#signage — Modernist Delights

Colin Campbell House & Habitat sign, Plymouth, 2025

A weathered, grey art deco building with teal vertical accents houses a City Furnishers Shop beneath a white awning. Some windows are broken or have bars, and a yellow To Let sign is visible. The sky above is cloudy and dark.

A concrete sign reading “habitat” is bent at a sharp angle on a city street. Two wooden bar stools sit in front of it. Behind, there are old grey buildings, a parked white car, and signs for a casino, all under a partly cloudy sky.

The building, which once housed a car showroom and later a Habitat store, a bookshop, and a furniture shop, failed to secure a heritage listing in 2016, but survived the threat of demolition. It remains one of the few examples of art deco architecture in Plymouth which survived the Blitz. The current tenants of the building have been told to vacate the premises just last week, with the building up for refurbishment into housing. Bring on the uPVC!

Hopefully the sign will be saved – for one, it would look great in my office.

Burnley signage, 2025

A weathered shop sign reads “MAISON HUGILL GENTS’ HAIR STYLISTS EST. 1918” above a metal-grilled window. The building exterior is stone with peeling blue trim and an upper window with a white frame, showing signs of age.

Mosaic tile entrance with the word “HALFORDS” spelt in black tiles. The background is light-coloured with green vertical lines, leading to black-framed glass doors. Adjacent pavement consists of square beige and tan tiles.

Wayfinding signpost outside the National Theatre, 2025

A signpost on a cloudy day points to nearby attractions including National Film Theatre, Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Festival Pier, National Theatre, and Jubilee Gardens, with buildings and trees in the background.

Charming use of colour and iconography (especially on the Festival Pier sign), which you don’t see in an era of consistent, unified design languages.

Once-futuristic signage, London, 2025

A sign reading Zero Seven London Dental Practice set in a wide, bold sans serif font. The words Zero and Seven are separated with a colon and feature a thick solid border above and below. They are on one line, with the word London in a much smaller font, inset into the border underneath. Underneath that, it says Dental Practice and the phone number, in a larger font across 3 lines.

Bonus points if you recognise the building in the background.

Retro signage in Islington, London, 2025

An aged sign above a shop with closed battered metal shutters. The background is cream and in various fonts it reads BEST FLIGHT - Travel Agency and Taste Byte offering Internet & Indian food, as well as other text. The sign has aluminium edging around it.

The Internet and Indian food — I would never need to leave.

Retro signage beneath a fragile roof, Ancoats, Manchester, 2025

A faded painted sign on a red brick wall reads Entwistle & Pearson Plywood Supplies beside a silhouette of a worker carrying wood. Nearby are warning signs, a street sign for Naval St, and a blue metal container with plants growing behind it.

Retro signage in Ancoats, Manchester, 2025

An old brick building with multiple barred windows. Faded sign reads “CHELSEA FASHIONS,” mentioning manufacturers, exporters, and ladies’ and children’s wear. Smaller sign for SAM Knitwear Ltd. visible, with Henry St. street sign on left.

Typography at the former Cooperative Printing Society factory, now converted into housing, Manchester, 2025

A brick building facade with a curved yellow-brown stone sign reads “Co-operative Printing Society Ltd” in red letters. Below, a smaller red sign says “Goods Entrance” above double glass doors. Upper windows and a metal balcony are also visible.

Brush factory, Loughborough, 2022

A quiet train station at night, illuminated by yellow lights. A covered staircase leads up on the left. In the background, a large, bright pink neon sign reads BRUSH against a dark building. Wet platforms reflect the lights, and the sky is black.

Roundhouse Hotel, Bournemouth, 2024

A multi-story building with patterned concrete facade and many windows rises above a sloped parking garage entrance. Two parking barriers and signs are at the entrance, with a traffic cone and tape nearby. Blue sky and clouds are visible overhead.

A round, modern hotel building with several floors and many windows, “The Roundhouse” sign above. The building is backlit by the sun, creating a halo effect. Blue sky and some clouds are visible; palm-like plants and a fence are in the foreground.

A wall with a geometric pattern of repeating hexagonal openings made from concrete is seen behind a solid blue construction barrier. Above the patterned wall, white railings and part of a window are visible. The angle is slightly upward.

Final bit from Bournemouth: Roundhouse Hotel. The reviews of the hotel are pretty dire, but no matter. I love any rotunda, especially when it’s also a car park, and especially when it’s wrapped in a beautiful concrete lattice.

Bonus: the logo of this restaurant and bar on the ground floor of the hotel.