How sign painting underpins Sean Thomas’ approach to bespoke branding projects

If you’re based in London, you’ve probably walked past one of Sean Thomas’ meticulously hand-painted designs. Whether that was grabbing a sandwich at Dom’s Subs, dining in at Forza Win (an Italian restaurant in Peckham that the designer has shaped the visual identity of over the last three years), or picking up a copy of Hoxton Mini Press’ new book on Britain’s best bakeries at your local bookshop. The designer’s work is entangled with the city’s food scene, but after a twelve year stint in the UK’s capital he recently moved to Milan in search for a whole host of new inspirations and flavours.

What defines Sean’s unique approach to branding projects for food spots or fashion brands like Carhartt WIP, is his background in sign painting. The designer spent the early years of his creative career working meticulously on murals and signs across the UK – a part of his practice that has long contributed to a detailed study of typography and painting. “I think there’s no better way to understand letters and typography than drawing and painting them day in, day out,” he shares.

The designer still balances working by hand and working digitally depending on the projects that come his way, but he’s certain that the look and feel of traditional sign painting is a trick brands will still want to have up their sleeves. “Increasingly in the creative industries, people think they can achieve everything using AI, for me it makes the things we do by hand and the relationships we forge in real life even more powerful,” he ends. “That’s why my covers for Hoxton Mini Press are completely hand drawn with brushes and ink, because I want to show it can still be done, even commercially.”