Neon signs for restaurants, bars and cafés — what works

Two different jobs: outside and inside

Before choosing a technology, separate the two. Exterior signage has to make someone walking past notice the venue and read its name — after dark and in bad weather too. A neon inside does something else: it sets the mood, marks out a zone, and very often becomes the backdrop for photos guests take themselves.

That distinction has direct technical consequences, because not every solution suits both.

For the window and the facade — glass neon, 3D letters or a lightbox

Outdoors, glass neons, 3D channel letters and LED-backlit lightboxes all work. Glass neons are exceptionally durable and perform outside a building as well. We make 3D letters from weather-resistant materials and mount them on facades and above entrances. A lightbox, in turn, offers a large surface and backlighting, which keeps it legible by day and after dark.

What we do not recommend outdoors: LED neon. It is an imitation of glass neon, a substitute product that we recommend for interiors only.

• —The venue name above the entrance — 3D channel letters, lit or unlit.
• —A sign legible from across the street — an LED-backlit lightbox.
• —Signage meant to stand out by character — glass neon.
• —Garden, terrace, outdoor area — weather-resistant solutions, not LED.

Inside — the choice is wider

Indoors you can afford more, because the weather is out of the equation. Glass neon gives a deep, vivid glow no other technology can match — it is what makes an impression on the wall behind the bar and what looks best in guests' photos. LED neon is the cheaper alternative and works when the budget is limited or the piece has to be ready quickly.

Inside a venue a neon usually works in a handful of places: the wall behind the bar, by the entrance, the spot where guests take photos of themselves, or the passage between rooms. In larger food halls we also sign whole zones — as at the Night Market in Warsaw.

What works in hospitality — from our own projects

Short things tied to the venue's character work best: the name, one phrase, a graphic mark. For the Georgian restaurant Chmeli Suneli we made a glass neon mounted directly onto raw wooden boards, so the neon and the wall material work together. For Maghreb, a Moroccan restaurant, we produced glass neons; for Semolino, glass neon lettering; and for Vincent Cafe, neon signage.

Where legibility of the name matters most, 3D letters are the more common choice: Bierhalle, Podwale Piwna Kompania, U Szwejka, BAR SPORTS. In the Mezalians restaurant, 3D letters were combined with a wave-form LED neon installation inside. For the New Vegas pizzeria we made a lightbox, and for Cukiernia Bracia Sośniccy a combined form: green glass-neon lettering, 3D letters and a lightbox in one project.

We have also signed entire food zones — neons for the Night Market in Warsaw and work at Hala Koszyki.

Before you order — four things to settle

Most misunderstandings come from skipping one of these at the start.

• —Exactly where it will hang — interior or facade. This decides the technology.
• —The width of the wall or the window. The dimension drives both legibility and price.
• —Whether power is already run to that spot, or has to be planned in.
• —When it has to be ready — glass neon is craftsmanship made to order, not an off-the-shelf product.

How it works with us

The quote is free. From your logo or wording we prepare a design, a visualisation and a quote — a vector file is ideal, but a photo or a sketch is enough to start. Production happens in our own workshop near Warsaw, with no middlemen. We also handle installation, including on facades, certified for work at heights, and servicing and maintenance afterwards.

Clients who want to see how a glass neon is made are welcome in the workshop.