The Durham Sign

In 2019, I had noticed a trend of cities installing signs of the city name. There are examples all over the world from Mexico City to Faro, Portugal to Cleveland, OH. These offer visitors a fun photo op and the destinations a branding opportunity. I had the idea to incorporate the Discover Durham logo in an iconic Durham location. The American Tobacco Campus seemed like the perfect spot.

I then facilitated a collaboration between Discover Durham, American Tobacco Campus, Liberty Arts, and Cricket Forge to create a metal sign with the iconic Lucky Strike water tower in the background. We sent a vector image of the Discover Durham logo to Liberty Arts. They were able to create a mockup. After approval, it was sent to Cricket Forge and they cut the logo out of steel with a CNC machine. They created two layers. One was untreated and sprayed with a water, salt, and vinegar mixture to create a patina. The other layer was painted black and offset to help the letters pop.

Discover Durham has gotten a lot of mileage out of this installation. It’s been featured in many social posts (from both Discover Durham and visitors and residents), print materials, and local and national publications. It’s also featured at the beginning of the video for the Do it in Durham campaign.

This project is probably the one I’m most proud of because I’m very passionate about public art. Even though I’m not a great visual artist, I love that I was able to contribute to the public art of Durham. And it will be something that will last for years to come.