It Was Written...

The wonderful work of Huaihai Signs.

One of the most deceivingly complex graphic executions from this release is a T-shirt with a custom print inspired by hand painted signs. It’s derived from the work of self-proclaimed “nomad painter” and longtime HIDDEN community member @sinks0759, who is preserving the traditional craft of hand-painted signs through his company Huaihai Signs.

For centuries, hand-painted signs have been a staple in many cities and villages, whether it’s for supermarket signage or old-school restaurant logos. There are many companies in spots like NYC like Noble Signs that specialize in this dying art, and contemporary artists like Baron Von Fancy and Steve “ESPO” Powers have subverted it into their respective signature styles of street art.

Like graffiti culture, making signs this way requires not only a steady hand but a knack for understanding letterforms. For the kind of work done by Huaihai Signs, one can imagine how incredibly difficult it is to maintain a consistent width across several types of typefaces on a single sign, let alone accounting for varying script and sans serif fonts.

Huaihai is the work of Zhao Duo, a Shanghai-born native who became interested in the craft through the art on his father’s vinyl records. He eventually went to school for design at Macao Polytechnic University, and had his first project making a sign for a friend’s store—although he was surprised that it took him a week to make 10 letters.

During an interview with China Daily, Zhao became inspired to pursue the craft in earnest when he moved to Tokyo. By day, he worked as a graphic designer, and by night, he spent upwards of four hours working on his passion for hand-painting. Luckily, being in Tokyo, inspiration wasn’t just all around him—so were some great mentors.

That included Hiro “Wildman” Ishii, one of Japan’s foremost sign makers, and Koji Anzai—with whom Zhao launched his first company “Good Fellows Signs.”

“I prefer to be described as a sign painter without a certain style. My role is more like a messenger who helps deliver a client's message by painting letters,” says Zhao to China Daily.

By the time Zhao moved back to China and started his own company, he named it Huaihai Signs after a street where he once lived.

In order to make the graphic for this tee, the process began a genuine hand-painted reference that was then made into a print and then carefully edited to emulate the original texture. The result is a unique tee that reflects Zhao’s dedication to the craft and desire to preserve it for future generations.

When he’s not spending time perfecting his craft, Zhao focuses on his other equally painstaking hobby: racing off-road RC cars. In addition to building and painting the faithful reproductions of vintage and modern trucks, Zhao infuses his talent for bold signage into the activity, making custom signs, bumper stickers, and other expressive graphics that perfectly complement the vintage feel of the trucks.

“My ideas originate from instances in my life, the books I've read, the photos I've seen and the signboards I've come across,” concludes Zhao to China Daily.