Sign Design & Prototyping

Trialing a new concept, planning a rebrand or simply refreshing a specification warrants exploration at the design stage.

Taking initial concepts and translating them into physical spaces

There are very few who can design a sign better than those who also understand HOW to make a sign.

Our in-house designers have the advantage of having access to manufacturing facilities fully equipped to sample colours, review materials and build the most suitable specification. Their hands-on experience can offer an advantage over service-only based agencies and can save the client cost by removing the ‘middle-man’.

astley’s expert technical team of design engineers collaborate closely with quantity surveyors and structural engineers to ensure that every approved sign design not only looks exceptional but is also safe and fit for purpose. Their deep understanding of aesthetics – combined with technical expertise – ensures each sign complies fully with health and safety legislation while maintaining visual impact.

This combined in-house skillset ensures a client is supported by solutions that are realistic when it comes to manufacture and safe when installed but also that align with a brand aesthetic.

Step 1 - Collaboration

For concept development to start, collaboration with a client is key

Our in-house design team work hard to fully understand a client’s brand and key objectives before moving to any concept development. Understanding the ‘end goal’ and how the brand will perform in a physical space is a vital part of this process.

From colour and illumination to finishes and materials, our design team defines how your brand will truly shine across every surface and application. We dig deep – asking questions like, ‘What’s the brand’s role in this space?’ – to ensure every detail works hard for your identity. Only then do we move forward.

Step 2 - Concept design

From paper to practical implementation

Working closely with the company’s Procurement Manager, our designers will begin to build proposed specifications based on performance, sustainability, budget, site characteristics (eg. coastal) and visual aesthetic objectives.

Having our design team based within our manufacturing facility means that they have unrivalled access to practical skillsets from the shopfloor, regularly working alongside colleagues in various departments to experiment with the performance of materials.

Collaboration throughout this process happens amongst multiple stakeholders to build design specifications to present for final approval.

Step 3 - Concept approval

Offering clients unique access to sampling before committing to production

Our Gateshead facility has a dedicated showroom which is often used to collate and present proposed signage concepts to clients and their wider teams. This allows them the opportunity to review key asset characteristics such as illumination, fixing methodologies and profiles before moving to sign-off.

This collaborative way of working ensures that clients feel able to govern what is finally installed at their sites, having already seen working samples. It also allows the teams to discuss any amends and final tweaks before moving to the next stage.

Step 4 - Technical design

Ensuring practical implementation meets compliance

Alongside the concept build, our in-house Technical Team partners with designers to ensure every detail meets strict health and safety standards. From structural calculations to manufacture-ready drawings, we provide everything needed to brief manufacturing and installation teams with fully compliant specifications.

The perfect demonstration of our in-house creative expertise

Award-winning Rollout

Staycity Group’s rollout is a perfect example of how involving our team at the outset means that a signage family can be carefully crafted to answer the vast differences in architecture and branding approach across a large estate of properties. From modern building to historic, centrally located architecture, the brand has to work consistently and only through comprehensive development and collaboration can the end result be award-winning.

Award-winner Staycity Rebrand

Other creative services:

A worker in a high-visibility jacket labeled "astley" inspects a BP fuel station sign displaying fuel prices: Regular Unleaded at 119.9, Regular Diesel at 123.9, and Ultimate Diesel at 168.9. The sign also features branding for Costa Express.

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Surveys & audits

Capturing accurate site data is key to successful branding. With a UK-wide network of surveyors and engineers, Astley ensures every project starts with the right insight.

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A computer monitor displays architectural plans with technical drawings and text, labeled "AJ Bell" and "astley.

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Technical Design

Trialing a new concept, planning a rebrand or simply refreshing a specification warrants exploration at the design stage.

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Open booklet displaying branding specifications for "staycity" with logos, color schemes, and design layouts.

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Signage Manuals & Site Packs

Trialing a new concept, planning a rebrand or simply refreshing a specification warrants exploration at the design stage.

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Large, intricately carved wooden sculpture mounted on a wall with horizontal wooden slats.

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Design & Build to Rollout

Whether it’s a highly bespoke, experiential solution or a large rollout program of works, our teams offer award-winning solutions.

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If you'd like to discuss how our in-house design team can support you, get in touch today

Get in touch today

FAQs

I have a logo and need a sign but don’t know where to start?

Our in-house design team is ready to support clients in translating their brand into a physical sign. To ensure the best outcome, it’s helpful for us to have an indication of the available budget and site details from the outset. This information allows our team to develop proposals that are both practical and cost-effective, ensuring the final designs are achievable within the specified parameters.

My agency has designed the signs, I just need them making.

If your signage is already specified, our technical team will review the proposals to ensure the materials, fixing methods, and illumination approaches are feasible for manufacture and suitable for installation. Where necessary, we may recommend adjustments to better suit site conditions or to mitigate potential risks, such as challenges with brand colour matching. As standard, we also offer value engineering; if there is a more efficient or cost-effective way to produce your sign, we will proactively propose alternatives before proceeding to manufacture.

Can I see the sign before manufacturing in volume?

Yes! We do offer comprehensive prototyping in-house and would certainly recommend this for brands where consistency across an estate of properties is a consideration. This service allows clients to visit us at either of our production facilities to review samples, allowing them to inspect the finish and view illumination if applicable. This proves a vital step in eliminating misinterpretations or assumptions of how the signage will look when manufactured for all parties. The last thing we would want is to mass-manufacture a sign that the client sees installed and then isn’t happy with.

Sign Design & Prototyping

Trialing a new concept, planning a rebrand or simply refreshing a specification warrants exploration at the design stage.

Taking initial concepts and translating them into physical spaces

There are very few who can design a sign better than those who also understand HOW to make a sign.

Step 1 - Collaboration

Step 2 - Concept design

Step 3 - Concept approval

Step 4 - Technical design

Award-winning Rollout

Other creative services:

If you'd like to discuss how our in-house design team can support you, get in touch today

FAQs

I have a logo and need a sign but don’t know where to start?

My agency has designed the signs, I just need them making.

Can I see the sign before manufacturing in volume?

Contact us

We'd love to learn more about your project and how we can help.