people move desks.
7 min readRead guidePub and Restaurant Signage: What Works Outside and In
How hospitality signage differs from retail — evening legibility, menus at the door, outside areas and the notices licensed premises must display.
8 min readRead guideHotel Entrance Canopies: Arrival, Weather and Branding
The entrance canopy is the first part of a hotel a guest stands under. Here is how to plan one that works as shelter and as a welcome.
7 min readRead guideBuying decisions
Awning or Canopy? Choosing Cover for a Business Front
People use the two words loosely. This guide sorts out what each one is, which suits your premises and the questions to answer before one is made.
8 min readRead guideWhat Sign Does My Business Need? A Decision Guide
Skip the catalogue. Answer a handful of questions about your premises and customers and the right type of sign becomes obvious.
8 min readRead guideProcess
Sign Design: From Your Brief to an Approved Proof
The design stage decides how a sign looks for the next ten years. Here is what to bring, what you will be shown and what to check before you approve.
7 min readRead guideBranding a Fleet: Rolling Out Graphics Across Vans
Branding one van is a design job. Branding twenty is a logistics job. Here is how to plan a fleet rollout.
7 min readRead guideProducts explained
Flex Face Signs Explained: Large Lit Signs Without Seams
Big illuminated signs used to mean joins across the face. Flex face construction removes them. Here is how it works and when to choose it.
7 min readRead guideProjecting Signs: Brackets, Sizing and Where They Work
A sign that sticks out from the wall is seen from further along the street than any fascia. Here is how to choose one.
7 min readRead guideInteriors
Office Wall Graphics: Planning a Branded Workspace
Walls are the biggest blank canvas in any office. Here is how to decide what goes on them and how to get a finish that lasts.
7 min readRead guideGlass Signs for Receptions and Offices
A glass panel with your logo behind reception is one of the most recognisable office signs. Here is how the options differ.
7 min readRead guideInternal Signage Systems: Modular Signs That Change With the Building
An internal signage system is a family of matching signs built from standard parts, so names and directions can change without replacing the sign.
6 min readRead guidePlanning
Commercial Signage Explained: What It Covers and Where to Start
Commercial signage means every sign a business puts up to be found, get people inside, help them move around and be remembered. Plan it from the street inwards.
7 min readRead guideCorporate Signage: Keeping a Brand Consistent Across Every Sign
Corporate signage is about consistency: the same brand, read the same way, on every sign and every site. A written sign standard is what makes that possible.
7 min readRead guideOutdoor Business Signs: Choosing Signs That Survive the Weather
An outdoor sign has to stay readable and secure through years of rain, sun, wind and grime. Here is how to pick the type, material and fixing that will last.
6 min readRead guideProfessional Signage or DIY? When a Sign Company Is Worth It
Some signs are fine to order online and stick up yourself. Others involve height, electrics, consent or structure, and that is where a professional earns the fee.
6 min readRead guideExterior
Business Awnings and Canopies: Choosing by Type of Premises
The right awning or canopy depends less on style and more on what the premises does all day. Here is how cafés, shops, hotels and salons usually choose.
7 min readRead guidePrinted Awnings: Putting Your Brand on the Cover
An awning cover is a large, visible branding surface. Here is how names and logos get onto it, and how to keep the design readable from the street.
6 min readRead guide