Collection: The Iconic Signage Project
Small business owners along New Orleans' Broad Street "Main Street" (U.S. Hwy. 90) were invited to partner with local artists and designers to create iconic signage for their store façades. An Iconic Sign visually depicts the nature of goods or services a business provides. One of Broad Street's defining features is the eclectic nature of its architecture; a goal of the project is to create a glowing cohesive visual identity for Broad Street, which is a vital east-west route through the center of the city. Using neon lighting, the signs also evoke some of the jazz-age and automobile-era heyday Broad Street enjoyed in the first half of the 20th century.
The Iconic Signage Project, a collaboration between Arts New Orleans and Broad Community Connections (BCC), created four new neon signs for businesses on Broad Street. Supported by a $25,000 grant from the NEA, the Iconic Signage Project is an arts-based economic development initiative that employed local artists to promote small businesses, tell their story, and create a glowing visual identity for Broad Street.
Businesses that participated in the project include: The GodBarber, a barber shop at 219 South Broad Street; F&F Botanica, a candle, incense, and spiritual supply shop at 801 North Broad Street; Calamari Trim Shop, an automobile, boat, and vehicle upholstery shop at 339 North Broad; and the Crescent School of Gaming and Bartending, located at 209 North Broad. The businesses were paired with artists —respectively—Jerry Therio, Candy Chang, Christian Stock, and Michael Cain, who met with the business owners to ensure that the signs were both creative as well as functional.
We learned a lot about what it takes to make a great sign. To share that information and make it easier to produce unique signage throughout New Orleans, we created the DIY Guide to Iconic Signs, a resource for other neighborhood groups and businesses interested in creating their own iconic signs.