Custom Commissions
Some pieces do not fit a size chart. A sign two metres across, a shape drawn from scratch, a structure that has to hold itself up in a room full of people. That is commission work, and it is the part of the job we most want to be doing.
We have built signage up to 2.1 by 2.1 metres. If you have something in your head that does not exist yet, this page is for you.
What counts as a commission
- Signage larger than A0, up to around 2.1 metres
- Shapes that are not rectangles or standard arches
- Multi-panel installations and backdrops
- Structural pieces that need to stand on their own
- Anything designed from a concept rather than adapted from an existing design
- Branded installations for businesses and venues
A 2.1 metre book
We have built a welcome sign in the shape of an open book, 2.1 metres across and 2.1 metres tall. Two pages, both faces carrying cut lettering, freestanding.
It is a useful example because it shows what happens when a design stops being a flat panel. A book has curves, a spine and two planes that have to meet correctly. None of that is laser work. The shape was routed, the structure built to hold its own weight without bracing visible from the front, and the lettering cut on the laser and applied by hand afterwards.
The lesson worth taking from it: the limit on a commission is not the machine. It is whether the thing can be engineered to stand up and survive being moved.
How large pieces are actually built
Worth understanding, because it explains why a two metre sign is not simply a small sign scaled up.
The substrate. Three millimetre acrylic cannot hold itself at that size. It flexes, it bows under its own weight and it will crack at a fixing point. Large pieces are built on a timber or MDF backing instead, with the acrylic face laminated onto it. That gives a panel rigid enough to stand all night while still reading as acrylic. Where the styling suits it we work in MDF that comes pre-laminated in melamine, which gives a clean finished face without an acrylic layer at all.
The shape. Our laser bed cuts to roughly 370 by 580mm, so any outline larger than that is cut with a router and other tooling, then finished by hand. Curves, arches and irregular profiles are all available at full scale. Shape is never the constraint.
The lettering. Text and detail are laser cut as separate pieces and bonded on by hand. This is the step that keeps a two metre sign looking sharp, because the fine work is still being done at a scale the laser handles perfectly, then applied to the large panel afterwards.
The engineering. Anything freestanding has to be weighted or braced so it cannot go over. This is the part clients rarely think about and the part that matters most, because a sign that falls at a wedding is not a signage problem, it is an injury.
What it costs
Commissions are quoted individually. Price follows the design work, the material, the structural build and the finishing, and those vary enormously between two pieces of identical size. A simple oversized panel and a freestanding sculptural piece are not comparable jobs.
Tell us what you have in mind and roughly what you were hoping to spend. We will tell you honestly whether the two line up, and if they do not we will usually suggest a version that does rather than just quoting high.
How long it takes
Allow a month or more in production for a large commission, and start the conversation well before that. The design and approval stage takes as long as it takes to get the concept right, and that is not time worth rushing.
If your date is inside two months, tell us the date in your first message. We would rather say no early than let you find out late.
How it works
- Tell us the idea. A sketch, a reference photo, or just a description. It does not need to be resolved.
- We design it. You get a mockup showing the finished piece, with a couple of rounds of revisions.
- We quote the build. Once the design is settled, the price is firm.
- We make it. Routed, built, laser cut lettering applied and finished by hand.
- We install it. Across Adelaide. For a large piece this is worth doing properly.
Delivery and installation
Large commissions are Adelaide-based by default, simply because of how they travel. We deliver locally and install at the venue, which for a multi-panel or freestanding piece is the sensible option.
Interstate is possible by courier arrangement. It comes down to the size, the cost of getting it there safely and what access looks like at the other end. Ask and we will find out.
Start a commission
Send us the idea, the date and the venue. Even a rough description is enough to start from.
Get in touch, or message us using the chat icon at the bottom right of your screen.
For standard sizes, see wedding signage and event signage.