The Science of Signs

Entrepreneur Lily Hawkins’ new sign-writing business ties her love of type and science into a neat business bundle.

Words by Shannyn Oberegger

Lily Hawkins’ freelance sign-writing business, Lily Ligature, is still pretty new. “I’ve been planning and organising it for a year, but it’s really only been active for six months,” Lily says. “I didn’t know much about business at all and it’s been a huge learning curve for me.” Lily is a regular around Melbourne’s weekend craft markets, where she sells hand-lettered prints and greeting cards.m She has just branched out into selling her work online, as well as painting signs
for Melbourne bars and restaurants: most
recently The Rose Hotel in Fitzroy.
“That involved a lot of larger boards,
c l i m b i n g l a d d e rs a n d c h a i rs to re a c h
heights,” she says. “It’s also probably one
of the longest projects I’ve taken on ... a
couple of solid days painting.”
Lily is studying communication design
at RMIT University, though she started
out in a science degree.
“I thought science was the more ‘sen-
sible’ career option,” she jokes. “[But] I
didn’t enjoy my degree and decided to
leave science for graphic design instead.
Typography really attracted me because
of the maths and proportions involved in
letters – it felt like a good middle ground
between the two.”
“ T h e re’s a l o t m o re s c i e n ce be h i n d
typography than people realise, when
it comes to proportions and how well
letterforms are recognised and read. Creating good type requires a fine balance
between well-proportioned shapes and
good creative thinking that births typefaces that are new and exciting,” she says.
‘Ligature’ is a typographic term for two
letters – say, a double ‘f’ – joined together
into one character.
“Aside from sounding catchy, I also
like to see design as a force for bringing people together. That’s why I like to think that the word ligature nicely captures that feeling of connectivity,” she says.