Lettering for Posters with Marte

Overview

Join us this May for Lettering for Posters with world-renowned illustrator and designer Martina Galarza at the New York Sign Museum! This workshop includes a printed poster critique in collaboration with Secret Riso Club.

The Instructor

Martina Galarza (aka Marte) is an internationally recognized graphic designer and lettering artist with a decade of freelance experience. Her impressive client list spans the music and entertainment world, including collaborations with legendary artists like Paul McCartney and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and renowned brands such as Adobe, Nickelodeon, and YouTube.

Born in Argentina and now based in New York City, Martina honed her craft studying graphic design at the University of Buenos Aires and specialized in lettering under masters like Ken Barber, Jim Parkinson, and Guille Vizzari. Her talent has been formally recognized with prestigious awards, including the TDC Ascender and Young Guns.

In Collaboration with Secret Riso Club

Secret Riso Club is an artist-run space & creative studio that serves as a resource for independent publishing, art book production, art project development, programming, exhibitions, distribution & more. The use of print & design as a tool for social change, creativity, and community empowerment drive our work and programming. Rooted in the values of collaboration, equity, and artistic expression, SRC strives to cultivate an environment where individuals from diverse backgrounds can come together to learn, create, and connect. SRC is run in collaboration between Gonzalo Guerrero and Tara Ridgedell.

The Workshop

Learn how to create bold, dynamic lettering for music posters. In this workshop, we’ll explore how to bend, stretch, and energize letters so they move with rhythm and personality. We'll study impactful poster references, dive into hand-drawn lettering basics, and experiment with unusual letterforms inspired by music and motion.

Then we’ll build a poster layout that enhances your lettering style, and finish with a short intro to digitizing and coloring so you can bring your final piece to life online. We will be concluding this workshop by getting everyone’s completed posters printed in 1 color at Secret Riso Club and hosting a follow-up “crit” at the NY Sign Museum, where everyone will share their final poster prints and discuss in a roundtable format.

Learning Outcomes

What You'll Learn:

Hand-Drawn Foundations
Explore the fundamentals of hand-drawn lettering through expressive exercises, experimenting with unconventional letterforms inspired by music, rhythm, and motion.
Composition & Layout
Analyze iconic poster references and develop bold, balanced compositions that enhance the personality and energy of your lettering.
Digital Workflow
Discover practical techniques to digitize, refine, and color your artwork, bringing your hand-drawn designs to life in digital form.

Key Takeaways:
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

Create custom, expressive lettering from scratch.
Develop energetic and compelling poster compositions.
Integrate your hand-drawn artwork into a digital workflow for refinement and vibrant coloring.
Most importantly, you'll gain a transformative perspective, understanding lettering not merely as typography, but as a living and emotional element capable of conveying movement and personality.

Audience and Format

Anyone! Previous experience with lettering or drawing would be preferred but not necessary.

Materials Required

Optional: Laptop of iPad for digitizing

Dates

Day 1: Saturday May 9, 2026 from 10-4PM

Day 2: Sunday May 10, 2026 from 10-4PM

Follow up critique and final print share-out: Wed, May 20 @ 6PM

Scholarship

We are offering 1 full scholarship seat for this workshop. We’d like to reserve these spots for those passionate about typography and signage who might not be able to attend due to financial constraints. We would also like to offer the spots to those who grew up in or live in our studio’s neighborhood, East New York/Brownsville. Please fill out this Google Form to let us know why you’d like to be considered for the scholarship.The deadline for entries is April 15th at 11:59PM.

*Please note your application will be considered not eligible if you purchase a workshop ticket.

About the New York Sign Museum

The New York Sign Museum was established in 2019 with the intention to preserve the unique history of signage and businesses in New York City. The New York Sign Museum is a 501(c)(3) public charity. The NYSM is a not-for-profit educational space for all, from sign admirers to designers looking to learn the historic art of sign painting.The NYSM team includes artists, archivists, and signage professionals. Experienced industry professionals provide sign de-installations at no cost to building or business owners, and are able to keep pieces of history from ending up in the dumpster. The foundation also offers repairs and refurbishment, tax incentives for donations, as well as a rebate program for businesses that would like to replace their old signs.The NYSM collection is currently housed in a space adjacent to Noble Signs. Noble Signs Inc., a fully insured local sign company, partners with NYSM in the deinstallation of accessioned signage.

Policies

Minimum Enrollment Policy: This workshop has a minimum enrollment. If this minimum is not met 4 weeks before the workshop start date, the workshop will be canceled, and all payments will be fully refunded to students, subject to no fee.
Waitlist: If the workshop is sold out, we do not offer a waitlist. Tickets will be released for sale if anyone cancels their participation. If the workshop is sold out, you can opt to get an email notification when new tickets are back in stock directly from the registration page.
Refund Policy: Full refund up to 2 weeks in advance of first class start date, subject to $25 administrative and processing fee. Email store@nysignmuseum.org to request a refund.
Rescheduling Policy: NYSM reserves the right to postpone or reschedule workshops to an alternate date. Should a change occur, participants will automatically have their tickets transferred to the new date. For postponed or rescheduled workshops, participants may request a full refund by emailing info@nysignmuseum.org within 5 days of the announcement.
Cancellation Policy: NYSM reserves the right to cancel workshops. Should a cancellation occurs with no rescheduled date, participants will automatically receive a full refund.

$575.00

FAQs

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Orders $100+ - Shipping is Free
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We want you to be completely satisfied with your purchase. If for any reason you're not, we accept returns under the following conditions:

Return Window

You may return eligible items within 30 days of the delivery date.

Eligibility

Items must be unused, unwashed, and in their original packaging.
Certain items, such as final sale products and personalized goods, are not eligible for return. Please check the product description for any exceptions.

How to Initiate a Return

To initiate a return, please contact our customer service team at store@nysignmuseum.org with your order number and reason for return.

We will reply with a prepaid return label. $8 will be deducted from your refund to cover the return shipping.

Refunds

Once we receive and inspect your return, we will notify you of the status. Approved returns will be refunded to your original payment method within 5–10 business days. Original shipping charges are non-refundable.

How to Request an Exchange

To initiate an exchange, please contact our customer service team at store@nysignmuseum.org with your order number and the item(s) you wish to exchange. We will confirm availability and provide return instructions. Exchanges are typically processed within 5 business days after we receive the returned item.

Once we receive and inspect the returned item, we will process the exchange and ship the replacement. You will receive a confirmation and tracking number once the exchange has been sent.