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 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 guide