Better Letters

296 posts published

📍 Spain

Letters with dotted lines/arrows numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, etc, to show the direction and order of brushstrokes for painting A, E, N, F, R, G, T, and D.

Chicago Sign Writing in The Origin of the Serif

Edward Catich draws parallels between Chicago sign painters of the 1920s and those in ancient Rome.

Unpredictable Precision: Bringing Gluechipping Back to Japan

Unpredictable Precision: Bringing Gluechipping Back to Japan

Sayumi Mizukoshi shares her sign painting story and her work reviving gluechipping in Japan.

View over the shoulder of a sign painter working with a fine lining brush to apply a thin outline to lettering that says "Sea Level" in the corner of a panel.

My First Letterheads: Sea Level, Amsterdam, 2026

Maggie Jaris bit the bullet to make the trip from New York to Amsterdam and has no regrets.

Field Notes from BLAG: September 2026

Field Notes from BLAG: September 2026

Eat Carnation Mush, sign painting in Vietnam, the stories of colours, and more from the field.

Desk in a corner of a room with the white walls filled with a variety of hand-painted signs of all sizes and types.

BLAG Has Moved (Downstairs)

Timestamping the first iteration of BLAG’s new HQ and its freshly mounted panels.

Sign painter on a ladder posing for a photo while working on a mural with the EP name and musicians on a pink background.

The Elusive Senegalese Sign Painter and a Lost Mural Artwork

Johan Hugo and David Darg’s side quest to find and commission Dakar barber shop sign painter JUL.

Documenting the Signs and Sign Painters of Bursa, Turkey

Documenting the Signs and Sign Painters of Bursa, Turkey

YazıBursa is a living digital archive of Bursa’s hand-painted signs and vernacular lettering.

The BLAG 09 Digital Companion

The BLAG 09 Digital Companion

Bonus content from the adventures in sign painting in Issue 09 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine).

Magazine cover titled BLAG in chrome lettering with a picture of a hand painting a sign below. This sits alongside a folded out poster with an alphabet set around a sun.

What’s Inside Issue 09 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine)?

Between the covers of the worldwide adventures in sign painting from Issue 09 of BLAG.

Colourful landscape canvas painted in the style of a grocery store sign and reading "A Tribe Called Quest. Check the Rhime. $19.91".

Paid in Full: The Grocery Signs Behind Peter Paid’s Lyrical Lettering

Sign painting, grocery signs, graffiti, and Hip Hop culture inspire New York artist Peter Paid.

Alphabet on a brown background. The tall sans serif letters appear as though viewed from an angle below via effects applied with paint.

Chain Letter: Vanessa Power

The enduring influence of a nineteenth century Parisian sign painter on the work of Vanessa Power.

Signage Rebirth: Reimagining Slovenia’s Lettering Heritage

Signage Rebirth: Reimagining Slovenia’s Lettering Heritage

Alja Herlah shares her work recreating and reinterpreting iconic Slovenian signs and logotypes.

Painted illustration of an excessively muscular body with a sharks head holding two decapitated and bleeding heads in its hands.

Coming to America (Again): John Oliver × Deadly Prey

Hand-painted Ghanaian poster art from Accra for John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, and BLAG 04.

View from above of a hand painting a block shade onto a letter R that has a prismatic effect applied to its body.

BLAG Demo: 3D Lettering & Shadows with Bold Statements

In-depth demonstration of 3D lettering and shadowing effects with Bold Statements’ Pieter Snijders.

Large building with fading and damaged paintwork. A huge hand-painted sign simply reads "Trail" while a ticket kiosk occupies the ground in front.

Cinematic Signs: Drive-In Murals Captured by John Margolies

These hand-painted architectural canvases on drive-in theatres were photographed between 1977–1991.

Black and white archival photo of a man sat on a stool in front of a horse-drawn cart that he is painting decorations onto.

Brushstrokes on Wheels: The Story of Horsecart Painter Numan Balıca

Murat Ertürk shares the life and legacy of Turkish painter and decorative artist Numan Balıca.

View from over the shoulder of a sign painter adding a black block shade onto large prismatic letters in white and light grey that say "Gas" set on a red background.

BLAG Videos, Now on PeerTube

The new home for BLAG videos is PeerTube, part of the ‘Fediverse’ network of open social media.

Field Notes from BLAG: May 2026

The New York vernacular, brush care, DIY directionals, Barcelona painters, and more from the field.