During a recent office renovation project, I was tasked with coming up with a modern and sleek looking way to display directional signs, office nameplates and picture hangings. I didn’t want to go with the old stand-by’s that have been around forever and still manage to make their way into office buildings from the 1950′s.
After looking at dozens of samples and visiting other buildings to get some design ideas, I came across what is called a standoff system. Standoff systems are minimalistic, elegant and fit into any type décor. I’m sure you’ve seen them in use, but don’t recognize them by name.
Standoff systems are simply wall mounted barrels that come in different sizes that allow you to take any type of flat sign and have it “stand off” from the wall. For example, I used standoff systems to replace name plates that were outside of individual offices. The design we chose consists of a 1/2” stainless steel standoff on the right and left side. We took two 2” x 8” pieces of plexiglass, printed out the person’s name on a laser printer, inserted the piece of paper between the plexiglass pieces and mounted it to the wall using the standoff system.
After seeing how these standoff systems added to the overall look of the space, we used larger ones to provide directions to rest rooms, break areas, fire extinguishers and even used the standoff systems for larger applications like displaying posters and company logos in waiting areas.
We chose a stainless steel standoff system for our applications and the costs compared to other type of signage kept us well under budget and added a great sense of style to our office. If you’re looking to upgrade your signage, don’t make a decision without seeing the different type of standoff systems there are.
Here's an example of the type of standoff system I used in our office name plate application.
