OUGD601 COP Essay/Practical - Interview Best Dressed Signs

Josh Luke & Meridith Kasabian  - Sign Painters/ Muralists - Interview with Laura Taylor

1. Who do you think your target audience is when designing your lettering/signs? (personal work and even client lead work)

Most of our work is commissioned. We rarely create work before a client reaches out to us so most everything we do is custom made for our clients. We tend to get requests from artistic types who are looking for our unique style.

2. Who mainly contacts you about lettering, what sort of people? (Commerce etc) Why do you think these people are interested in getting hand lettering produced?

We get a lot of requests from tattoo shops, independent boutiques, restaurants, and tech offices in our area. I think these people are interested in hand lettering because they want to convey that their business is dedicated to keeping some of the human touch in their products. A hand painted sign goes a long way to get that message across. 

3. Do you believe a hand painted sign creates a different connection with an audience then a pre digital printed sign (e.g. vinyl) ? Do you think your signs would create a different atmosphere if recreated digitally?

Hand painted work definitely connects with an audience in a more meaningful way than vinyl or even printed signs are able to. Seeing the paint strokes, the precise but never perfect line work, the consistency of the paint—all of these things relate to the audience that care was taken to produce the sign. If our signs were recreated digitally, a lot of the warmth would be diminished but the design would still be good!

4. Although you use a lot of painting in your work you also do gilding, do you have any pro advice for working with gold leaf? 

Buy Kent Smith’s edition of Raymond LeBlanc’s Gold Leaf Techniques

5. Do you both believe there is still a high demand for sign painting in the 21st century commerce?

I sure hope so or we better find another line of work! We’ve been making a living at sign painting for quite a while now so I think there’s still a demand, at least in our area. I think the biggest obstacle is getting the word out that this kind of work is still an option. Once people see the difference that a hand painted sign makes, they don’t usually need more convincing.

In conclusion to Meredith's and Josh's response I am happy with the answers they have given me. I would of liked some possible further expansion on the gilding question, but other than that all the answers although short are very useful and have a good to the point response - the answers received are very thorough.