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, climbing ladders and chairs to reach 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.” “ There’s a lot more science behind 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.