Window graphics, frosting, or both?

The short answer

Frosting for privacy while keeping daylight. Printed graphics for branding and messaging. One-way vision film when you want to cover a window completely from outside but still see out. Plenty of frontages use two of the three.

Frosted and etched-effect film

The look of sandblasted glass at a fraction of the work. Obscures the view while passing almost all the light through — which is why it suits meeting rooms, treatment rooms, dental and medical practices, and the lower half of a street-facing window.

It can be cut to any pattern, so your logo or a band of frosting at seated-eye height does privacy and branding in one.

Printed window graphics

Full colour, on the glass or behind it. Best for promotions, opening hours, service lists and full-colour branding. Solid printed areas will cut the daylight — usually fine on a large frontage, worth thinking about on a small or north-facing one.

One-way vision film

Perforated: solid image outside, see-through from inside. The answer when you want the whole window as an advertising surface without blacking out the space. It does darken the interior noticeably and looks slightly grey from inside, which is the trade.

Manifestation — the bit people miss

Large areas of glass in commercial premises generally need manifestation: markings making the glass visible so people don't walk into it. This is a workplace safety requirement, not a design choice, and it applies to full-height glazing and glass doors in particular.

The good news is you rarely need a separate ugly sticker — a frosted band, a repeated logo or a dot pattern satisfies it while looking intentional. If your frontage has large glass panels or glass doors, raise it with us and we'll design the manifestation into the scheme.

Options: Window Frosting · Window Graphics