The first thing they see when the door opens.

What a lobby sign is

Most lobby signs are your logo made dimensional: the mark and the lettering cut as separate pieces and mounted to the wall, either flush or floating on spacers so they cast a shadow. When a logo has gradients, photos, or detail too fine to cut, the alternative is a printed panel: full-color acrylic or metal, anywhere from 2 by 2 inches up to 46 by 95 inches, mounted on studs. Either way, the sign belongs to the room instead of hanging in it.

One we installed

Brandon J Roofing's office has a feature wall painted dark gray, so the sign needed to stand out without shouting. The badge logo was cut from 1/4 inch PVC, 59.6 inches wide and 48 inches tall, painted a lighter gray in gloss, and flush mounted on hidden studs from a full-size template. Light, economical for its size, and tone-on-tone enough to look built in.

Choosing the material

• PVC: the economical way to do a big painted logo indoors, like the one above. See acrylic and PVC letters.
• Acrylic: crisper edges and more ways to color it, including full-color print.
• Laminated: a thin real-metal face on an acrylic core, for the metal look indoors at a fraction of the cost of solid metal.
• Solid metal: brushed aluminum, brass, bronze, or stainless, for the front desk that has to look expensive. See metal letters.

Sizing it to the wall

The most common lobby sign mistake is going too small. A logo sized for a letterhead and scaled up a little looks lost on a big reception wall. As a starting point, let the sign fill around half to two thirds of the wall's visible width, and center it at standing eye level rather than halfway up the wall.

Then check it against distance. Measure from the front door, or from wherever people first see the wall, and run that through the letter height calculator to make sure the smallest line on the sign, usually a tagline, still reads. If it doesn't, it gets bigger or comes off the sign.

Flush or floating

Flush mounting puts the pieces tight to the wall on hidden studs. It is tidy and suits small lettering and busy walls. Floating mounting adds spacers on the studs so the letters sit off the wall and throw a shadow line, which is what most reception walls want. Very light pieces on a smooth wall can go up with double-face tape instead.

Drywall with the right anchors holds most lobby letters. Heavy metal pieces or large panels may need to hit studs or blocking, which we would rather find out at the mockup stage than on install day.

In a leased suite

Check your lease, or ask the landlord, before anything is drilled. Some landlords want to see the design first, and a to-scale mockup on a photo of the wall is usually what they ask for. When you move out, stud-mounted letters come down and leave small holes to patch.

Beyond the main wall

A lobby sign usually starts a conversation about the rest of the space: conference room names and suite numbers in the same material, ADA room and restroom signs styled to match, a dedication or donor plaque, a wall mural behind the logo, and frosted privacy film on the conference room glass. All of it comes from the same shop, on one quote, installed by the same crew.

How it works

1. Send the logo and a photo of the wall, with a tape measure in the shot if you can.
2. We mock it up to scale and quote two or three sizes or materials side by side.
3. You approve a proof with exact sizes, colors, and mounting.
4. It is made to order. Production time depends on the material, and we confirm the date with your proof.
5. We install it from a full-size pattern, level and on center.

Lobby signs are non-illuminated. If you are moving in or opening on a set date, tell us when you ask for a quote. Every material we offer is on the dimensional letters page.