Illuminated Fascia Signs – A Complete Guide

What Are Shop Fascia Signs and Why Is Illumination Important?

A fascia sign is a fabricated sign typically installed above the entrance of a retail shop, industrial unit, or office. It’s often the most prominent piece of signage on a building, designed to display your brand name, logo, and key services clearly to passing customers.

However, many fascia signs across the UK miss one crucial feature: illumination. Adding lighting can dramatically increase your sign’s visibility, particularly during the winter months when it gets dark from as early as 3pm. For retail businesses, that’s the peak trading period leading up to the festive season, so ensuring your shopfront stands out can make a real difference to footfall and sales.

Below, we’ll explore how you can illuminate your fascia signage, the materials available, and a few key considerations before placing your order.

Ways to Illuminate Your Fascia Sign

1. Trough lighting
   A trough light is one of the most cost-effective ways to illuminate a fascia sign, offering even light distribution across the entire face.
   At Lavastar, we supply LED trough lights that can be powder-coated to any RAL colour to match your branding. The lights are typically mounted using discreet brackets fixed to the building façade.

2. Push-through lettering
   If your budget allows for a more premium finish, push-through illuminated lettering offers a sleek, high-end appearance and is a popular choice among luxury retailers.
   We fabricate an aluminium tray sign, laser-cut with your logo or lettering, then infill the cut-out sections with opal acrylic. The illumination comes from LEDs mounted behind the tray, and the correct tray depth is essential to prevent LED spotting.

3. Built-up illuminated lettering
   For maximum impact, built-up illuminated letters mounted onto an aluminium tray can ensure your signage stands out both day and night.
   This is a premium option that allows for face-lit, halo-lit, or side-lit effects, depending on your design preference. It’s the ideal choice if your goal is to project a professional, high-visibility image.

Common Fascia Sign Materials

1. Flex face tensioned PVC
   A flex face sign is essentially a lightbox with a single piece of tensioned PVC fabric, producing a seamless, drum-skin finish.
   Advantages include:

• No visible joins or fixings

• Easy to replace the printed PVC face without changing the main frame or lighting

• Straightforward maintenance access if LEDs need replacement

2. Illuminated aluminium tray sign
   For a premium, durable finish, aluminium tray signs are a great investment.
   When paired with push-through acrylic illumination, they offer a clean, professional look that stands the test of time. Many Lavastar installations still look fantastic more than 10 years later.

3. Aluminium composite panel (ACP) signage
   If you’re working with a tighter budget, 3mm aluminium composite panels with an LED trough light can still deliver great visual impact.
   However, do note that ACP panels can show visible fixings and joins, and in hot weather they may expand or warp, particularly with a gloss finish.

Key Considerations Before Ordering Your Illuminated Signage

Do I need planning permission?
In most cases, yes — especially for illuminated fascia signs. Always check with your local authority first, as conservation areas or historic towns often have stricter regulations.
A quick tip: walk down your high street or business park to see what other illuminated signs have already been approved — it’s a good indicator of what’s likely to be accepted.

How can I minimise maintenance?
All signage requires some maintenance over time. To reduce this, we recommend:

• Investing in high-quality LEDs

• Using long-life digital vinyls (rated 7+ years)

• Choosing UV-stable paint colours for aluminium trays to reduce fading in sunlight

Avoiding LED spotting
Visible LED ‘hot spots’ usually result from either LEDs being mounted too close to the sign face, or the sign face not diffusing the light effectively.
We’ll calculate the correct spacing and materials to ensure a smooth, even glow.

How much light spread will I get?
For trough-lit signs, light spread depends on the height and depth of your fascia.
A single top-mounted light may not illuminate the full surface of deeper signs, so in some cases, dual lighting (top and bottom) may be required for even coverage.

Final thoughts on illuminated fascia signs

Illuminated fascia signage not only boosts visibility and footfall but also communicates quality, professionalism, and attention to detail. Whether you’re a retail brand, office, or industrial unit, Lavastar can design, fabricate, and install a bespoke illuminated fascia sign that perfectly represents your brand.

Get in touch with Lavastar today to discuss your next signage project or request a free quotation.