Farewell NYC did a beautiful job with the signage for Miss Lily’s Caribbean cafe’ in the heart of New York City. Each sign was painstakingly designed, laid out, and hand-painted by skilled artists.
This piece is especially close to my heart because I made my entrance into the world of graphic arts through sign production. My first job out of college was in a sign shop in Rochester, NY. I was working in a large shop owned by an experienced old-time sign maker called Chuck DiSalvo. Chuck cut his teeth on signs back when each one had to be hand-drawn and hand-painted like the ones below. I, on the other hand, belonged to the newer era of designers who could make and output everything with computers and plotters. I always admired Chuck’s skill with layout and paint. His visual style informed many of the design choices I made during my time working with him.
To this day, I always tell young fresh-out-of-school designers, that they can learn a lot by working in a sign shop. The work you see below is proof that even the lowly sign can be a work of art.
See all the work on Behance here
