An interview with Ged Palmer, sign writer extraordinaire!

I came across Ged Palmer’s work for the first time a couple of years ago over a boozy pub lunch with my dad, and since then I’ve followed his progress in hand lettering and sign-writing with interest. His skill in this traditional medium has gone from strength to strength, with new techniques and processes added to his arsenal on a regular basis, and what started out as a simple flair for type has progressed into a fully-formed talent for fashioning works of graphic brilliance.

Not only is Ged an excellent practitioner, he’s also got a keen interest in the history of his medium and the small community of contemporary letterers of which he’s an intrinsic part. He’s just finished curating a show to launch at The Book Club in early February featuring the great and the good of the UK’s sign-writing industry, so we sought him out for a chat to find out more…

How on earth did you get into this business?

I ask myself the same question sometimes! I reckon anyone that can read and write has an interest in letterforms, it’s just that some of us get really into it and if you’re really crazy you try making a career out of it.

Along with cereal packets, comic books and album covers I guess what really caught my eye as a kid was graffiti. This led me to study typography and then I set up straight out of school trying to sell my lettering to people. I made a point of meeting a lot of seriously talented letterers, calligraphers and sign painters and at every turn I learnt more and set new targets. The great thing about lettering and sign painting is there is so much history, so many styles and techniques that you can never really learn it all.

Hand lettering and particularly traditional sign writing is a very niche art form, why do you think it’s one that we shouldn’t let go of?

Lettering and sign painting have definitely been enjoying a resurgence in recent years. The thing about lettering is that you are making something custom for your client. There will always be space in the world for people who want something unique and not an off-the-shelf product. It’s like hiring a furniture maker rather than going to Ikea.

Your work combines digital and hand-drawn techniques, do you enjoy using the computer or do you just see it as another tool?

Everything starts with a sketch. Sometimes I finish my work on the computer but where possible I try to keep everything by hand. If I’m doing a design for a book cover, print or a logotype it suits to finish it on the computer. Learning to paint letters with a brush has been the best thing I have done because it’s sketch first and then pick up the brushes and go for it.

There’s a huge number of techniques that go into traditional sign writing, not just the lettering but brushwork, gilding, etching etc. Which has been the most rewarding to learn?

A couple of years ago I went out to San Francisco in search of more experience in sign painting. I spent a month at Golden West Sign Arts and was very fortunate to learn about gold leaf gilding on glass from Derek McDonald. For me that was when I tried to make sign painting and gilding my main focus. Gold work requires a lot of concentration and patience and I am still learning so much on each job. You can combine matt and mirror effects, different types of gold, glue chipping, acid etching – you name it. I’ve heard it described as “half alchemy, half art.” Which I think is kind of fitting.

What kinds of people employ your services?

I’m happy to say I get a nice mix of sign painting work locally and also some commercial lettering work from people via the internet. Since moving to London a year ago I’ve been knocking on a lot of doors and offering my services as a sign painter. Working locally is great because you get to know some lovely people and seeing their new business look better than their neighbour who’s gone for some horrible vinyl is always a small victory.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’ve just finished a seriously ornate door panel for Weird & Wonderful, a taxidermy shop in Accrington. It features embossed 24Ct lettering, a matte and burnished gold filigree border, a stag’s head in an ornate frame, pearl inlays and pretty much all the bells and whistles I could manage! It’s been in the shop for months so I am super happy to have it done.

You’re going to be in a show at The Book Club in London in the next few weeks, what can we expect from that?

I was approached by the guys at The Book Club about a year ago to put on a show and that has evolved into a thirteen strong sign painting show called Business As Usual. It’s going to be an awesome mix of us younger guys and also some of the best and most experienced older painters that I know. The idea for the show is to make signs promoting nonsense products and services. It should be a heap of fun.

How expensive are you?

All I’ll say to that is “Good signs aren’t cheap and cheap signs aren’t good!”