5 Common Hanging Displays in Establishments and the Picture Hanging Hardware Behind Them
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Time to read: 6 min
Mounting up decor at home is a fun process that engages our creativity and resourcefulness, but beyond our personal or private spaces, we may draw a question mark.
Wall decor and signage in hotel lobbies and restaurants. Product shelves in retail and trade shows. Art exhibits in a local gallery. What kind of tools and hanging hardware are used in communal spaces and establishments open to everybody? What do these setups look like? And how far can picture hangers go in applications beyond picture hanging?
In this article, we compile the most common hanging displays we see in public, from cafes to event halls, and the hardware that makes these hanging setups possible.
Mounted Signage
Most establishments will have at least one or two signs that maximize visibility of branding, directions, and other information. Places like hotel lobbies, reception areas, airports, libraries, and offices are commonly fitted with nameplates, organization logos, floor maps, administrative charts, and other media. Outdoor signage is no exception and will similarly feature parking lot signs, neighborhood community maps, and roadside signs.
Images courtesy of A&I
The industry standard for signage hardware is sign standoffs. The setup involves acrylic panels and a barrel-and-screw-cap design that fastens the panel/s to the wall. Standoffs, which can be made of acrylic, aluminum, or brass, are also the most secure way to hang an aluminum/metal sign or panel. Standoffs literally elevate signage from the wall while keeping a clean, professional look, so each display stands out from setups using traditional hooks and hangers, which often stay out of sight. Not only are they visually appealing, but they’re also weather-resistant and durable, making them an ideal hanging solution for both indoor and outdoor signage.
Learn all about sign standoffs and how to use them in our guide:
Ceiling Displays
Spaces that are more on the retail or commercial side regularly suspend material from the ceiling so they’re hard to miss. In grocery stores, supermarkets, malls, and retail stores, aisle directories and promotional banners are hung from above to make them instantly eye-catching and visible from afar, all while minimizing obstructions to foot traffic and shelving as much as possible.
Image courtesy of YTE Events
Schools and event halls, both high-traffic places, also use ceiling-mounted setups to display celebratory banners, assembly and directional signage, artwork, and themed event/seasonal decorations. These displays are frequently rotated throughout the year or used in one-time installations. Like in commercial spaces, hardware that is easy to swap out, reusable, and doesn’t damage ceiling systems is key for this hanging setup.
In modern retail spaces, the standard is to use a magnetic mounting system. In this system, industrial-strength magnets with pre-fastened hooks or clips are hoisted to a metal ceiling grid or beam using a telescoping extension pole. These systems are especially utilized in warehouses and other spaces with high ceilings (like school gyms).
Otherwise, many stores, classrooms, and event halls fitted with drop ceiling grids will look to ceiling hooks or clips. These hangers are clipped directly onto the grid of a drop ceiling and can come in one standalone clip or a pair of interlocking hooks.
Image courtesy of Hang It Up Systems
Read more about ceiling displays and ceiling hooks:
Modular Hanging
This hanging setup refers to paneling, shelving, cabinetry, and modular storage systems that are wall-mounted. Wall panels, acoustic panels, and elevator panels in commercial or utility settings often require installation mechanisms that are highly secure, but simple to remove and reinstall. A similar principle is applied to shelves, cabinets, and other furniture similarly heavyweight—think headboards on hotel room bed frames and kitchen cabinets in showrooms.
Image courtesy of Planeo
These applications all involve hanging high-density or heavyweight materials on a smooth and flat vertical surface, where superior stability is ideal. The hardware of choice in these setups? A French cleat system, also commonly referred to as Z-clips. Both the original wooden cleat and metal Z-clip hangers are historical favorites in many industrial hanging techniques. Rather than permanently locking a panel to a wall frame, a French cleat wall system is built by installing cleats on both the frame and on the back of the panel and fastened together, the same way we employ the cleats in hanging pictures. Each display is flush, seamless, and elegant. This makes French cleats an excellent industrial solution for reconfigurable and durable wall-mounted structures and furniture.
Dive into what makes French cleats iconic in the picture hanging world and the many ways we use them:
Gallery System Art Exhibitions
You may already be quite familiar with this one—after all, we’ve had our share of discussions on this blog about the many configurations of gallery systems and what you can do with them. This type of hanging setup is dedicated exclusively to the public display of art, not just in museums and art galleries, but in practically any venue hosting a collection or collections of artwork. This includes educational institutions such as school libraries, school corridors, university halls, communal spaces like parks, community centers, public libraries, and business settings like malls, exhibition halls, art fairs, and cafes.
Image courtesy of The Smithsonian Institution
Although there are a host of hanging methods for what each exhibition needs, you’re likely to stumble into a display using metal rods or cables spanning a picture rail across the wall. Each rod or cable usually carries a few or more pieces, forming a classical arrangement that stacks artwork along their central points rather than from edge to edge. This display is created using a gallery system, also known as a picture rail system.
Like French cleats, the gallery hanging system is a method of hanging that has been used and evolved over the course of centuries. Gallery system exhibitions enjoy highly customizable installations and are a long-standing, traditional style in art museums and galleries.
Curious about gallery systems and how they’re applied at home and in similar interiors? Here is some recommended reading to start with:
Wall-to-Wall & Endcap Merchandising
We’ve talked about mounted storage solutions and retail signage, but another well-known sight among store presentations combines these two things through the power of merchandising: positioning an intentional curation of goods by the counter, throughout a store, or at the end of each aisle (known as endcaps).
Slatwall, or slat board, was created precisely for this purpose. A slatwall panel is distinct for its end-to-end slots between horizontal wooden boards. You slide a slatwall hook into a groove and hang merchandise directly on the extended holder. Unlike the average hanger installation, this method is fixture-free and highly flexible. No drilling or hammering with every new store promotion or seasonal displays—slatwall, together with its specially designed hooks, makes customizing the number and placement of slatwall hooks or switching out products at any moment a simplified, two-step process.
Image courtesy of Retailworks
Slatwall presentations can range from full wall-to-wall setups to endcap displays, all maximizing vertical real estate without bulky cabinets and cluttered shelves, ensuring product visibility and customer engagement, and guiding customer flow. It’s also common to see them used in trade shows and pop-up booths for these reasons.
Fun fact: Outside of retail applications, slatwall displays are a popular way to organize home garages and workshops. Find out more about it here:
Final thoughts
We don’t always notice them, but public or open spaces often feature decor and other wall-mounted items that encompass a diverse range of applications beyond our personal hanging needs. Many of them are fitted with industry-specific hanging mechanisms that wouldn’t suit the average wall hanging project at all. But many of them are also made possible with standard picture hanging hardware—even non-picture hanging setups.
Which hanging setup and hardware combo surprised you the most? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Happy hanging!
