A plaque is read from about two feet by somebody standing still. That is the opposite of every other sign we make, and almost every mistake comes from laying one out as though it were a sign.

Hierarchy first, decoration never

Three levels of information is the working maximum: what this is, who it is for, and when. Anything beyond that belongs on a second line of smaller type or on a second plaque.

Ornamental borders, rules and flourishes eat the margin that makes a plaque look considered. A generous empty margin is what separates a dedication plate from a nameplate.

Engraved or sublimated

Laser engraving cuts through the anodized layer to bright metal. It is crisp, traditional and cannot fade, because there is no pigment involved — the mark is the metal. It cannot reproduce a full-color logo or a photograph, and attempts to do so look like a smudge.

Dye sublimation puts color permanently into the coating and reproduces crests, seals and photographs properly. Use it when the artwork is the point, and engrave when the words are.

Type size, honestly

At two feet, 18-point type is comfortable and 12-point is the floor. On a donor wall where names are scanned rather than read, 14-point with generous leading beats 18-point crammed.

If the text will not fit at 12-point, the plaque is too small or the text is too long. Making the type smaller is not a third option.

Plan for the second batch

Donor walls, memorial rows and award boards are never ordered once. The plaque you order this year sets the finish, the grain direction, the corner radius and the type size for everything that follows.

We keep the layout file, so a batch ordered four years later matches rather than approximately matches. Ask for that explicitly when you order the first set.

Mounting is part of the design

Visible corner screws suit an industrial plate and undermine a dedication. Keyhole slots hang flush with no fixings showing. Standoff barrels lift the plaque off the wall and give it a shadow. Adhesive backing is right for equipment plates and wrong for anything anyone will touch.

Pick the mounting before the size, because standoffs and keyholes both need margin to sit in.

Equipment and asset plates

Different rules entirely: legibility beats elegance, the serial number is the most important thing on the plate, and adhesive-backed .025 anodized aluminum survives more than people expect. Run them as variable data from a spreadsheet, one row per asset, no setup charge.

What to send us

The exact wording — spelled and punctuated the way it should appear, because we set what you send — the finish you want, the size of the wall, and how it is mounting. For a batch, a spreadsheet with one row per plaque.