koysun: hand-painted signs, start to finish
San Diego sign painter Koy Sun letters signs, sketchbooks and even vintage suitcases by hand, in the tradition of old-school sign painters.
What it is
Koy Sun is a sign painter and artist in San Diego, and his TikTok is where he letters things by hand — signs, sketchbook pages, even vintage suitcases. KPBS, San Diego's public broadcaster, covered how one widely viewed video — a suitcase painted in the style of retro sign painters — helped land him an artist residency. His bio calls him an artist who likes to tell stories, and that's a fair description.
Why we picked it
Hand-painted signage is a craft that vinyl and printing nearly wiped out, and watching a letter appear from a single confident stroke never gets old. Koy shows more than the finished sign — you see the layout, the letterforms, the way he handles each surface. In August he gave a shout-out to Noble Signs and the New York Sign Museum for teaching him years ago; in July he posted a piece he called the best lettering he'd drawn so far.
Fair warning: it's a personal feed. Sponsored posts, ice-skating clips and his mom's guava ice cream turn up between the signs. But the brush work is the reason to follow, and it keeps coming back.
Where to start
- Scroll the profile for videos where a sign is lettered from first stroke to last.
- The July post he calls his best lettering yet.
- The August shout-out to Noble Signs and the New York Sign Museum.
- Older videos, which show more of the step-by-step process.
Who it's for
Designers and type nerds, obviously. Anyone who finds hand work calming to watch. And anyone tempted to pick up a lettering brush — you'll quickly see how much a trained hand matters.
Quick answers
Who is Koy Sun? A sign painter and artist based in San Diego, profiled by KPBS in 2024.
Is there any sponsored content? Yes, occasionally, marked with #ad.
Do I need to understand lettering to enjoy it? Not at all — most of the appeal is visual.
