A custom neon sign is a big step up from picking a product off a shelf: you’re choosing colour, size, wording and placement all at once, and it’s easy to get stuck before you even request a quote. This guide walks through each of those decisions so you can order with confidence, whether the sign is going above your bed, behind your bar, or on your shopfront.
Choosing a colour
Colour is usually the first thing people fall in love with, and the main thing to know is that it changes the mood of a room far more than the wording does.
- Warm pink, red and orange read as fun and energetic — popular for bedrooms, home bars and retail feature walls.
- Cool blue, purple and ice white read as calm and modern — a common choice for offices, salons and minimalist interiors.
- Multi-colour signs (two or three colours in one design) cost more and take longer to make, but suit logos or signs with more than one element, like an icon plus text.
If you’re not sure, match the sign to the wall it will hang on rather than the rest of the room: a bold colour against a plain wall reads clearly in photos, while the same colour against a busy or patterned wall can get lost.
Choosing a size
Size is driven by where the sign is going and how far away people will usually be standing when they look at it, not by how big the wording feels on screen.
- Small (around 30–50cm wide) — desk, shelf or small nook signs, read from close up.
- Medium (around 50–80cm wide) — the most common size for a bedroom feature wall, home bar or small business counter.
- Large (1m+ wide) — shopfronts, event walls and anywhere people will photograph the sign from a few metres back.
A simple way to check before ordering: measure the wall space, then tape an outline of the proposed dimensions to it. What looks reasonable on a screen is often smaller than it looks in person once it’s actually on the wall.
Wording and font style
Short wording almost always works better than long wording: one word, a name, or a short phrase (“Good Vibes”, “Est. 2024”, a first name) is easier to read at a glance and cheaper to produce than a full sentence.
Font style should match the room, not just personal taste:
- Script/cursive — soft and personal, suits bedrooms, weddings and cafes.
- Bold block letters — punchy and easy to read from a distance, suits bars, retail and shopfronts.
- A custom logo or icon — works well alongside short wording for a business sign, but adds to the design and production time, so it’s worth flagging upfront when you enquire.
If the sign is for a business, keep your business name’s actual spelling and capitalisation exactly as your branding uses it — small inconsistencies are easy to miss in a design mock-up but obvious once the sign is lit.
Placement ideas: home vs business
At home:
- Above a bed or sofa as a feature-wall centrepiece
- In a home bar, games room or man cave
- In a nursery or kids’ room (a name or a simple shape, kept to a soft colour)
- On a balcony or deck for evening entertaining
For a business:
- Behind the counter or till, visible in every customer photo
- In the front window, facing outward so it reads at night from the street
- Above a feature wall used for social media content (cafes, salons, retail fitting rooms)
- At the entrance as a welcome sign
In both cases, check there’s a power point within reach of the final position, or budget for an extension cord or a battery-powered option — it’s a common thing people forget to plan for until the sign arrives.
Ready to design yours?
Once you’ve got a rough idea of colour, size, wording and where it’s going, get in touch and we’ll put together a mock-up so you can see exactly how it will look before it’s made. Every sign we make is custom, so there’s no limit on wording, colour or shape — just a quote tailored to your design.
