Last Friday, 10 signs were unveiled in Cincinnati’s Northside thanks to CoSign, an initiative designed to enhance economic activity in the neighborhood by pairing artists and designers, small businesses and professional sign fabricators to design and install unique handcrafted signage for local retailers.
Above, our friend Chris Glass designed a bit of retro hotness for Fabricate, built by Such + Such with lettering by Brushworks. Chris is a fan of Django Western Taco, which just got a cool new sign courtesy of Jaclin Hastings, with fabrication by Vulkane:
Northside Surplus got an awesome dimensional sign by Dale Nichols, fabricated by Creative Blast with lettering by Brushworks:
Kevin Munson created the sign for neighborhood icon Northside Tavern, with fabrication by Kate Schmidt:
This sign is so simple and graphic that it might be my favorite out of the bunch — Wireless Plus got a new sign designed by Paul Coors and built by Such + Such:
A new sign for clothing boutique and costume shop Casablanca Vintage, designed by Zach Evans and fabricated by Creative Blast:
The Urban Legend Institute doesn’t seem to be affiliated with the writing and publishing nonprofit 826 National, but it seems clearly inspired by the 826 structure of a silly themed store in the front with a tutoring center in the back. The store got an appropriately whimsical sign designed by Nick Schultz, built by Sean Druley with lettering by Brushworks:
Northside International Airport, a group of businesses housed in one large retail space, opened this summer and now sports a snazzy new sign by Jason Snell, made by Such + Such:
Dennis Dix designed and built the sign for Tone House Music, a store that sells and repairs musical instruments in addition to offering music lessons and equipment rental:
Featuring recycled, upcycled and repurposed wares, Market Side Mercantile is a new addition to Northside, and the sign was designed by Lee Diss, with lettering by Justin Green and fabrication by Rozic Design:
Oops, I somehow missed the new sign for Off the Avenue Studios, designed by Ursula Roma and made by Angar Metal Products. You’ll just have to head to Northside to check that one out for yourself!
You might remember that Michael designed the identity and all collateral materials for CoSign, so I learned a bit about the process as it was unfolding this summer. The results are visually impressive and, although they are part of a single initiative, they add to the eclecticism and charm of Northside without looking contrived or overly planned.
Now, here’s hoping the new signs add to the bottom line for these businesses and their retail neighbors, and that CoSign continues this focus on other Cincinnati neighborhoods.
Department of Everyday Visualingual 
Ursula Roma is no stranger to Northside signage. She designed the mural one sees when entering the neighborhood from the south over the Ludlow Viaduct.
The one bit of signage I thought was weird was D’Jango’s. It seems to me they should have painted the name in tall blockish white letters across the front of the building since it sits diagonally in the intersection.
Hope this project can continue through the area.
Ahh, I never knew who had done that Northside mural! I feel silly because I really intended to photograph every single one of the signs and managed to miss Ursula’s despite my efforts.
The Django space is just so weird, inside and out, that I’m not sure where the sign should be. It doesn’t seem to be in a very visible location now, but maybe that’s because the tree is partly blocking it. It’s a cool sign, though.
For more photos of the signs, check out 5chw4r7z’s blog.
I’m going to call Jinx, funny we both blogged about this on the same day.
And how did I miss Northside Surplus? Well it was a cool day, temperature and event wise. So maybe that explains it.
It’s a bit of a psychic connection; I think we’re curious about some of the same sorts of Cincinnati things. You captured some awesome photos!
I love to see all the “jumping off the wall” signage, as I like to call it. I particularly enjoyed the Tone House Music stores hanging music note sign.
Yeah, it’s a really cool, varied group of signs. They blend into the over all retail signage in Northside but remain impactful.
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I really don’t like any of the sign designs, they aren’t anything you’d see in Signs of the Times trade magazine winning any awards.
Fair enough! The signs are varied, so there’s plenty for different people to appreciate.
I’m not familiar with the award winners in Signs of the Times, but I can see at least some of the signs potentially getting recognition from the SEGD, AIGA, Print, How, or Graphis.
Furthermore and most of all, the point of this initiative has been to help the bottom line of these businesses and the neighborhood as a whole. Only time will tell if the signs are effective in that regard.
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