Office desks

The name on the desk

A desk name plaque is a wedge that leans its face back twelve degrees, which is the angle that reads from standing height when the plaque sits on a desk. The letters are set flush into the face in a second color, printed in the same piece, so there is no sticker to peel and no paint to chip.

The plaque is sized to the name. Letters are 22 mm tall on every size, and the plate is the width of the name plus a margin each side, with a minimum width per size. Count your characters including spaces and periods:

• Small: up to 10 characters. A short name, or a first name and initial.
• Medium: up to 14 characters. Most first and last names.
• Large: up to 18 characters. Long names, or a name with a title like Dr.

Because the letter height is fixed, a short name on a small plaque and a long name on a large one look like a matched set, which matters when a whole team orders. The post on how a plaque is sized to your text has real widths for real names.

Name and title: the door sign

For two lines, a name over a title, room or department, use the office door sign. Line one is 18 mm letters, line two 10 mm, both raised on a 6 mm plate. It mounts three ways: a flat back with adhesive strips for a door, cubicle wall or glass partition; keyhole slots for screws; or a desk stand that turns it into a two line desk plaque. Up to 16 characters on line one and 24 on line two.

Phone, pens and the small stuff

The desk tray is a low tray, 28 mm tall, with a pen channel along the back, an angled phone slot and three open bays. The slot is 14 mm wide, which takes most phones in a slim or standard case. Rugged cases over 14 mm will not fit. Pick the width for where it sits:

Measure the clear space where it will live, front to back as well as side to side. The tray is about 120 mm deep at every width.

The desk drawer

Desk drawers are shallow, often 50 to 80 mm inside, and full of small things that slide: chargers, cables, sticky notes, a stapler, spare pens. Two approaches work.

• Bins on a baseplate. A drawer baseplate cut to the drawer, with low 21 mm or standard 42 mm grid bins. A 1 x 3 takes pens, a 2 x 2 takes a coiled charger, 1 x 1s take clips and earbuds.
• Dividers. A divider kit 30 to 40 mm tall with three or four bays across, for drawers that hold notebooks and paper.

The drawer measuring guide shows where to measure, and the 42 mm grid guide shows how many cells your drawer takes.

Colors that work in an office

Plaques come in black, white, slate grey and sand, with letters in white, black, signal red or moss. High contrast pairs read best from a distance: white on black, black on white, white on slate grey. Sand with black is softer and suits wood desks. For a team, choose one pair and keep it.

Ordering

Desk name plaques start at $34, door signs at $38 and desk trays at $24. Plaques and signs ship within 5 business days and the desk tray within 4. Personalized pieces are printed exactly as typed and are final sale, so read the text back before you order.