A first impression is about more than having good looks; it is about the details as well! Good signage can show intent, while a lack of good signage can make a company appear disinterested. When a Metal Name Plate is properly designed, it can showcase all the quality and craftsmanship that a company puts into a product without a single word.

Before design can begin, a bit of consideration is required.

How Does Your Brand Feel?

Brand guidelines provide a clear picture of a company’s brand identity, but they don’t provide the full picture. Take for example a law firm and a craft brewery. Both may use metal signage, but they certainly wouldn’t use the same design for their signage. Consider your audience, the environment, and your desired impression.

Standard, default options of signage may be used within a corporate environment as they support a more professional impression. However, smaller and more creative establishments may desire something more theatrical or expressive. Think about bolder and more playful choices of font and mounting. Design choices can also include the texture of the sign.

Selecting Materials Appropriately

There are many options available for Metal Name Plates and not all are equally suitable. For example, if you want a more modern and minimal sign, then stainless steel will be a perfect choice. If you want the sign to look more prestigious and luxurious, then brass would be the best option. If you need a sign but are operating on a budget or need to produce a sign en masse, then go with aluminium for a sign that is lightweight as well as budget-friendly.

Patina is what’s left on materials, it’s the aging process, and every material has a different reaction to a different aging process, especially with light. What would you rather have, a plate that looks like it has just come out of the factory after a long process of making it, or one that looks like it’s been aged and has a patina effect to it that makes it look some what used or vintage?

Sure, the Typography, or typeface, is going to be an important factor when it comes to the plate, but most people do not realise this when it comes to making a brand a typeface. There is a good chance you haven’t taken the first step. Typography and typeface and the first thing that determine what a product looks like, especially with signage.

Metal Name Plates are more like a detail or descriptor, not a headline. What they say has to be important, but the way they’re made tells you that they’re not going to be the most important part of whatever it is that they are attached to.

One way to ensure that a plate looks good and always looks good is the way you decide to attach the plate. You can use a screw to attach the plaque and make it look like the plaque is bleeding on the wall or you can use an adhesive and if you do that you won’t have a plate that you can expose to the elements and have it last for years. Placing the plaque with screws might be something that is used a lot, but it is also something that can give your place a lot of shadows and depth.

The way the plate looks is important but it can’t be more important than the way the rest of the place looks. If a plate is polished, it shouldn’t have to be the only polished thing or the only thing of a certain colour because sometimes it won’t even be what’s most obvious and even sometimes it can be the most obvious thing. So, a plate that is polished shouldn’t be something that is used to cover the obvious.

Metal Name Plates are made with high detail but they should just be a detail. People often make the mistake with a Name Plate and they do not size it correctly, and one of the things they fail to do most is to size the Name Plate. If the Name Plate is too small, that is what’s going to make the Name Plate seem like it’s too small, but if it’s too large, that is also going to be a problem because that will make the Name Plate look like it shouldn’t even be there.

Consider doing a paper mockup so that you can get a good estimate before you begin the process. This seems rudimentary, but it saves you from having to pay for a reprint.

Proofing Prior to Production

Once it’s finished, there’s no going back. Unless you want to pay for another batch of etched stainless steel, it’s best to ask for a visual proof before finalising the order. Look for typographical errors, but also for issues with the spacing or order of elements. It helps to have someone proof it along with you.

Getting good results from designing Metal Name Plates is a function of good questions. It all comes from how well you structure your brief.