Though she may be an unconventional choice for inspiration, Jess Marsh of Hired Hand Signs from Western Massachusetts inspires some of my work in design.

Ice cream sign painted by Jess Marsh outside of Wells Provisions.

I found Jess’s Instagram page, @hiredhandsigns, when someone else I followed shared this picture of an ice cream cone. This is a sign that Jess painted for Wells Provisions Cafe & Market in Charlemont, Massachusetts. As an ice cream lover, I immediately clicked over to her page, and discovered much more than just ice cream there. Jess had been posting beautiful gold-leafed signage, pictures of her decked out Ford pickup truck named Fern, and very satisfying process videos of her working on lettering huge sign projects. After I finished my deep dive of scrolling back through her page, it was an instant follow.

Jess Marsh mid-sign painting, making a sign advertising an open studio night.

Since following her in February of 2023, I have learned a lot more about the kinds of projects she is able to take on, and where her love of sign-painting comes from. She works on a 10th generation family farm with her husband, which is where her skill in sign-painting arose out of necessity. The farm needed signs, and as a creative ambitious individual who could not find anyone to do what she was picturing, she decided to do it herself! That kind of attitude is such an inspiration to me. Even if I cannot get some thing sorted out in graphic design, it always feels great when I stick with it and learn how to do it on my own. Jess has a background in art history and photography, which explains her accurate, in-context choices for the signs she creates. This is also inspiring to me, as it gives me comfort that I can cultivate my own ability to pivot, and will be able to apply the graphic design knowledge I have learned during my time at Columbia to whatever I end up doing with my own creativity down the road.

She does not just do traditional signs, however! She and her husband partner yearly with the craftspeople at Precision Mazes to create a “Field Mural” in one of their farm’s cornfields (also known as a corn maze). With a new theme every year, and lettering designed by Jess, you never know what to expect with this impressive feat. This year, she also expanded her scope as she was featured on the show Motel Rescue on the Magnolia Network. Jess painted multiple signs live on set, working directly with the show’s host Lindsey Kurowski to bring life back into America’s motels.

The fall 2024 “field mural” corn maze design at Mike’s Maze.

One of the many reasons that I am inspired by Jess of Hired Hand Signs is that I also love working with letters. I love sketching them from scratch, manipulating their forms in programs such as Adobe Illustrator, and putting them together to create a visual message. I especially thought of Jess when I was working on a publication design project where I developed letterforms from scratch based on the engraved printing on dollar bills. While I have not been trained as a sign painter, I think that as a letter enthusiast and a graphic design, all sources of inspiration are valid and important. (Though, if anyone wants to share their sign painting knowledge with me, I am all ears!) I would love to travel to Massachusetts some day and walk through one of Jess’s giant field murals, or attend an open studio event to get a behind the scenes look at her workflow and profession. Funny how a love of ice cream can spark all sorts of design inspiration.