Shortly after this sign was erected, Los Angeles Magazine called it “one of the ten best neon signs in Los Angeles.” Melrose was then the happening street in Los Angeles.

What: Neon sign design
For: Storefront at “Hans,” a shop on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles
Client: Custom Neon
When: 1979

I always liked this one especially. The hand-drawn letterforms combine my longtime love of art deco (the words “Late Late” are in a variation of a typeface associated with that style) with a bold, free, and vivacious script as practiced long ago in the heyday of hand-lettering. A perhaps not-so-subtle influence of 1950s automobile lettering can be seen as well.

What: Neon sign design
For: “The Late Late Show,” Los Angeles
Client: Custom Neon
When: 1979