Signage Design with Photo-Realistic Mock-Ups
Good signage design starts with the building, the street and the people who need to read it, not just the logo. Our designers draw every sign to fit your brand and your premises, and show you a photo-realistic mock-up of the finished sign on your own building before anything is made.
Design is free with our signage. Complete Signs has made signs in our own workshop since 1982, so the designs are drawn by people who know exactly how they will be built and installed.
Get a free quote and free site survey.
Designing the whole look, not one sign
Most premises need more than one sign: a fascia, a projecting sign, window graphics, door vinyls and perhaps interior signs. Designing them together keeps colours, logo placement and lettering consistent, so the business looks the same from the street, the doorway and the counter. We set out a simple layout for each sign and show them side by side.
Planning rules also shape a design. Size, position and lighting can all affect whether advertisement consent is needed, and listed buildings and conservation areas often need a more restrained approach. Our designers take these into account early, so the design you approve is one that can realistically be made, installed and, where needed, put forward for consent. Because the people drawing your sign work alongside the workshop that builds it, every design takes account of real materials, fixings and the surface it will be mounted on.
Working from what you have
Some clients arrive with full brand guidelines; others have a logo on a business card. Either is fine. We work from vector logo files where they exist, and can redraw a logo from a clear image when they do not. Colours are matched to your brand references and to the materials we will use, so the sign looks right in daylight as well as on screen.
Designing for reading distance
A sign has a few seconds to be read by someone walking or driving past. We size lettering for the distance and speed it will be seen at, keep the message short, and leave enough space around the logo for it to stand out. Contrast between letters and background matters more than almost anything else, especially on dark or busy facades.
Colour, materials and lighting
The design also settles how the sign is made: flat panel or built-up letters, painted or vinyl colours, and whether it is lit. We show illuminated designs as night-time mock-ups too, so you can compare face-lit and halo-lit effects before choosing.
From mock-up to sign-off
- Free site survey to measure and photograph the building.
- Photo-realistic mock-ups of your sign in place, with revisions until it is right.
- Consent drawings with dimensions and materials where an application is needed.
- A final proof for your sign-off before manufacture begins in our workshop.
Signage Design: Questions and Answers
Is the sign design free?
Yes. Design, including photo-realistic mock-ups of the sign on your building, is free when we make and install your signage.
Can you design a sign from just our logo?
Yes. A logo is enough to start. We build the rest of the design around it, including layout, lettering, colours and materials, and show you the result as a mock-up on a photo of your premises.
Ready to Get Started?
Get a free, no-obligation quote for your signage design project today.