Things to consider when designing your Memorial Plaque

Over the many years that Phoenix Foundry has been creating cast bronze Memorials, we have found that there are common issues for customers to consider before designing their memorial products.

We’ve listed the main considerations here to help get you thinking… but please remember (if you’re having trouble, or if you have unanswered questions) that Phoenix staff have lots of experience in helping customers make decisions and choose their products. Feel free to contact Phoenix directly to discuss your ideas over the phone or via email.

1. Location – Before you get started… have a think about where your plaque will be going. If your Memorial plaque is for use in a cemetery or crematoria, there may be several issues that you will need to be aware of. Cemeteries often have their own size, design and fixing specifications as well as possible additional costs. Please refer to our FAQs for how to design and order products for this purpose. If your plaque is not going into a cemetery or crematoria, you are much more able to choose the look and function of your plaque. Will you be placing your plaque in a garden or will you be attaching it to a specific base such as a rock or a wall? Maybe you might even like to have it installed on a piece of furniture… a garden bench for example? There are lots of options and it is very helpful to have some sort of an idea of what you’d like to do and the look you’d like to achieve.
   
   
2. Purpose – Try and think about the role that you’d like your plaque to play in the remembrance of the person. Is the memorial a personal one for you at home? Maybe it will be seen by the general public and may be on a building or public garden (for example)? Or maybe your memorial is part of a family history sequence where you might add in where ashes are scattered or other family graves are situated… so further generations can follow your family history trail. Clarifying this in your mind will help you to decide what to do.
   
   
3. Size and Design – Once you’ve got your plaque’s location and purpose sorted out, you will be better able to design something that will suit the situation. Maybe think about what the person would have liked... what their personality was (for example, flowery or straight-to-the-point?) Some people leave instructions in advance on what is to be done, so that solves the design problem for you. Phoenix Foundry’s Memorial, Burial and Cremation Plaque design options include: cremation plaques, burial plaques, niche plaques with integrated vases, sculpture series plaques, sculptured columbarium plaques and book plaques… all in a range of themes, colours and sizes. These options allow you to really capture the essence and nature of your loved one… and ensure that they will always have their place in history. Read more about our Design Information for Memorial and Cremation Plaques.
   
   
4. Wording – The amount of wording that you can have on your plaque of course depends largely on the size and design that you choose. As a general indication though, not too many words is definitely better and makes more of an impact. The other thing to make sure you do is to check EVERY detail, several times. It is amazing how many people can end up designing something with an incorrect spelling of names, or an incorrect birth date. You could also think about just having a photo, picture or motif on the plaque (along with basic details) if you just can’t find the words to suit. We’ve included some help with wording for your Memorial or Cremation Plaque here.

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