5 Ways To Design Your Cast Metal Plaque

Metal casting has been around for over 6,000 years. The process involves crafting a mold of sand or clay to the desired shape before molten metal – aluminum or bronze – is poured and allowed to solidify. The result is a durable, single-piece cast metal plaque that can be finished and mounted to fit the intended application.

Metallic plaques are available in bronze, copper, brass, aluminum, zinc, or stainless steel, and are a fantastic way to memorialize a person or event, identify historic places, or recognize the dedication of a new or renovated building.

Design options for cast metal plaques include:

1. Etched photo or emblem

   A seal or etched image can be combined with a lovely cast plaque to add a personal touch to your memorial, dedication, or recognition plaque, seal, or marker.

2. Bas-Relief

   Bas-Relief plaques feature the face of a person, typically a historically significant figure, displayed in a three-dimensional cast protruding from the centre of the plaque. This is a great way to bring life, dimension and personality to your plaque. The artist masterfully captures the details of the subject, using modern technology as well as traditional casting techniques.

3. Integrated logo or emblem

   Consider adding a raised logo, emblem, or other image on your cast plaque. This will make your new plaque seem modern and up to date.

4. Chronicle Plaque

   This involves capturing your photographs and casting them right into your plaque. The cutting-edge technique can incorporate multiple photographs to create an amazing collage that brings your metal to life.

5. Large return plaque

   Standard metal plaques are only ¼-inch thick, but a great way to give your sign more grandeur and impact is by opting for a large return plaque, which is between ¾ of an inch to a full inch thick. These plaques have more depth and dimension than the standard size, and can make a stunning and lasting impression.

Finishing options for cast metal plaques include:

• Standard borders: where the border finish matches the plaque artwork.
• Custom borders: there are a number of decorative borders that you can choose from, including Ivy, Jewel, Adam, and Greek Key among others.
• Standard finish: you can choose between a brushed finish, whereby the horizontal brushed grain is standard on all plaques, and edge colour, whereby the plaque edge colour is the same as that on the background.
• Background colours: popular colours include black, brown, dark oxide, and duranodic bronze.
• Background textures: common texture options include Stipple, Pebble, Sand, and Leatherette.
• Clear Coat Options: there are usually three options: Gloss, matte, and semi-gloss. However, Gloss is standard on polished finishes, while semi-gloss is standard on brushed finishes.
• Specialty Finish Options: there are some specialty finishes that you can consider, such as oxidised or dark oxidised bronze finishes; Verde patina, Turquoise patina, or Green patina; or simply finished with a polish.

As you can see, cast metal plaques come with a wide selection of standard colours, textures, and colours to choose from, in addition to the design options. And if the standard options are not to your liking, there are still custom and specialty options to match your artwork, as well as several mounting options to accent your plaque.