Better Letters - BLAG Magazine: Adventures in Sign Painting (Page 2)

Three wide-format decorated Art Nouveau shopfront designs for "Chaussures", "Bandage", and "Musique" respectively.

Books

Lettres Décoratives and the History of French Sign Painting

Inside Letterform Archive’s new book and a video presentation from its author, Morgane Côme.

Sign painter working on the inside a window with gilded letters that read "Neighbourhood Butchery".

People

“The Town is Our Portfolio”: No Plan on Main Street

Jesse and Dianne Kirsch work with sign painters to bring their hyperlocal branding projects to life.

Sign board with text saying "The Experts" underlined by a picture of a rose and with a large butterfly to the right.

People

Signs of the Times: The Letterheads in 1981

Republishing the first ever article about the Letterheads from Signs of the Times in February 1981.

Projects

From A to Z: Rachel Joy’s Playful Alphabetic Explorations

Memories, games, artists, and experimentation have inspired Rachel Joy’s deeply personal alphabet.

Curved side panel from a Waltzer fairground ride, lettered and flamboyantly decorated in bright colours and metal leaf.

BLAG

The BLAG 08 Digital Companion

Bonus content from the adventures in sign painting in Issue 08 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine).

Magazine cover with a person painting flamboyant lettering under the masthead. It’s set on a poster of the same lettering.

BLAG

What’s Inside Issue 08 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine)?

Between the covers of the worldwide adventures in sign painting from Issue 08 of BLAG.

People

Joe Farrugia: Keeping Malta’s ‘Tberfil’ Artform on the Road

Meet the last Maltese painter applying the Tberfil decorative style to vehicles of all kinds.

People

Getting Into It Again in 2026

Six sign painters share their journeys into the trade and their advice for those just starting out.

Field Notes

Field Notes from BLAG: December 2025

Bozo Texino, gilding samples, Intarsia, an Indian ghost sign, and more from the field.

Woman painting the colour purple on a portion of a wall with other portions already painted in red and white.

People

Risen Through the Ranks: Colossal Media’s Supreme Janine

Janine Taylor is the first woman to progress from Apprentice to Expert Painter at Colossal Media.

Ornate Tuscan letter L with its face and block shade decorated with a variety of gilded and painted effects..

Places

Glorious Gilding Samples at the American Sign Museum

A show of mastery on reverse glass gilded panels from the American Sign Museum’s collections.

Films

Words with Meaning: The Personal Panels of Luis Benz

Santiago Carrasquilla and Danaé Gosset share the work painted by Luis Benz while filming his biopic.

Man sat on a stool painting a sign advertising "Money Fever, Divas Edition, at Spicy Thursdays HQ."

People

When ‘Hand-Painted Jamaica’ Met Bug Art Sav

Tracey Thorne profiles Bug Art Sav, a Jamaican sign painter keeping the island’s traditions alive.

New Books and December Deliveries from the BLAG Shop

I’ve got some new titles in the BLAG Shop (see below), including the American Sign Museum book that starts shipping this week. For December deliveries, orders must be placed by 27 November with the exception of the UK which has until 11 December. New Books Doyle David Butler’s

Mural with block and shade lettering for 'Me Aul Flower' set within an array of pale pink flowers.

People

Chain Letter: Meghan McDermott

The Dublin mural by Vanessa Power that inspired Meghan McDermott to become a sign painter.

Films

When Better Letters Met Brian Walker

Short film celebrating the late Brian Walker's life and work as a signwriter in Hackney, London.

Wide-angle photo of a museum gallery space filled with brightly coloured neon signs.

Places

Bring Back Tucson's Sign Museum After Its Devastating Fire

Fundraising for the Ignite Sign Art Museum in Tucson, Arizona, which has lost hundreds of exhibits.

Hooded sign painter on a ladder working on a fascia sign on a busy road.

Projects

Renegade Writing: London’s Faux Fascias

This Is My Costume speaks to BLAG about its decade-long initiative refashioning abandoned shops.