Hand Letterer Jeff Gress Crafts Signs with Soul
The artist has hand-painted iconic signage for several local businesses.
“There’s a saying in sign painting—vinyl dies, paint ages,” artist Jeff Gress says. “It relays the value and timelessness of the craft. There’s an aura that comes off signs made with a human touch, a character and authenticity.”
If you live on O‘ahu, you’ve undoubtedly encountered Gress’ work. A graphic designer by training, the San Francisco-raised hand letterer has been adorning local businesses with his spectacular gold-leaf signs and murals since 2011 when he linked up with Pow! Wow! Hawai‘i. It was the mural arts festival’s inaugural year, and Gress was just graduating from UH Mānoa’s fine arts program.
Since then, Gress has created pieces for everyone from Asato Family Shop and Honolulu Coffee Co. to ‘Aiea Bowl and Treehouse Coworking. Featuring four different types of gold and iridescent abalone shell inlays, his sign for The Boardroom Kailua is something to behold. And if you hit up Zippy’s newest Las Vegas location, take in Gress’ epic “aloha” mural, which took three weeks on boom lifts to complete.
He credits the growing call for hand-painted signs to a pushback against AI. “Something about computer-generated graphics lacks a soul,” he says. “I think it’s a way of recognizing how important our human contribution is.”
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Brie Thalmann is the home and style editor of HONOLULU Magazine.
