Name signs, for a new build, refurbishment or even an established care home, you cannot overestimate the importance and commercial advantage of local public awareness within the community. A good percentage of your residents may be of local origin. From a marketing perspective any signage needs to be clear and smart as it will be seen to represent the quality of the care home. When the emergency services attend late at night or a locum doctor, out of hours the attendee may not be familiar with the care home and good clear signage will aid their swift arrival. Good location and home name signage will aid visitors and any perspective relatives from out of area, who may have made contact primarily via the internet, following their sat-navs.

Types of signage

Walk outside your home, imagine you are driving up the road from either direction, What do you see? What stands out? You are looking for the most prominent location for your sign. Your options include:

Post Signs

Signs mounted on posts can be manufactured as single sided signs, positioned along the fence line usually at parallel to the road unless you are lucky enough to have a corner plot. If you have space you can mount two post signs to form a V sign, this is very effective catching passing traffic from both directions. Another method is to fit a double sided sign at 90’ to the road providing you have no trees or other obstructions in the way. Two single sided signs positioned at 45’ either side of a relatively clear entrance driveway will present an inviting entrance that is visible from both directions.

Subject to planning considerations these post signs can be illuminated using either 240v or low voltage solar power. This should be considered in dark rural locations providing the signs are not too bright and does not inconvenience your neighbours. Solar powered signs only work well when they are positioned away from trees and with a clear line of sight to the south.

Wall Signs

Elevations of you building that are clearly visible from the road can be used to mount a variety of signs types.

Individual lettering

Your home name and logo can be produced as individual letters cut from sheet Perspex and mounted direct to the brickwork using special locator fixings, care must be taken in the choice of colours as to provide contrast with the brickwork or render colour. Stainless steel 3D lettering look very good and creates a very classy look, but can be quite expensive.

Folded tray signs

The modern way to produce a wall sign is to fold up a tray shape (like a large biscuit tin lid) the sign can be any colour or design and it is fixed to the wall by screwing through the edge onto an aluminium angle sub frame. Folded tray signs are very effective and can be produced with either a gloss or matt finish.

Illuminated signs

Illuminated signs are rarely used in the care home environment as building mounted location signs, but subject to planning permission a set of built up 3D letters Halo lit can look really special on the right building.