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Practice guides · Signage design and installation
Your largest and cheapest advertisement.
A guide to briefing a signage supplier, from artwork and site surveys to approvals and installation. Ampli5 can help with branding; choose and contract with your own manufacturer and installer. We have no official signage partners.
Why it matters more than people think
Most practices spend more on one month of ads than on the sign.
The sign is seen by everyone who walks or drives past, every day, for as long as it is up. Very little else in a marketing budget has that arithmetic. It also sets the price expectation before a patient has spoken to anyone.
The other reason to take it seriously is that it is the hardest thing to change later. A website can be rebuilt in four weeks. A shopfront cannot.
- Designed with the brand, not chosen from a catalogue afterwards
- Legible at the distance and speed people actually pass at
- Illumination considered for the half of the year that is dark
- Consent and landlord approval handled before manufacture
- Materials chosen for the building rather than the lowest quote
- Wayfinding inside, so patients are not asking reception where to go
What gets made
Inside and out.
| Element | Typical form | What to think about |
|---|---|---|
| Fascia sign | Built up letters or tray sign | Legibility at distance matters more than detail. Illumination usually needs consent. |
| Projecting sign | Hanging or blade sign | Catches pedestrians walking along the street rather than facing the building. Frequently needs consent. |
| Window graphics | Cut vinyl or printed film | Doubles as privacy for a ground floor surgery. Also the cheapest place to advertise a treatment. |
| Opening notice | Temporary printed film | For a practice fitting out. Works on passing trade for weeks before you open. |
| Reception branding | Built up letters or printed panel | The backdrop to every photograph taken in your practice, including patient selfies. |
| Wayfinding | Door and corridor signage | Accessibility requirements apply. Contrast and text size are not optional extras. |
| External totem | Freestanding sign | For practices set back from the road or in a business park. Almost always needs consent. |
Who makes and installs it
Choosing a signage supplier.
Compare sign makers on surveys, materials, fixing methods, approvals, warranties and installation. Agree who supplies artwork and who checks technical specifications.
Appoint and contract with your chosen signage supplier directly. Ampli5 has no official signage manufacturing or installation partners.
The programme
Eight weeks, and why it needs all of them.
Survey
Your chosen installer should measure the building, checks fixings, access and power for illumination, and flags anything the landlord or the local authority will care about.
Design
We produce artwork from the brand, sized and specified for the building rather than scaled up from a business card.
Consents
Advertisement consent where required, plus landlord approval. This is the step that dictates the timeline and the one people forget.
Manufacture
Built to the approved drawings. Changes at this stage are expensive, which is why approvals come first.
Installation
Access equipment where needed, and scheduled around the fit out so it is not the last thing on a busy handover week.
Photography
Photographed as soon as it is up, because that image goes on the website, the Google listing and the launch campaign.
Straight answers
Common questions about signage.
Do I need planning permission for practice signage?
Often yes, particularly for illuminated signs, projecting signs, listed buildings and conservation areas. Advertisement consent is a separate process from planning permission for building work. Confirm with your chosen supplier who will check requirements and handle any application.
How long does dental signage take?
Design and approvals typically two to four weeks, manufacture a further two to three, then installation. For a practice opening, start at least eight weeks out. Signage is a common cause of a delayed opening.
What does practice signage cost?
It varies enormously with size, illumination, the building and access requirements. Your chosen signage supplier quotes after a site survey. We do not quote for manufacture or installation.
Do we need the landlord’s consent?
On a leased unit, almost always. Check the lease before you design anything, because some leases restrict size, illumination and even colour.
Is illuminated signage worth it?
For a practice on a road people drive past in the dark half the year, usually yes. It also raises the planning bar, so factor the consent process into your timeline.
Can you match signage to our brand?
That is the point of doing them together. Signage designed after a brand is finished looks like part of the practice. Signage ordered from a catalogue looks like signage.
Next step
Opening or refurbishing?
Send us a photograph of the frontage and your opening date. We will tell you what is achievable in the time, and what needs starting this week.
Need signage?
Send a photograph of the frontage and your opening date. Consents take longer than people expect.
Prefer to write? Send us a message instead.